A few years past and Bane was becoming a active young boy, always getting into trouble some where along the line.

One day last Summer Bane was running around on the outskirts of the village with his two best friends, X'en' Shrea, a youthful young boy at the age of seven, he was already taller then all the boys in his age group, and very thin, most people would call almost skeletal, but do not let the appearance fool you as he was a very hardy young lad.

And then there was Liastre, a young girl that lived two houses down from Bane, Liastre was the most beautiful girl in all of the village, by Bane's and X'en' Shrea's eyes.

The three of them were inseparable; anywhere one went the other two were sure to follow. And in this one incident last summer all three were together again, running around when Bane had a brilliant idea.

"Say, I just though of some thing we can get up to. But we might get into trouble. So what do you say are you up for it?"

The other to looked at each other with doubt in their eyes as Bane had led them astray before. But what are friends for if not to get into trouble with?

So they both turn to Bane and agree that they are with him on his Idea what ever that may be. Bane brings them closer together and starts to whisper in their ears.

"My dad has a nice little plot in the woods where he is cutting and he is all by him self. What I suggest is that we go and play a prank on him. He's always out there by him self that he will enjoy the company."

The other two decided what could be the harm in a little prank on his father. It was only a little trivial scaring but they were all for it. Off went the three of them wondering what they could do to scare the wits out of Gredish. As they were walking through the beginning of the forest Bane come to wondering what it was like in there all day by your self with just an axe to keep you company. It was hot that day and the three of them were glad to get out of the sun, seeking shelter in the shadows of the old Pine and Fir trees. They were half way to where Gredish felled his trees and they could here the quite thud of the axe as it bit into the trunk of what ever tree Gredish had decided to cut down to day.The three started to walk towards the distant sound.

******

Gredish was hard at work on the bole of a mighty Fir tree. The day was stifling in his little clearing and the sun was streaming down on his back. About an hour earlier on Gredish had removed his tunic to try and cool down a little bit.

The sun was glinting of off his dark skin as sweat covered his torso and back. For a fifty two year old man his body was in extremely excellent condition. His back and chest were chiselled like some one that would be in their mid twenties. If it were not for the grey hair on his head you would never believe his age.

Thud. Thud. As the axe bit deeply into the base of the trunk. Gredish was so intensely concentrating that he did not hear the three children try to sneak up behind him.

As Gredish hefted the axe for another mighty blow to the tree, the three children rushed him from behind.

Now being in the woods by himself a lot, he knew that there was dangerous wild animals roaming around, and many a time did he have to fight off a mighty Dire Wolf with just his axe, his reactions were sharp and with all his might Gredish took a small step back and swung one hundred and eighty degrees, all the while swinging his axe with him. Bane saw the axe coming toward the three of them and managed to stop in time narrowly getting missed by the woodcutters axe.

"WATCH!!!"

Was all Bane managed to spit out as his two friends ran straight into the path of the flying weapon.

Straight through the small chest of X'en' Shrea right into and trough the throat of the unsuspecting Liastre.

Torso and head went flying from the rest of the bodies, horrified at what had just happened to the children Gredish and bane could do nothing but stare at the mutilated corpses of what had one been Bane's closest friends. Blood smeared the grass and close by trees.

Gredish stricken with grief over what he had just done slumped down against the massive Fir that he had only moments before been to work on.

Bane with tears streaming down his face just looked at his friends with an odd sense of detachment. Time seemed to move so slowly to Bane, looking from X'en' Shrea to Liastre. Back and forth, from each piece-to-piece. Bane could feel the grief well up inside of him, but with amazing force he managed to suppress the urge to wail in his fathers arms. With a cold chill rising up the back of his spine Bane envisioned his friends whole and well, to be running around with him in the fields out the back of the village. So intense this feeling was that he blacked out.

In the darkness of oblivion bane could hear his friends calling to him to come and play out in the golden field and streaming sunlight. Again and again he could hear their voices.

"Bane…. Come out and play…."

Wailing out to him. Over and over. Bane turned this way and that, trying to find his dear friends. Bane felt himself running through the darkness, toward the voices to no avail. Everywhere that he looked all he could see was pitch black with even darker shadows lurking at the very corner of his vision.

Again the voices called out to him, and yet again he tried to see where they spurned. Twisting and turning. It felt like for he was standing in the centre of time, lost for eternity. Days went by; yet maybe it was only hours or even could be months and years.

"Bane!" "Bane!"

There was something different about this voice. It was not a distant wail like the others had been. It was closer, louder, more gruff the what he had been hearing before, very familiar yet unknown to him.

Out of the darkness the became a dim light. Pulsating with a low red glow. Slowly getting stronger and stronger. So intense was this light that Bane could feel the presence of another being, heat started to emanate from the source and Bane flinched away from what was becoming before him. Turning away from the light Bane again stared into the darkness, trying to run, fearing what he did not know, but it was if he had rocks tied to his ankles and could not move. Slowly the light swirled around him. Panic surged through Bane's body. Thoughts of flee ran through his mind, yet he could not move, frozen by fear Bane stood in the enveloping light.

"Bane. You must listen to me! I am not here to harm you."

"Wha what are you? Who are you?"

"I am you only friend in this place. There are others that are trying to get to you, but they also fear you. Your magik is strong with in you and others like me have sensed it."

"What others? What are you talking about magik? I want to be with my friends!"

"Be calm Bane. You will be with those that you know in due time. But you MUST realise what you have done and what has happened to you before you can make that journey."

"What journey? I don't understand! Who are you? What do you want with me?"

" I do not want as of now. I am here to help you. You have moved from what you know as reality to the realm of dreams, and magik. Unfortunately nightmares and horror also reside within these shadows. But for now you must follow the voice with in you if you wish to leave this place."

"What voice? I don't like this place and I am scared. Da!! Where are you?"

"Bane! Listen to me. Gredish is waiting for you but you must take heed of what I say. Listen to the feeling that is tingling through your body. You do feel it do you not?"

"Ye yes. It scares me. I do not like it. I want it to stop! And I want to go home NOW!"

"Bane! Bane! Wake up! It's okay now."

Bane could feel the eerie light disperse from around him to be replaced with a rocking motion.

"Bane wake up and come back to us"

Slowly the darkness subsided to be replace with the gentle shadows of one who is in the half conscious place between sleep and awake. Again the voice came out to reach him.

"Bane!"

This time the voice was really familiar. Struggling with the depths and layers of residual darkness Bane surged toward the voice. With all that he could muster Bane reached out and felt some one or something take hold of his hand. This hand felt warm and soothing, one that he had felt many a time before.

The callused hand held firm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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