CH.3 CLEARING A PATH

"what is it grandpa?" Athena said rushing to her grandfather.

Exios slowly followed, everyone watched him backing away like he was contagious. "i brought fish," he said holding up the bucket.

"we need to leave quickly as possible," said Maxwell in a panic. "A small group took off not long ago to warn the empire."

"they what!!" Athena yelled.

Maxwell started waving the people off. "Everyone go get your stuff ready to go, right now!" He announced, pulling Athena and Exios aside.

"Timothy rounded up everyone that was against our plan and didnt wanna leave. He convinced them the empire would reward them if they turned us in, so they mounted up and left."

"there goes our plan of sneaking through the mountains" said Athena," im sure those weasels wil tell them all about it."

"so lets just go through the border then," said Exios.

Athena gestured to all the people who were gathering supplies, filling carriages and staging the horses with their coaches.

"yeah, I think theyll immediety know something is up if we do that."

"Well, thats where i come into play" said Exios. "ill take care of the border and everyone there shortly before you arrive."

Maxwell stroked his beard while in deep thought, "i suppose we have no choice" he said. "we should leave now and utilize the cover of the night."

Athena, Maxwell and Exios loaded up and climbed into the head carriage. they departed in single file, everyone took one silent look back realizing they were leaving their valley and village behind, most likely forever. They took a shortcut through a bumpy ravine, the carriages creaked and moaned going over the uneven terrain.

Two carriages back, Adeline and her mother held eachother inside a tarp covered wagon. Wind rustled through the tarp, several other people in the wagon wiggled around trying to get comfortable.

"Dont worry mommy, were going to find a new home" Adeline said smiling.

Amanda smiled back, "i know sweetie, i know."

She combed her fingers through adelines hair. Adeline lowered her big blue eyes and her voice saddened, "mommy why is everyone afraid of Mr. Exios?"

Amanda paused to think, "well sweetie he is incredibly strong, which makes him dangerous, and that makes people afraid."

"are you afraid of him mommy?"

"I was," Amanda said squeezing her daughter. "But you were right sweetie, inside i believe hes a kind hearted man."

"told you so" Adeline said giggling.

Amanda playfully pinched her nose, "you sure did. ill tell you what, i made him a thank you gift, so when we stop lets give it to him together." Adeline grinned and squeezed her mother.

The carriages went over a big bump knocking everyone around. Exios sat straight up with his arms crossed while napping.

"How can he sleep through this?" Athena said, waving her hand in front of his face. Maxwell shrugged with a goofy grin. After a couple hours they turned and began making their way down a much more smooth road.

"Finally, we made it to the service road" said Maxwell. "Not long till were at the gates." He snapped the reigns of the horses to pick up the pace.

Exios winced, his eyes shot open, "not good" he said standing up. His skin tingled and his senses went on full alert.

"Whats wrong?" Said Athena.

"Dont worry he said smiling, it's time for me to do what I do best and clear a path." Before Athena could say anything. He leaped off the carriage and disappeared, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.

Exios stopped at the border. A two story cobblestone barracks building sat on each side of the road. Their rooftops connected by an archway that went over the path. Several soldiers with bows and spears lined the archway at the ready. like they were waiting for him. Huge lanterns hanging from the archway swayed in the night wind, they illuminated the road where one man stood facing Exios.

The man had one hand on his hip and the other rested on the hilt of his rapier sword. He was tall, thin and flamboyant looking by the way he dressed. He wore tight black leather pants and dress shoes. His shirt was a red loose fitting long sleeve V neck. His skin was porcelain white which made his light green eyes stand out even more. Long curly blonde hair flowed around his delicate face down to his shoulders.

"So you finally arrived" he said in a soft voice. "Its an honor to meet you, my name is master Andrew Marcelli." He put his hand over his chest and slightly bowed. "I've been sent here to kill you."

The soldiers above appeared to be more interested in watching, rather than taking up fighting positions. Exios studied Andrew, "I can tell he earned that title, he may look meek but he's definitely strong. I figured they'd send someone above a diamond after those idiots turned us in. This could be troublesome."

Andrew took a few steps forward slowly unsheathing his long thin blade. "You see some bumbling filthy villagers showed up at the kingdom. They spewed some nonsense story about Exios Nodos returning and that he's planning to kill everyone." He casually ran his finger down the side of his blade. "To be honest, I was a bit perplexed at first. Both fear and excitement washed over me after hearing this. Growing up I admired the the stories of Exios and his legendary power. So the possibility to see that first hand gave me butterflies in my stomach, even if it meant possibly dying in the process."

"You don't have to die here," said Exios with an empty stare.

Andrew gently flipped his hair to one side.

