The group of four went into the forest along with some of the village guards. Also, she wished to go with them, Gobren decided to stay in the village due to her duties as the village head. However, she gave them supplies and refreshments to help them in their journey.

Please take care of Vivien.

While the four were marching thru the Amarino forest, three shadows were stalking them. Musa, sensing a familiar presence with the three stayed on guard. Morgana and Lance on the other hand were relaxed and much more focused on the journey to rescue Brayno.

Although they were guided by guards in their trip to the forest, Morgana, Lance and Musa were still getting distracted by the noises in the forest. More and more wild beasts were heard by the group as they approach Brayno. It seems that Brayno has gone into the deeper parts of the forest to go after his old group.

Noticing some strands of hair and some broken branches, the guards realized that Brayno left some semblance of trail. Furthermore, Vivien saw some colored leaves in their path. Remembering Brayno’s words when he had just arrived in the village, Vivien realized that those colors signify how close they are to the ‘Fangs’.

“Be careful, we are getting closer to their territory.”, said Vivien.

“How do you that?”, asked Morgana.

“Look at the leaves. Some of them are marked blue and white. It means we are closer to their hideout. Once we see some red and brown leaves, we are officially in their territory. So far, we are still outside their hideout.”, said Vivien

“How do you know that?”, asked Lance.

“Brayno told me how the Fang would mark their territory.”, said Vivien.

“Did he tell you why he left the Fang?”, asked Musa.

“So far, Brayno would stay silent on that topic. The only one who knows why he left the Fang is our village leader, Gobren. No one was successful enough to pry that information from him.”, said Vivien.

Curious. This situation is eerily like Konrad and Azuran. I wonder if Brayno can truly be trusted, thought Lance.

“I was wondering, why did you accept someone from the Fang to your village. And how was he able to become the head of the guards in Caltron?”, asked Musa.

“He stayed with us for about 2 years before he became the head of the guard. He told us that he left the Fang before he joined our village. And so far, no untoward incidents happened during that time.”, said Vivien

“I hope you’re right about this.”, said Musa.

“Gobren trusts him though and believes that Brayno won’t betray us to his former companions.”, said Vivien.

“If the old lady mentions that we can trust him, then I believe we should trust Brayno.”, said Morgana.

“You believe in first impressions way too much, Morgana.”, said Lance.

“But so far, he hasn’t betrayed us yet or showed us any signs of doubt.”, said Morgana.

“He also took care of me when my big sister Luuriya died.”, said Vivien.

After seeing the sad look on Vivien’s face, Morgana simply told her companions,

“I think we shouldn’t talk about this for a while. We need to focus on finding Brayno.”, said Morgana.

“Of course.”, said Lance and Musa.

While the group is currently looking for Brayno, the latter has managed to escape his guards. Dashing thru the forest, he ran towards the dark side of the forest to lose his guards. Once he realized that there was no way for the guards to catch up to him, he went on to look for red and brown leaves in the forest floor. Upon spotting one leaf in that shape in the pathway, Brayno was confronted by Angela and his former boss, Ringorne.

“Traitor. Why are you here?”, asked Ringorne

“I’m here to stop you.”, said Brayno.

“You’re making me laugh. Among the two of us, you are always the weaker one.”, said Ringorne.

“If you try to kill me, I’ll take you with me.”, said Brayno with a steely look in his eyes.

“You wish you could take me down, but you won’t”, said Ringorne.

“Fang already has its healers, what more could you want?”, asked Brayno.

“Everything.”, said Ringorne.

“And go after innocent people?”, asked Brayno.

“Nobody’s innocent”, declared Ringorne.

“I know you believe that bullshit, but there are people out there who would do the right thing and help others selflessly.”, said Brayno.

“As if you have clean hands, Brayno. Back in the day, you were the most fanatical amongst us. You would rush and attack people who you think as threats back in the day.”, said Ringorne.

“I know that I am scum. That is why I’m going to defend this village with the best of my abilities”, said Brayno.

“You still left us, and for that, we will destroy you and your precious village.”, said Ringorne.

“Then, I’m going to stop you.”, said Brayno.

“Angela, take care of our traitor. I’m going to prepare our battleplans.”, said Ringorne.

“Will do, boss.”, said Angela.

“We don’t have to do this. You can still join me, Angela.”, said Brayno.

“Your words are meaningless, traitor.”, said Angela.

“I’m sorry.”, said Brayno.

“It’s too late for that.”, said Angela.

“Hahahahahaha. Finish him, Angela. I’m going to our headquarters.”, said Ringorne.

