THE SWORDSMAN AND THE SWORDSMITH

GC + SERIES.

Presents

A story by Gerald Emmanuel...

"During the heian era....the declination of magic was evident and something had to be done. There and then, Uther, the god of magic and the other gods created Tarzica, a continent separated from the filthiness of the other worlds and designated for only one thing and that is to preserve the remains of the magical energy. But things didn't go as planned, humans discovered Tarzica and were able to tap it's magic, they grew greedy and became bloody killers and bounty hunters. Magic is truly corrupting. The once great Tarzica destined for greatness became A federation of Cutthroats

FEDERATION OF CUTTHROATS

written by: G.Emmanuel

Episode 1: The swordsman and the swordsmith

We fade into darkness.... nothing but pure darkness. And for a second a light flashes before our eyes revealing a motion picture of a battlefield aftermath.

LOCATION: Damarth- Far North of Bayuth. - Tarzica

The skies are cloudy and dark, Dead bodies of soldiers belonging to unknown clans and empires are seen scattered all over the waste land, body parts lie on the field as vultures and crows feed on the internal organs of the deceased. Battle horses neigh in agony, broken chariots litter the whole surroundings. A guitar plays in the background and we can hear the voice of a woman singing a chaotic song...

🎵The fires are lit and burning 🎵

Amidst the darkness and rubble, rain starts to fall heavily casting mud on the filthy corpses. The crows and vultures flee.

🎵 Burning afar 🎵

The rain keeps on falling as thunder and lighting strike the horizon heavily.

🎵 But I can feel the burns 🎵

An half eaten skull of a man catches our attention. The eye socket drips blood mixed with rain water like a cup filled with milk. The horrific view comes to an end when a leather boot comes down on the skull crushing it to pieces revealing the rotten brains.

There and then, we trace the boot to a man who has just climbed down from his brown horse. He wears a hooded cloak covering his outfit and two medium sized swords lie by his sides. A dagger holster dangles like a chain on his neck and it pretty much holds a sharpened dagger.

🎵 Like the fires were mine 🎵

The man bends and observes the crushed skull in pity and disgust. Just as he observes the skull , one lighting strike illuminates an object near him for a second. He walks up to it and bends to observe it. It's a pendant

🎵 I searched through the continent 🎵

He picks it up and observes it closely for a second. A chain with a sword shaped logo implanted at the vertex. He opens his pocket and dumps this rare treasure in it. However, another lightning strike illuminates something more eye-catching.

🎵 To quench this burning fire 🎵

He walks towards it and almost immediately, we can feel an immense form of energy oozing from the objects surroundings. Alas, it's a glowing sword stuck to a dead man's chest with the handle pointing to heaven. The man grabs the sword and pulls it out of the man's chest and observes it.

🎵 They were fires from heaven 🎵

Strange runes have been inscribed on the sword blades and they glow blue like the clear skies illuminated by the moon.

🎵 They are only quenched with wine 🎵

He swings the sword in the air and it makes a whoozing and ringing sound. The steel blades cut through air with ease. The man goes back to his horse and climbs it. He takes one last look at the sword to see that it has stopped glowing and the runes have disappeared. Strange. He wraps the sword with leather and hangs it on his horse.

We observe as he rides up the battle plains into an active forest. The thunder claps and lighting flashes increase as he rides towards the woods. The music slowly fades away

CUT TO:

LOCATION: Damarthian GreenWoods - Far North of Bayuth - Tarzica

The forest is dark due to the dark clouds which cast a dark horrific gloom over the whole place. Rain constantly drips from the surrounding trees. The man we saw earlier appears from afar and rides on a narrow road which runs deep into the forest.

He keeps riding towards the deep forest till he gets to a spot. The rain has reduced, the ground is still muddy and all wet. He hops down from his horse and ties it to a nearby tree.

He walks to the center of the spot and draws his two medium swords. The lightning illuminates a part of him for a second. We notice that his two swords have strange dark runes inscribed on them.

He stares deep into the darkness around him and yells

JIN

Show yourselves you fucking bastards!!!

Just after the man yells, the bushes around him begin to rumble and in a fraction of a seconds, we see six armed men surround the man. These men wear black assassin's apparels with a dragon head shaped mask. They all hold sharp blades of unknown origin.

The man reaches into his pocket and brings out a scroll. He unfolds it to reveal it's content. The scroll holds picture of the dragon head mask of the surrounding men and a written text in an unknown language.