"Do you mean to tell me, that you are thee Exios Nodos? The man who single handedly destroyed an empire, he who never lost a battle and is rumored to be the strongest monster to have ever lived. That is who "– he pointed his sword at Exios–" you are claiming to be?"

"If you step aside, I will spare you and these men's lives," Exios said with the same cold exspression.

Andrew slowly started to chuckle, then burst into all out laughter. "You, kill me?" He laughed some more, "I see, so you're just delusional that's what it is. Firstly you and I are roughly the same age, the actual Exios Nodos would be in his fifties and secondly, it's obvious the difference between us in terms of combat is vast." Andrew took up a fencing stance turning his shoulder and placing his free arm behind his back. "Regardless, my orders are to kill you."

In one fluid motion, Andrew dashed at Exios and swung his sword with incredible speed. Exios jumped backwards barely managing to dodge it. Or at least he thought he did, blood started gushing from a wound across his chest. "Hes fast" Exios thought while touching the wound, "but I'm positive I dodged his blade."

Andrew noticed that his attack confused Exios. He straightened his posture and leisurely ran his fingers through his hair. "Now do you really expect me to believe a king of monsters would allow an attack like that to reach them?"

"You sure do like to talk alot don't you?" Exios said assuming a light fighting pose. Andrew Shot him a smug look then assumed his fighting stance. The soldiers on the archway watched in awe, their eyes could barely keep up with thespeed at which Andrew pursued Exios. The flurry of slashes from his blade looked like a blur. Exios stayed on the defensive managing to dodge most of the strikes, but before long his body and arms were covered in gashes.

Exios jumped back distancing himself. "Retreating?" Andrew asked smugly, "We were just starting to have fun."

"I get it now" said Exios, "your speed, fluid movements and seemingly extended reach. You can manipulate wind."

Andrew took up a more relaxed stance, he smirked and arrogantly raised his hand. "Guilty, you figured me out. If nothing else you're quite sharp. I thought I was being rather subtle."

"You refine the wind around your blade making it sharper, faster and extending its range. while simultaneously adjusting the wind around you to adjust your movement speed. It shows you've done alot of training to master this."

Andrew's eyes widened and he fanned his face with his hand. "Well! Now that is unexpected, being praised by the man I'm about to kill. I thank you for acknowledging my skill, but I cannot spare you."

"This is your last chance," said Exios. A cloud passed by temporarily blocking out the moonlight. The shade washed over Exios, his golden eyes glowed brightly in the darkness. Andrew felt a chill run down his spine, all of a sudden his instincts screamed for him to run. He didn't understand what happened, where that fear suddenly came from. He quickly stilled his resolve, squeezing the handle of his blade.

"No! It is You who will die. those are my orders and I will carry them out, Andrew said trying to convince himself taking up his stance.

"So be it then" said Exios, his voice had become deeper and harsher sounding.

In the amount of time it took Andrew to blink, Exios appeared in front of him throwing a punch at his stomach. He managed to soften the blow by placing his forearm in the way. The impact made a loud cracking sound like a tree splitting. Andrew tumbled forty to fifty feet before sliding to a halt in front of the archway. he layed motionless for several seconds.

Andrew rolled over, coughing and shaking his head trying to regain his senses. He lifted his arm and it folded like a noodle, the bones were shattered. He heard the sound of footsteps approaching, he jumped to his feet to face Exios.

"Your arm is mangled, now step aside I don't have time for this" said Exios.

Andrew's eyes widened in shock upon looking at Exios up close, the clouds passed and the moonlight lit the area again. All the wounds on Exios had stopped bleeding and his veins had become a visible gray color. The soldiers on the archway were in just as much shock. they looked uncertain whether they should try to help, or make a run for it. Andrew summoned his courage and readied his sword pointing it at Exios.

"I will not yield" said Andrew. "You caught me off guard that's all. From this point forward I will be going all out."

Exios sighed thinking "this guy can't be serious, I want to finish this quickly before the others arrive."

Andrew lunged slashing from every angle, but they were easily evaded. His attacks had become sluggish. Exios jumped back trying to get some room between them. In response Andrew took a steady breath focusing his energy into his sword, then he slashed the air launching a sharp wave of wind. Exios blocked the blade of wind with his forearm. It cut deep to the bone before dissipating, but only thin trickles of blood came from the wound.

Andrew paused looking dumbfounded, "tha– that's impossible! That should not only have cut your arm off, it should've cut you in half."

"Ill admit It was an impressive attack" Exios said looking over the wound. "Any normal person would've surely been killed, but my body is pretty much everything but normal. I really must thank you though master Andrew, you helped me see where I'm at currently."

"How do you mean?" Andrew said tilting his head in confusion.

"Ehhh long story, i should really wrap this up though, so I'll end this with my next attack."

