Skerd now waited at the top of the Uhluktahn. He was right to do so, it would seem. Shortly after the rampage, another large group had arrived in the village. It stayed for longer than Skerd would have liked, clearly raiding what was left for themselves (scavenging dogs) and when they did leave, although most left into the high country, a small number still continued down the path and into his territory. Unbelievable! It was not an elegant plan by any means, but it was meant to be far more effective than it was proving to be.
He came down his mountain and watched them progress around the black water. He stalked and tracked them effortlessly, the noise clearly too much for them, and they had to cover their ears just to pass by it.
He was near them and was about to pounce when he caught sight of the beast or burden beginning to succumb to the power of the Uhluktahn. He watched in glee as it caused havoc among the people. Then the animal and the young girl fell into the water, an action that meant certain death.
Skerd was ready to strike in the confusion, but he saw the young one willingly jump in, likely to try to save the girl (or perhaps the beast? Skerd believed it to have more value in the long run.).
It had never seen an act of such amazing stupidity.
Or bravery.
Bravery or not he still planned on his attack, hovering over them now as most tried to help the fools in the water. He tensed his body, preparing for the kill, eyes red with rage and the need to destroy these interlopers, when it happened.
From where he sat perched, he couldn’t see the things that had gone on, but he certainly felt them.
It was power! Amazing, pure, and unfathomable in its depth. He felt it in the earth below him, coursing like electricity below his feet. It instantly brought his logical mind to the forefront, pushing back the rage like a plaything. His refreshed and clear eyes saw with astonishment the people below pull up the girl who had fallen in, followed by the fool who had jumped in after her. The feeling stopped, but the memory remained. He still felt the tingle from its presence.
Skerd stopped his attack before it even started and ran back up to the higher ground, trying to understand what he was feeling. Was it that? Could it possibly be?
His heart and now-logical mind said it was, and the realization created something new and unnerving.
It was fear.
Something down there was powerful enough to make the ground all around him pulse with a life he’d forgotten existed.
These ones needed much more special attention. They would still pay for their intrusion, but an unplanned attack against something like that was foolhardy. He did not get to be so long lived by doing rash things.
Humans. Always more trouble than they were worth.
Chapter 18
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Just Walk Away
To say that Boroha Sharp was upset at the way things had turned out was a gross understatement. He had watched with great interest as the targets had stopped and began singing, each one taking a turn while the others spoke quietly, clearly a ploy to hide their plan. Simple, brilliant, everything he’d expect from the people he was tasked with apprehending. People he never in a million years would have agreed to hunt, no matter what threats the leader of this facade might lay down.
Boroha Sharp was an aged and wizened Embracer of the Power, one who had escaped the wrath of Ryu by being in a communal Haven. At the time he was a man of peace, not driven by the personal gain he was currently entrenched in. A drive to find that balance in the world had led him to the doorstep of the man named Izuku and the weapons he commanded.
Izuku was much older than any other person of Power and he had command of an army Sharp had not seen since the Fourth Fall of Man, an event that completed the feelings of bitterness Sharp now felt towards people and the things they do. He’d seen the Third and Fourth Falls. Both times it was unstoppable, and both times his faith had left him. He had believed in the Power, and when that backfired, he believed in the intelligence of the common man. Surely the Second Fall wouldn’t be allowed to happen again!
Then it did…
When he had met Izuku and his army, he saw a man with both extremes in his grasp. A very aged and powerful Embracer that commanded an advanced mechanical army.
He was not a fool by this point in his life. He never thought for a moment that Izuku’s dream was a sound one, or that his dreams were in line with his own. All he saw was a man with the ability to inflict some serious damage on whatever he surveyed. That was all Sharp wanted. A return to balance. Anarchy with a purpose seemed a foolish but acceptable way to describe it. Many Embracers in his position felt the same.
The time had come to admit the execution of the plan was growing too long-winded, and his ‘faith’ in Izuku was waning. By the time Izuku asked him to carry out this mission, he’d had his army for five years. What was he waiting for? Only fear of Izuku’s weapon kept him from asking. But now he had these ones to fear as well. It was time to turn his fears against one another.
That young man with wings was the worst of all. A powerless mortal youth that possessed the Shi Kaze. He had never seen
