Chapter 2: Niu Iste
"Well, that's what happened. Mr K-1 died a tragic death. He isn't here. So you can leave now."
Tied to a log, a little boy was forced to give information to some shady characters.
It was evening. The river water's soft rush was complimented by the calls of insects, meanwhile the last rays of sunlight shone down on the rice field.
The village was further east, past the bamboo forest that the river flowed out of.
Five people, all clad in black clothes and masks, were holding the boy hostage.
"How did your father take the news? Was he sorrowful? Did he shed a tear or two?" One of the men moved to cut his ropes, meanwhile another man just walked off to stare at the water.
The man who crouched before him was the same one that caught him and brought him there. He cut the boys ropes and patted him on the head.
"Papa wasn't too happy about it, but it was like he already knew what would happen. He wasn't affected by it much." The boy massaged his wrists and neck, giving the man a grateful look and a small smile.
"Well, alright then. If your Pa ever makes another sword, you might just see us again." The men seemed ready to leave, dejectedly for that matter, but then the boy spoke.
"Why? What's so special about Papa's swords?" The men halted, exchanging glances with each other.
They looked at the boy like he was stupid.
"That a joke, boy?" The boy quickly shook his head.
"What's so special about them?" He scratched his head, unable to find the fault in his words.
He could only wonder why they were looking at him like that.
"Let your dad tell you." Another man replied, giving the boy a glare.
The one who had cut his ropes- the leader- made a sharp movement and then there was an explosion of smoke. The boy coughed and shielded his eyes, looking out to see the men gone.
"Stinking foreigners." He spat on the ground.
"Time to go home."
With a slow walk, he strolled past the few patches of bamboo and headed up the small hill. From there he could clearly see the entirety of the rice field and vaguely made out the village beyond it.
The sky was darkening, but he couldn't see a single star yet. Just the moon, lonely and silent.
"Silently sleeping... The world is weeping..." He began singing and whistling.
Night fell before he got home.
The village wasn't small, but it seemed small. The houses were mostly thatched huts. Only a few of them were actual wooden structures. There was a tall and large tree out front, overlooking the rice field and all that lay beyond it.
They built a scaffold on it and nailed planks of wood to climb up with. There was also a metal bell tied to a post on the scaffold, allowing for the entire village to be quickly alarmed.
Without another word, the boy first went to his home, one of the few wooden houses, and saw his mother sitting on a straw mat outside.
"I'm back, Ma." She nodded and smiled, sliding the door open. He was about to leave but she came back out with a steaming cup of tea.
She smiled again when he took it, then she returned inside.
"Mm. Jasmine." He blew on it, took a sip, then walked back to the tree.
By the time he got there, he had finished drinking it. Holding the empty cup with his teeth, he climbed up and then sat on the scaffold.
"I wonder how Papa is doing."
He sighed, then looked out at the field in silence.
Time passed. It was a starless night. The boy had finally made up his mind that no more foreigners would be appearing before finally falling asleep.
He was awoken by a slight disturbance.
It seemed to be nothing at first, but as more time passed he felt it increasing ever so slightly.
He looked out at the horizon, carefully observing. He squinted, making him look older than he was. This was especially due to the fact that his eyes were grey in color, and his hair was white as snow, seemingly brittle.
"What is it?" He still could see nothing, but was considering sounding the alarm.
He hesitated and eventually decided not to.
Continuing to look and listen, he realized that whatever it was had to be getting closer.
He climbed down, hurriedly placing his ear to the ground. He mumbled something, then turned his head and placed the other ear.
"Oh, crap."
He climbed back up, reaching into his robes and pulling out a thin and long strip of metal.
He repeatedly pounded the alarm five times then paused.
In a matter of seconds, there was clammer throughout the village.
Some lit torches and lamps, others scrambled for their weapons. Most of the people came out with lights and swords, even women.
Some of the children were carrying their parent's swords, looking wide awake.
No one dared to ignore the alarm.
Seeing everyone congregating, the boy gulped. His body stiffened when he saw the four people at the back of the large crowd.
