Kingdom of the Weak

  When Remian Vin died and faced his Creator, he wept. “God, not like this!” One of the nearby celestial beings spoke. “It is given for man to live and to die. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. It is the natural order.” “But not now! Not like this! I haven’t done anything worthwhile with my life! I’ve been weak from young, always a burden to my family! People have been kind to me yet I’ve done nothing to pay them back! I can’t die like this! I need to do something for them!” “What worth could your life have, if you remained? What would be the point of returning you to such a weak, frail body? Move on, and leave the past behind.” “I’ll… I’ll make it worth something. I don’t know how long I can last, but I want to make it worth something!” “When?” “Today!” Remian gasped, waking up with cold sweat. His heart thumped painfully in his chest, pain wracking his body as he sat up in bed. Was it real? Was it just a drea

  “You’re in luck.” Max grunted as Remian arrived at the Iron Legion camp at the north side of town bordering the desert with only the token and the shirt on his back. “We just happen to have some extra clothes you could use.” He brought out an oddly familiar looking package. Some leathers and furs, a worn-out bow and a quiver half-filled with arrows, and a broken axe… “That… isn’t that Tan’s…?” Remian pointed. “It was.” Max nodded agreeably. “He’s dead. Got into a fight with a local gang boss in the first tavern he came across. We got there in time to get him away, but he died of his injuries. Didn’t last an hour.” Max eyed him. “What happened to you?” “Got robbed.” Remian grimaced. “At least you survived. There’s something to be said for being weak.” Max grunted. “How did you get the shirt?” “Made a new friend.” Remian shrugged. “Even made friends? Huh. You might last quite a while yet.” Max scratched his head. “

Remian turned to the dark figure laying down on the ‘empty’ bed next to him as Kairos went off to find him some food. “What are you doing here?” “Taking a break.” Death answered. “I’ve was rather busy last night.” Remian’s face fell. “How many? How many died because of me?” Death paused, counting. “Three.” “Three? Who were they?” Remian regretted losing control to such an extent. “Irontusk, Third Boar Alpha of the Iron Bristle Boar tribe. He was fighting Markus and Max when you burned a foot-wide hole in him with your light bolt.” Death began. “Ssi-ruuvi,  two-headed Acid/Venom Serpent of Forktwig Marsh. They were trying to provide Irontusk some support. A bit more and they could have killed Markus.” “Wait. They were Wilds? Are you saying my Light spell killed Wilds?!” Remian stared. “Not humans?” “No humans were harmed by your magic.” Death said. “Although a lot of them couldn’t see for a few minutes. Some of them were in

There were five gangs in Frontier Town; Burning Steel, Cruel Rose, Blood Claw, Circling Raven and Secret Waves. Cruel Rose and Circling Raven were based in the north, Secret Waves to the East, with Burning Steel and Blood Claw to the west. It was generally agreed that of the five, Burning Steel was the strongest, simply because they had four Slayers. Cruel Rose and Blood Claw had three each; Circling Raven and Secret Waves only had two. In the minds of many, this meant that Circling Raven and Secret Waves were the weakest gangs, even though Circling Raven supposedly had the largest numbers. As for Secret Waves… they had the least numbers, and the least Slayers. Remian was curious as to how they survived the hostility of the other gangs for so long. That was why, when he set out to meet the bosses, he started on the East side. The East Side of Frontier Town was a jagged row of houses and shoplots on a sheer cliff extending over a river. It could be pretty, if

Mindy screamed with excitement the moment she met Vigil. “SO CUTE!!” Vigil perked up, beamed at Mindy with bright eyes, and wagged his tail a bit. Mindy pounced. She grabbed him up and squeezed him, squealing. “So cute, so cute, so cute!!” Ten feet away, Markus gave Remian a flat look. “Sorry about the noise.” Remian ducked his head apologetically. Markus shook his head and went on writing his reports. “Can I feed him? Can I, can I, can I?” Mindy gushed. “Uh…” Remian looked about. “I thought we were going hunting. If we catch something…” “Let’s go! I know where to find lots of Blood Rabbits.” Mindy exclaimed. “They’re just Tier 1 Wilds. Even the easiest traps can get them! But you can’t just leave your traps there and go away, you have to watch the traps. Otherwise, their friends will find them and destroy your traps!” “That explains a lot.” Remian said. “Half my traps are broken and I never found out why.”