Exios widened his stance preparing to strike. Andrew couldn't shake the feeling of pure dread washing over him. His legs trembled, his breath was shallow and his heart raced. He wondered if this is how everyone he killed felt right before he struck the final blow.

Even thought fear had taken hold of him, Andrew took up a thrusting stance.

After a brief pause, they collided faster than the blink of an eye. Andrew aimed for the heart, but Exios shifted his body so the blade pierced through his shoulder. Exios threw a uppercut into his stomach. Andrew felt like he had been struck by lightning. He let go of his sword and stumbled backwards, his vision blurred and his nose began to bleed.

"I admire your courage and commitment," Exios said pulling the sword from his shoulder.

"What did you do to me?" Andrew asked coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"You earned an answer" said Exios. "Just as you have the ability to control wind, I have the ability to control and amplify kinetic energy. I sent a wave pulsing through your body tearing it apart from the inside out."

Andrew began to black out falling flat on his back. "You really are Exios Nodos" he said smiling, his body completely numb and unable to move. "I can die happy knowing it came from the hands of a true legend." He coughed some more then slipped into unconsciousness.

Exios looked up to the soldiers on the archway, they were completely petrified with fear. They couldn't believe a master was defeated right in front of them. "Come down here," said Exios. "Your master could still survive, if he's seen to that is. Come take him and leave, or you can all die here, your choice." They all mumbled to eachother, then began rushing off the archway and out of the buildings. Within minutes they grabbed Andrew and hurried off, disappearing into the night.

Exios turned towards the now empty buildings, the cold night air rushed over him. Anger began to swell inside him, he thought about how Marcus and Amora were the reason behind all this and how they're probably enjoying some lavish lifestyle. He made a fist, reared back and punched the air. A huge Shockwave erupted from his fist, it collided with one of the buildings Completely leveling it with a thunderous boom. Rubble launched hundreds of feet away, the archway collapsed as Exios launched another Shockwave exploding the other building. After the dust settled there was nothing left but debris.

Exios took a deep breath, "glad I got that out of my system, but it's not enough." He looked at his hand then squeezed it into a fist. "Guess I better clear this road" he said. He began tossing the large pieces of the fallen archway off the road. Shortly after he had cleared most of the road the caravan arrived.

Athena jumped out before they even came to a complete stop causing her to almost face plant. She ran to Exios screaming "dont you ever do that again you reckless idiot, were suppose to be–" her next words died in her throat. Once she got close enough to see him clearly, she gasped and covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming. He was covered in bloody gash wounds and the same visible gray veins as before covered his body. For a moment she felt afraid, something about him now emanated danger like the presence of a natural disaster. She almost turned around and ran away, but instead she grabbed her necklace and stood her ground.

Exios smiled and waved, his exspression melted away her fear, and worry took its place. She turned towards the caravan, they had just stopped and everyone was anxious to see what was going on. "Bernard I need medical supplies right now." Athena shouted. A middle aged man carrying a wicker basket jumped out the back of the caravan and rushed over.

"No need" Exios said waving off Bernard and walking up to Athena. "I just need some rest."

Athena made a sour face, "Dont make me command you to stay still. You're injured badly and need to be treated."

Exios let a smile slip from the corner of his mouth. He was suprisingly happy to see all of them and glad they didn't have to see him fight. "Alright," Exios said giving in to her. "You can do whatever you think you need to do once we get settled. I don't want the others seeing me like this though."

Athena paused, her face went blank. She put it together in her head, Why he took off leaving everyone behind. "He must've known there was some threat ahead and didn't want us to have to see it, or get caught up in it." She focused on choking back the tears. In that moment she realized everything she thought she knew about him was wrong.

"Thanks buddy" Exios said taking the basket. Bernard had a bewildered look on his face as he stared at Exios and his lacerated flesh.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked.

Exios smiled and pulled a thin blanket out of the wicker basket. He threw it over his shoulders and walked off towards the caravan. Athena and Bernard exchanged glances of confusion then followed. Once they were all loaded up in the stagecoach Maxwell announced they were setting out again, then he climbed In with Athena and Exios. The driver snapped the reigns of the horses and before long they were past the border continuing down the road.

Athena checked on Exios who had already fallen asleep sitting up with his elbows on his knees. She didnt want to wake him, but she wanted to check on his wounds. She slowly pulled off the blanket, his skin still had the gray veins spread all over. She had never seen anything like that before, she found herself trying to trace them with her finger.

After looking him over, she couldn't figure out why there was hardly any blood. From what she could tell he had deep wounds in and through his hand, shoulder, forearms and a handful of other places. At first she thought maybe he didn't have any more blood left, but quickly realized that was stupid, because then he would be dead. She decided to chalk it up to all the other weird things about him, but she wanted to stay close so she could pay attention to his breathing just in case.