"Bandits of Damarth: Threat to Peace and Stability: Dead or alive price: 30000guras" .

He observes and contrasts the swordmen and the scroll for some time before finally coming to a conclusion

JIN

Right here, the government of Bayuth have offered thirty thousand guras for your heads... that's a lot of gold if you ask me. Let's get to the killing shall we?

All of heaven and hell immediately comes crashing down as the armed bandits battle a single man. Noise of blades clanking and clashing fill the air. One of the bandits approach the man and swerves his blade towards the neck of the man who dodges it and instantly replies in one swift slash. Blood gushes out of the bandits neck as he drops down dead and surprised.

Another bandit tries to stab the man from behind but he dodges it in a spin and strikes him down. Another comes up from behind and gets his head cut by the man's blade. This man seems to be professional with the sword.

The bandits take a break and surround the man one more time. There is silence and all we can hear is the sound of rain and thunderclaps. The bandits take their final stance and so does the man. Something feels off now. The air is weird. Something is about to happen.

From nowhere, a long sharp arrow hits one of the bandits in the head killing him instantly. A loud whistle followed by the sound of an incoming horse is heard. Everyone looks towards where the sound is coming from to see a white horse and a fair lady holding a bow and arrow riding towards them only that this lady is not so fair. A few metres away from the man and the bandits, she takes a leap off her horse and everything becomes slow.

While still in the air, She grabs the arrow tightly, scopes one of the bandits and releases the arrow with so much force. We follow the arrow as it flies in through the air and hits the bandit who drops to the ground immediately.

The speed goes back to normal as the lady the lady lands courageously into the mud below and draws her sword. The man looks in uttermost disbelief as he and the lady both strike down the last of the bandits. There and then they both stand staring at each other with each other's sword pointing directly at each other's neck. They stare at each other in the eye as the rain drips on their faces.

JIN

I was fine on my own..... didn't say I needed any assistance.....

AYLAR

Give me one reason why I shouldn't cut your head off....

JIN

One reason you say.....

The man points to his blade which is now laying directly on the lady's jugular ready for a kill.

AYLAR

Okay...okay....I propose a truce..... we're gonna take our swords off our necks together at once....1....2....3..

The lady speedily withdraws her sword back into it's sheath but surprisingly, the man doesn't.

JIN

Now give me one reason why I shouldn't gut you like the others....

AYLAR

Don't be so stupid.(smirks)

The lady points the man's attention to his belly which now has a dagger pointing directly at it. The man smiles.

JIN

Rule number one of bounty hunter's code, do not trust a fellow bounty hunter... you're well trained.

The man withdraws his sword and so does the lady. They both pack up their weapons. The lady goes back to her horse and drags it down to a nearby tree. The rain has stopped and all we can hear is the faint sound of far away thunder and rumbling.

AYLAR

I'm not a bounty hunter.

JIN

What kind are you then?

AYLAR

An assassin of Haysworth. Call me Aylar. I suppose you have a name.

The lady whom we now know as Ayla walks up to the man and stares blankly at him. She grabs his hood and takes it off revealing his whole face. On his neck, we see a black tattoo of a particular rune. This catches her attention.

AYLAR

Wait a second...I know you....

JIN

What....

AYLAR

The shark....oh my you're Jin the shark! Everyone's been looking for you.

Aylar reaches into a bag strapped to her horse and returns with a scroll. She opens it revealing another wanted poster with the picture of the man and some written words

"Jin the Shark: Deadly killer, threat to peace and stability : Dead, price: 100000guras" .

JIN

That's a lot of gold if you ask me. You're here to take the bounty right?

AYLAR

No....do I look like a bounty hunter to you?

JIN

What are you doing here anyways?

AYLAR

I've been tailing a wild beast for three days now.

JIN

Oh...

AYLAR

The shark. You're famous. I mean who else could have gotten close to killing the empress of the snakes?

The man now known as Jin walks back and unties his horse. His countenance has changed.

AYLAR

Oh did I say something wrong...pardon me.

JIN

It's not something I like to remember.

Jin climbs atop his horse and begins to ride away.

AYLAR

You're leaving?

JIN

What does it look like I'm doing? Eating barbecue?....it's nice meeting you Aylar. I wish you the very best.

Jin is just a few metres away from Aylar when a loud moo sound echoes through the jungle. The sound of hooves digging into the ground ferociously follows. It's like a large animal is approaching them.