They were, precisely, his family. Still, despite the intense nervousness that he felt- given that it was his first time sounding the alarm- he knew that something was coming. From what he could hear, it sounded like an army. He knew that foreigners were nothing but trouble, but his father always told him that small groups of foreigners weren't worth it.
The same could not be said for an army.
There was a moment of silence. It was only then that the boy realized no one even looked at him. There was no doubt in their eyes. Stunned, he could only follow their gazes.
His eyes involuntarily widened.
Armored figures, barely discernible, came from the distance. Under the light of the moon, they crossed the river, came streaming out of the bamboo forest like a flash flood. They covered the horizon before the boy could even understand what was happening.
Their march was steady. The air had become cold.
Making their way through the crowd was his family. His mother silently followed his father, while his brothers came out with somber faces and proud statures.
Looking from them to his father, he saw a difference he had never noticed.
"Was father always this calm? Were my brothers always so full of themselves?"
A sudden change caused him to return to his observing. Larger figures seemed to be moving, and faster too. A closer look wasn't needed for him to know that they were.
"Horsemen!"
Riding fast, banner flying, the horsemen rushed past the foot soldiers. The one in the lead had specially fitted his horse in armor that matched his own, seeming majestic.
"Have no fear. Niu." Surprisingly, the boy's father spoke.
Looking at his hazel eyes, the boy could see unbridled exhaustion. It was the first time he saw the age on his father's face. Brushing aside the few strands of his hair, his father spoke again.
"Niu, go tell The Old Woman that there's no need for her to show up personally." The boy, Niu, nodded and climbed down in a trice. Before he ran off, he picked the cup up and handed it to his mother with a smile. Brushing past his brothers, who never took their eyes off of the approaching horsemen, he ran off toward the opposite end of the village.
When he arrived, Grandma Fufu was already awaiting his arrival. She wore a loose-fitting cloth, like a blanket, and had it tied at the waist. Niu saw her warm smile that only just created more wrinkles, but he smiled back and politely spoke.
"Father said that he would handle it. Granny doesn't need to trouble herself." He bowed, provoking a nod from the old woman.
"Well, Grandma, I'll be returning." Niu turned around and ran off again, leaving Grandma Fufu alone as she sat on the grass. She sighed, "You want to protect him from this, but he and his brothers have a right to know."
"I apologize, Han."
The entire trip took almost fifteen minutes, but when Niu returned he found that the situation had undergone immense changes.
The entire army had already appeared, blocking off the entire north side of the village. A closer look would reveal that they had trampled through the rice field.
This alone incited in Niu the desire to shout, "Stinking foreigners!"
But he did not.
He saw a peculiar sight.
The man that had been leading the horsemen, who seemed to have a high position in the army at least, was casually chatting with his father.
"Well, Han, how have things been for you both?"There seemed to be ridicule in the man's voice as he removed his helmet, but Niu's father didn't seem to realize or care.
"Things have been progressing nicely. We chose to live simply and we do." Han indifferently responded, however he took a step to the side and blocked his wife from the man's line of sight.
When the man removed his helmet, Niu could see that he looked just like the locals. He did not know why he was expecting something else. What was strange to him, though, was the man's thick locks. They were like dreads, but they were short and tied together. The man also noticed him, his hazel eyes shining.
"I see they have all grown up, haven't they. Especially the baby. How wonderful. I'm happy for you." The man gave a smile that scared Niu stiff.
How was that a smile?
Han grabbed his wife's hand, though it was not because he was unnerved. He knew that his wife's mind was in turmoil, thus attempted to calm her.
"They have. The oldest was named Rie." Han gave his eldest a meaningful look.
"We chose the name Rai for him." The second youngest smiled at his father, though his expression wasn't as melancholic as that of the eldest brother.
"The youngest, we chose to name Niu." Han finished speaking, staring the man dead in the eyes.
"I see." He casually remarked, eyeing each boy with mysterious intent.
Niu couldn't shake the fear this man instilled in him. That, coupled with the strange feeling of sadness and helplessness he felt when his father introduced him and his brothers, caused him to fall into a state of panic.
He could only run to his brothers, hoping that they could calm him.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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