Several hours later Athena woke up to the sun shining on her face. She rubbed her eyes and yawned then realized she was leaning on Exios who was still asleep sitting up. She shot straight up Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Maxwell sat across from them already wide awake, he had one leg crossed over the other while reading a book. He looked up and winked at Athena with a crooked smile. She felt like her face was going to explode. "Where are we grandpa?" She said trying to take her mind off the subject.

"Were close" said Exios opening his eyes.

Athena nearly jumped out of the coach. "How long have you been awake?" She asked frantically.

"Long enough" he said with a damp smile.

Athena thought the embarrassment would kill her, but before it could she glanced at Exios and something caught her eye. She quickly grabbed his hands and examined them, then his arms and shoulder. "Your wounds" she said. "They're completely gone, I figured you were different you know with all those gray veins and stuff, but this is just incredible, there's not even any scars." She sat down next to Maxwell completely amazed.

Exios chuckled, "yeah I guess I should've told you that I heal pretty fast, it's usually faster but you know, being at less than half strength has its draw backs. As for the veins, that's part of my bodies ummm, let's just say self defense mechanism."

"Okay, sure" said Athena deciding it wasn't the time to press for a better answer.

"What happened back there?" Said Maxwell. "It was a mess but I didn't see any bodies.

"Well" said Exios. "They didn't send a diamond, they sent a master."

Maxwell leaned forward, his eyes wide. "A master!" He exclaimed. "I guess that explains all the wounds you had."

"Yeah he was tough and fought honorably. I couldn't bring myself to kill him, so I let the soldiers take him to be treated."

Maxwell leaned back and exhaled a deep breath. "I just can't believe they actually sent a master, once the kingdom finds out what happened things are going escalate quickly."

"I can't believe you let them go and anyone care to fill me in on what's a master?" Athena said looking confused and frustrated.

"You guys really were isolated out there weren't you" said Exios.

"For the most part" Maxwell replied. "The only reason I know such things is because I once was a soldier and lived in the rings of the capital." He turned to Athena, "to answer your question. a master class is an extremely high military rank given to those who have proven themselves to be flawless in their respective form of combat."

Exios continued for Maxwell. "Kingdoms are divided by a universal class system, the lowest class being the bronze class. Well technically I guess the lowest class would be the villages on the outskirts of the kingdoms, like yours. they don't really have a class." He noticed Athena glaring at him. "Anyways the bronze class are considered commoners, they may visit the outer ring but don't live there. next is the silver class this is the lowest military rank and the highest rank a commoner can naturally obtain. They live in the outer ring of the kingdoms. Then there's the gold class, these are high ranking military personnel that live in and protect the inner ring of the kingdoms."

Maxwell sat up puffing his chest out "I myself managed to obtain gold class" he said proudly.

"Wow" Exios said sounding unimpressed.

"I use to be quite the fighter myself" Maxwell said eagerly. "I didn't have a natural affinity or knowledge of the arts like my wife, but I made up for it with my agility and skill." He simulated waving a sword around.

"Interesting" said Exios turning back to Athena. "Anyways, above gold is the noble class. They can only be appointed by royalty and only royalty have more authority."

"Bunch of kiss asses if you ask me" said Maxwell folding his arms looking out the coach window." Exios shook his head and Athena giggled.

"Calm down grandpa," Athena said smiling. "Sorry, keep going Ex. You don't mind if I call you Ex, do you?" She said. Exios paused, then waved it off like he didn't care. "Where was i? Oh yeah, the diamond class, master class and grandmaster class are made up of the strongest people in the kingdom. Each one is significantly stronger then the last and they work directly for royalty. That brings us to the top class in a kingdom, or I should say classes. The royalty and monster class. Royal families are appointed by the empire, and the title of monster is given by the sages council. there is only aloud to be one monster per kingdom or territory.

Athena looked completely lost. "Sooo i assume you use to have alot of influence, being the king of monsters and all."

Exios and Maxwell laughed. "Yeah something like that" He said.

The drivers began slowing down, "were approaching the outer ring of Broxa" one of them shouted. Everyone poked their heads out of the windows. They hadn't really paid attention, but the farther they went into Broxa the more green and densely covered with brush and wildlife it became. The trees were so tall they blocked the sun and the sounds of birds chirping filled the air. About a quarter mile ahead of them stood a massive wall taller then any tree. It covered several miles in both directions and curved to form a ring.

They stopped in front of the entrance, where several heavily armed soldiers checked everyone that came through.

"What do we do now?" Said Athena realizing they hadn't planned this far out.

"Dont worry" Exios sai climbing out, "ill handle it."

"Wait," said Athena. "What are you gonna say?" but he had already walked off signaling the guards.