AYLAR

Oh...it's the beast.....we should probably run.

Aylar leaps unto her horse.

JIN

Why does it sound like a cow?

Aylar and Jin ride as fast as they can towards the plains outside the forest where Jin had come from. The bush behind them begins to rumble and we can feel that whatever is after them is really huge.

The beast bursts out of the jungle behind Jin revealing it's form. A black lion with red vertical stripes having long bull like horns and hooves with ten horse like tails. A ferocious beast.

JIN

It's an Euroka!

AYLAR

Of course it's an Euroka....what else were you thinking.

JIN

Oh shit... we're so screwed.

The beast chases the hell out of them and gets close enough to knock the both of them out of the forest into battlefield. The beast sends them flying through the air like birds and they land on the plains like rocks. Horses die due to impact from landing. A white mist has gathered all over the plains blinding the two from seeing what is around them. They both get back up and draw their swords backing up each other from different sides.

AYLAR

Eurokas are known to shape shift and control the weather.

JIN

Not only that, they are good swords men.

Jin calls Aylar's attention to a woman standing a few metres away from them. She has long bull horns and wears a long black gown with red stripes. She holds two long black swords with red glowing runes on it. She smiles in a creepy mean way that gives off a very bad vibe.

EUROKA

Aylar of Haysworth, I believe you were sent to assassinate me.

AYLAR

These lands will be your tomb Euroka.

EUROKA

Don't you know that you were sent here to die?

The human Euroka fades away like sand into the midst and her voice echoes from different directions.

EUROKA

This is the land of Damarth, the land of blood and pestilence. I rule these lands young swordsmith. I have immense power here. You are nothing.

JIN

Did she just call you swordsmith?

AYLAR

.....

JIN

You're not just an assassin are you?

From nowhere, the human Euroka appears with blazing sword and tries to behead Jin who literally uses his fast reflexes to his advantage. They both clash swords but looks like this beast's got some moves. Great waves of strange energy are released as Jin battles the Euroka.

JIN

What are you doing...join me!

Aylar stays back and closes her eyes as if in a meditation while Jin battles the Euroka

EUROKA

Not bad....your maneuvers need little shape

Jin gets a chance to cut the Euroka but she disappears again into the darkness.

JIN

Shit....Aylar!!!

Aylar opens her eyes and it's pure white. White glowing runes appear all over her body and she begins to move her hands in some specific pattern. Dense white particles appear and come together. They start to form a bright object.

JIN

Oh.....oh...I get it now!

Ahead of Jin, we can see the silhouette of the Euroka in it's beast like form approaching. It's getting closer and closer by the second at amazing speed.

EUROKA

And you... Shark....you shall die first.

The object Aylar creates is finally revealed as a long bright sword with white glowing runes all over it.

AYLAR

Catch!

Aylar throws the sword and everything suddenly slows down. Jin leaps and catches the sword in mid air. He lands back to the ground with full force and instead of stabbing the incoming Euroka, he shoves the sword into the human Euroka behind him. The illusion of the incoming beast disappears and the woman grunts in pain and surprise as she kneels to the ground with an enchanted sword half into her belly.

JIN

Rule number 2 of a bounty hunter.....always attack from behind....(sighs)

The human Euroka turns to dust and fades away as the mist surrounding them clears. Aylar's runes disappears as she comes back to normal. She sighs in exhaustion and stares blankly at Jin in the eyes. The sword also turns to white bright dust and blows away.

JIN

So...you're a swordsmith. Thought you people were extinct.

AYLAR

I'm more of a descendant actually.....

Jin walks back to his dead horse lying on the ground lifeless and hopeless.

JIN

Marty was such a great horse....he got me through almost anything. We had so much time together.....fought many battles.....it's so unfortunate this is his last.

AYLAR

Switched horses several times...

He kneels and grabs the leather holding the strange sword he found earlier. The moment he brings it out, a loud ghost like screech is heard.

The air around them changes as the screech increases. Nothing happens to Jin but Aylar feels an energy surge around her, choking her. Her runes glow again for a fraction of a second.

AYLAR

What the hell is that thing?

Jin unfolds the leather and reveals the strange sword which is now glowing with perfect blue runes. He swings it and the ringing and screeching sound intensifies. This noise is taking a toll on Aylar.

AYLAR

Get that thing away from me!!!

