1 1. The Escape

Darkville, 15 August 2030.

It was a dark and cold night. A raging storm erupted in the starless June sky. The unusual atmosphere brought with it an eerie aura which plunged the whole surrounding of the thicket below in utter silence.

Occasional hoots of owls and sounds of other nocturnal creatures resounded in the thicket. The trees were so high and the branches wide and thick. The leaves were very large and looked like giant palms.

On this night a dark robed figure sped through the thicket. He had on a black hood and a mask which hid away his face. He had in his hands a black bag.

As he sped through the dark, the thicket quieted down with the only sounds coming from the rustling leaves of the large trees in the thicket and the wind blowing violently through. The sound of breaking twigs and fallen branches echoed as well.

As the figure ran, he made hand signals which made him speed up. All of a sudden, five other men emerged from behind him. They were also clothed in black and chased after the dark robed figure who was a bit farther away from them.

"Hurry, don't let him escape. Take him down", the leader of the men roared desperately and charged ahead.

However the dark robed figure was just too fast for them.

He looked back as he ran and said mockingly, " Do you think rookies like you can do anything to me. Don't worry, this is just the beginning. My wrath will surely descend on you all. Tell your master to await my return"

With that the figure waved his hand once more and all of a sudden a strong gust of wind erupted. It carried along the fallen branches and leaves on the floor as well as dust and blew toward the pursuers.

The wind slowed down the five pursuers and also made it difficult to view the dark robed figure. Just then, five branches with sharp tips reminiscent of spears flew into the sky and rushed towards the group of five. Within a moment, four of them were impaled in their chests while the leader was shot in the foot.

The four let out pitiful cries and fell. The branches impaling them suddenly burst out in flames and burnt the men to crisps. Nothing was left of them. The leader managed to get out the branch which pierced his leg.

He cried out viciously, "You will not get away with this. No one can escape my lord 'The Supreme'. "

The leader weaved hand signals and a dark light erupted around him and then he vanished.

The dark robed figure let out a sigh of relief as he continued running.

He slowed down after some time and stopped running. The thicket had become silent by then. The raging storm was past and the forest seemed to come to life again.

It was dawn. The dark robed figure stood silently gazing into the distance. He turned and then ran in a different direction. As he ran he faded and disappeared as well.

...

In a dark medieval castle faraway, a man stood facing a window and looking out into the open.

The place had a gloomy aura with an omnious red haze covering the atmosphere. It was night and very quiet.

The man was in a dark robe and had long hair which was held in a pony tail.

As he lazily gazed into the horizon, another man appeared from black fog and ran towards him. He knelt on one knee and bowed to the ponytailed man. He was the leader of the group that chased the black robed figure. With a sigh he addressed him shakily, "Supreme One, he escaped. My men could not catch him".

" Since he has escaped you are of no use to me just like the men who died. I shall relieve you now", the man who was addressed as the Supreme One said with a magnetic voice.

"Noooooo!!!", the leader who was bowing flinched and shouted.

Before he could do anything, the Supreme One raised a hand and with a slight weaving of hand signals a burst of fire consumed him whole without leaving a trace.

"Useless", the Supreme said in a magnetic tone.

Another man came before the Supreme and bowed.

"Take some men with you and accomplish his task. I don't want any failures", the Supreme said authoritatively in a monotonous tone.

"Yes, my Lord the Supreme", the man responded respectfully and left.

After his departure, the Supreme stood there and sighed. With a blank look he muttered, " Oh dear brother, do you think you can run away from me? You are no longer who you used to be. When I'm done with you everything will be under my utmost control".

He pointed a finger at the dark wall in front of him. A red beam shone from his finger and hit the wall. It lighted up the wall turning a portion of it into a mirror-like screen.

The screen was blurry and the images were difficult to view. The Supreme One raised his hand again and weaved another set of hand signals which were accompanied by the red beam after which he pointed it to the screen.

A slight undulation of the blurry red screen occurred and then it popped. Sighing, the Supreme One muttered in realization. "He actually used the undetectable spell. No matter where you hide I'll surely find you", he said with a faint glint in his eyes.