“I will boss. I will.”, said Angela

Once Ringorne left the area, Angela and Brayno had a staredown. Brayno has a look of sadness and guilt on his face whereas, Angela has nothing but fury towards her opponent. With all her anger, Angela charged towards her opponent. As she was on her attack, Brayno simply closed his eyes, remembering his past.

----------TWO YEARS AGO--------

“Another successful raid, Ringorne.”, said Brayno.

“Well of course. But I must thank you Brayno. You were the one who took out their commander.”, said Ringorne.

“But your leadership and your strategies were the reason as to why we managed to conduct a successful raid.”, said Brayno

“Still, old friend, we won’t succeed without you.”, said Ringorne.

“Huh. Guess our group is just that talented. Hahahahahaha.”, said Brayno.

“In other topics, you need to make a move on her, Brayno. She might find someone else.”, said Ringorne.

“Make a move on who, exactly?”, asked Brayno.

“You know who I’m talking about.”, said Ringorne.

“I don’t know, old friend. I think she likes you.”, said Brayno.

“Hahahahahahaha. I don’t think so. She always talks about you.”, said Ringorne.

“If you say so.”, said Brayno.

“Speaking of the devil, here she is. I’ll leave the two of you alone. I wish you luck, old friend.”, said Ringorne.

“Wait, you’re just leaving me here?”, asked Brayno.

“Go talk to her.”, said Ringorne.

And with that, Ringorne quickly walked towards their camp, leaving Brayno alone with one of their old companions, the cleric turned hunter, Angela.

When Angela saw Brayno, she ran towards him and embraced him.

“How are you today? Are you okay? Did anything bad happen to you?”, asked Angela.

“I’m fine. We were able to get our treasures from our latest attack.”, said Brayno.

“Come, let’s go to one of the tents. I’ll tend to your wounds.”, said Angela.

“Alright.”, said Brayno.

Once inside the tents, Angela chanted,

Light, give me strength and belief. Help with this recovery, close the wounds and heal this person

LIGHT MAGIC: RESTORE

With the application of her magic, Angela had managed to close some of Brayno’s battle scars. Although some scratches remained, Brayno is now healed of his wounds. Relieved of pain from his battle, Brayno embraced Angela.

“Thank you, Angela.”, said Brayno

“Your welcome.”, said a blushing Angela.

“You’re the best. I can move as light as a breeze again.”, said Brayno.

“No problems.”, said Angela.

After he was healed by Angela, Brayno stood up and went outside the camp. He failed to notice Angela’s blush and the pack of food and souvenirs that she left in the tent.

“Sigh. I thought I could give this to him.”, whispered Angela.

Soon, another person went inside the tent. Just like Brayno, the person is one of the five captains of ‘Fang of the Sabres’. The person appears to be sickly and sleepy.

“You didn’t sleep again, did you, Lakish?”, asked Angela.

“You’re still as naggy as ever, big sis.”, said Lakish

“I still need to watch over you. You may be a captain like us, but you’re still just as reckless as before.”, lectured Angela.

“I may be reckless. But I don’t hesitate on my actions. How about you sis? Did you give those to Brayno?”, asked Lakish, pointing at the pack of food and souvenirs.

“That’s none of your business.”, said Angela.

“I’m just messing with you, sis.”, said Lakish.

“Let’s heal your wounds.”, said Angela.

Pouring magical energy into her hands, she used the same spell on her brother.

“Ooohhhh. That felt well. Thanks, big sis.”, said Lakish.

“Of course, remember why I became a cleric in the first place, little brother.”, said Angela.

“I know, big sis. I know.”, said Lakish.

Lakish then left the tent and went on to continue with his training. Just as Angela was about to leave, Brayno returned to the tent. As soon as she saw the swordsman, Angela’s face turned red.

“You came back?”, asked Angela.

“Lakish told me that you’re going to give me something.”, said Brayno.

Now’s your chance Angela, she thought to herself.

Nervously, she handed over the pack containing the food and the souvenirs to Brayno. Heavily blushing, she told Brayno,

“Have this. This is a thanks for rescuing me and my brother all those years ago.”, said Angela.

“You’re welcome, Angela.”, said Brayno.

Brayno then left the tent and as Angela was out of sight, he took a deep breath, and started punching the air around him.

Yes Yes Yes Yes. She gave me a present, thought Brayno.

“Told you, old friend. She has a thing for you.”, said Ringorn.

“I hope this situation remains as is for some time.”, said Brayno.

“You and me both. You and me both.”, said Ringorn.

Throughout the day, the Fang trained their skills and honed their swordsmanship skills. Ringorn’s attacks look as sharp as it always was. With each strike destroying the training dummies cleanly and precisely.