Aylar blasts the sword off Jin's hands in exhaustion and frustration. The swords lands on a nearby stone and immediately stops glowing and ringing.

AYLAR

Oh...God...what was that?

Aylar walks up to the nearby sword and studies it carefully. Her mouth drops wide in surprise as if she recognizes the blade.

AYLAR

No way.... definitely no way...

Aylar unstraps a tiny booklet from a leather holster on her waist. The booklet looks old and has rat eaten pages. She keeps opening the pages till she hits jackpot.

AYLAR

Here see this...

Jin peeps on the pages to see what Aylar is talking about. The exact picture and replica of the strange sword is seen on the page with some little words written beside it.

AYLAR

This is the Yamachan Fortune Teller.

JIN

No that's not possible....the fortune tellers belong only in folklores and myth....there's no way....

AYLAR

Believed to be the power....

JIN

....And authority of the nation of Yamacha

AYLAR

And can only be activated by a high level sword's man who has mastered at least 3 out of the 12 rune languages of the swordsmiths.

JIN

Also has the ability to tell the future.

AYLAR

Where did you find this?

CUT TO:

LOCATION: Damarth- Far North of Bayuth. - Tarzica

Jin and Aylar are now standing next to the corpse Jin pulled the sword from. The energy here is dark and depressing. The clouded skies are still pretty intense. Little rain drops sizzle out of the sky.

JIN

Pulled it out of the dead man's chest. Thought it would worth more in Bayuth.

AYLAR

Have you heard the saying?

JIN

What saying?

AYLAR

"No man can pull out the fortune teller from a broken heart"

JIN

No

AYLAR

Whoever killed this people here....did with the Yamachan sword...single handedly. I can feel his kill signatures.... they're everywhere. The killer also left the sword on this corpse so no one ever succeeds in pulling it out. I guess the killer thought they were the only sword's men in the whole of the continent.

JIN

Yeah I guess...

AYLAR

Somehow, you were able to break the spell.... you're a sword's man.

JIN

I was trained brought up by monks. There's no way.... literally no way I'm a swordsman

AYLAR

There has to be some reason for all of this. If the sword belongs in Yamacha, how the hell did it end up in the hands of a killer psychopath here in Damarth?

JIN

Yamacha is a nation only told in stories, the sword is a myth.....no one believes in this shit.

Jin brings out the pendant he found earlier.

JIN

I also found this....

Aylar snatches the pendant and observes the praying mantis symbol on it. Aylar points the praying mantis symbol

AYLAR

Was this there before?

JIN

Wait....it was a sword...how the hell did it turn into an insect?

AYLAR

It's a Solata otherwise known as the tracking pendant. ....this symbol belongs to the southern reds.

JIN

I believe we have a lead....don't we?

AYLAR

Yeah...

JIN

I say we track down how the hell this all happened, find the killer, find the invincible Yamacha, return the sword and win some bounty.

AYLAR

You're wanted in 21 villages, 17 cities and 5 nations, there's no way you'll make it past the southern borders.

JIN

Then I say we find the idiots who put my name on the fucking poster....

AYLAR

And kill em all..

CUT TO:

The clouded skies rumble as Aylar and Jin walking far into the plains. We can hear their voices from afar as they make their way to God knows where.

JIN

So tell me, how the hell are you alive....and not dead.

AYLAR

No...you first....you're gonna tell me your crazy adventures....I mean you're the shark. You would have some great times. Also you're gonna tell me who wants your head and why?

JIN

I barely know you

AYLAR

Like it or not, we're partners now....

JIN

Only the sword binds us together....

AYLAR

How the hell were you even able to control the sword I created back at the Eurokan battle? Yet you say you're not a swordsman.

JIN

The monk's teachings I guess...

AYLAR

Sounds pretty much like a typical bounty hunter to me....

JIN

Told ya...

AYLAR

So where to?

JIN

Vhamputi.... we're going to Vhamputi. I believe the one who wants me dead resides at Vhamputi.

AYLAR

I have an old friend living there.....it's a win win.

The sound of the guitar we heard from earlier slowly becomes audible again and the sweet female voice continues to sing as the two disappear into the unknown.

🎵 And they were firrrresssss from heaven 🎵

🎵 They were quenched with wine 🎵

Everything fades to pure darkness.

GC + SERIES.

Next: Episode 2: The Vamphuti Butchers

Written by Gerald Emmanuel.