Looking at his old friend, Brayno wonders if the gap between his and Ringorn’s abilities have grown larger. Not wishing to be left behind by his old friend, Brayno challenged Ringorn to a spar.

“A spar, old friend? We haven’t sparred in years.”, said Ringorn.

“I need to know if I’m still as good as ever.”, said Brayno.

“You took out the commander during the last battle.”, said Ringorn.

“I know, but you were the one who went after the noble and his elite guards.”, said Brayno.

“Alright. Let’s have a good fight.”, said Ringorn.

The two took out wooden swords and placed limiters on their wrists, with the two of them agreeing not to use spells or magic in this battle. The two stepped in a circle in the training area of their camp.

“The first one to get down or leave the circle loses.”, said Ringorn.

“Agreed.”, said Brayno.

The two friends shook each other’s hands. They went to the opposite ends and drew their swords to one another.

To oversee this duel, Ringorn and Brayno asked for the help of one of their companions, a large man named Ulmar. Ulmar has the unfortunate duty of enforcing the rules and ensuring that the spar between the two highest ranking members of Fang does not descend into chaos.

“I want a clean and orderly spar. Go.”, shouted Ulgar.

Ringorn lifted his sword and started to swing at Brayno, who managed to block the attack with ease. With a quick motion, Brayno spun around and attempted to attack Ringorn, who managed to dodge the counterattack.

“You’re still as sharp as ever, old friend.”, said Brayno.

“Can say the same thing about you. You are quick.”, said Ringorn.

With renewed intensity, their swords clashed against each other. With their strength, the blows kept getting harder and harder with each of them unwilling to break ground. Each strike got stronger and stronger, forcing the other to dodge the attack instead of block it.

With a spinning motion, Brayno once again attempted to strike against Ringorn. This time however, Ringorn saw the attack, and attempted to push Brayno out of the circle with a strike of his own. However, Brayno managed to save himself by raising his left foot, ensuring that he stays inside the circle.

With a small leap, Brayno went back to the circle. Ringorn smiled, happy that the match will continue.

“Let’s give it our all, Brayno.”, said Ringorn.

“Hahahahahaha. Yeah. Let’s go all out.”, said Brayno.

With the two of them deciding to go all out, the strikes and attacks grew stronger and stronger with each succeeding attack. Reverberating throughout the camp, the noise and the intensity of the fight managed to capture an audience. With their companions watching them, the two leaders of the Fang raised their wooden swords, ready to win.

Ringorn and Brayno charged towards each other, with their swords in tow, and then a loud sound was heard.

THUMP

The winner is as clear as day, and the person who lost was knocked down by the force of his opponent’s attack. Seeing the end of their fight, the members of Fang clapped and cheered, after witnessing a great sparring contest between their leaders.

After a while, the crowd stood silent, wanting to hear the official announcement on who won the spar. Ulgar went into the center of the circle and declared,

“The winner is, Ringorn.”

With a loud roar, the crowd cheered and shouted from the top of their lungs,

“Fang! Fang! Fang!”

Sigh. I knew it our gap has gotten bigger over the years, thought Brayno.

Ringorn offered his hand to Brayno to help him stand up. He told his friend,

“That was a good spar. Perhaps we should do more of this.”

“I’m good for now, old friend. You have gotten better and better throughout the years.”, said Brayno

“Don’t shorten yourself. You gave me one hell of a fight.”, said Ringorn.

“If you say so. I’m glad that we have sparred today.”, said Brayno.

Rushing towards Brayno was Angela. After seeing his scratches and injuries, she pouted and yelled at him,

“I just healed you fool. What would happen if Ringorn took things seriously!”

“But it was just a sparring competition, Angela. I would never try to kill him. You know that.”, said Ringorn.

“I know that Ringorn. But he just came from a fight covered in bruises.”, said a worried Angela.

“Hahahahahaha. Sorry then Angela.”, said Ringorn

Ringorn then left the two behind, and Brayno simply bowed his head to Angela.

“Sorry Angela. I was the one who insisted on sparring with him.”, said Brayno.

Suddenly, Angela went towards Brayno and started to hit him gently. She then whispered to him,

“Don’t make me worry again, Brayno. I know you want to be as strong as Ringorn, but for me, you’re already strong enough”

Hearing those words, Brayno uttered six words to Angela.

“I have always loved you, Angela.”

“And I love you, Brayno”, replied Angela.

Suddenly, a clap was heard.

“About time you two admit your feelings.”, said Ringorn.

However, the silence was interrupted when a runner came to them, and said,

“A group of hunters has come to get us. I’m not sure if we can beat them.”

With that news, Ringorn simply told them,

“Issue the order to retreat.”