Young Medikus

"Alright everyone back, Great Eight Sheriff Gordias is coming through!", screamed the local sheriff.

Medikus was among the children there that day. The children were very poor, dressed in no more than rags. His father, a wrangler, was going to fight Gordias for the freedom of their town. Gordias held the odd power to turn any hair on his body into solid silver and grow and retract it at will. While seeming silly, his ability was quite deadly, and was the last thing countless wranglers ever saw before getting sent to the Void. Gordias was a short, old, chubby man. He was very pale and had a silver beard that seemed to eat the bottom half of his face. Medikus's father, Midaco, stood in the middle of the road, no fear in his heart at all. He was a tall, dark, muscular man, with glowing electric green eyes.

In his prime, he was a legendary warrior, and his name struck fear and awe in the hearts of all Desert Continent dwellers. Tension filled the sand riddled air, as the two warriors prepared for battle. Midaco sported his signature black leather jacket that had flames embroiled on the bottom of it and a pair of weathered, torn jeans. Gordias wore a black dress shirt, a silver leather vest, and black slacks, along with his signature silver hat.

Square in the middle of town, stores lined the empty street of sand, and there stood one of the most fearsome wranglers in all the sands, and one of the most dangerous sheriffs alive.

"Well, if it isn't Maniac Midaco, the man who murdered the entire wave of the previous Great Eight. Pleased to meet your acquaintance!"

"Gordias of the Western Sands, The Great Eight representative of these Western Sands we call home."

The wind around them eerily slowed to a halt, and all the sand seemed to settle to the desert floor instantaneously.

"So how do you wanna do this, Midaco?"

Midaco pulled his pistol out and gave it a spin.

"How else, shootouts are just my style!"

"This distance fine with you?"

"Why wouldn't it be?!"

Young Medikus desperately fought his way to the front of the crowd, trying to support his father at all costs. But he arrived too late, or perhaps, too soon. Just as he got there, he saw it all unfold. And his life would never be the same after that. His father beat Gordias to the trigger but winced and his first shot only nipped the face of the sheriff. Gordias however used his ability to pierce holes in Midaco's body, like a porcupine, but in a much more gruesome and deadly way. You could instantly smell the metallic stench of blood in the air. The life slowly oozed from his eyes, and he squirmed around in the grower pool of his own blood.

"Dad no!!!"

"Med... i... kus, get out ... of here!"

"No, let me save you!'

"Now, now little boy, you should really listen to your father. You couldn't fight me on your best day kid!!!"

Medikus stood there, dazed for the moment.

"I, I-I said, I said go Medik..."

"Shut your mouth, you damn scum!"

Midaco's head rolled slowly towards Medikus.

"Aaaaahhhhhh!!!"

The crowd of people began to scream out, mourning the death of their greatest hero. Medikus ran like he had never run before, trying to erase the image he'd just seen from his head. He ran and ran, dodging through stores, houses and other children, right to his home. As he got into his house, he smacked right into his mother, gasping for breath.

"What's the matter, Sweetie?"

"D-d-d-d-d-dad, he... lost!"

"Wait, that means... oh no!"

Mio, Medikus's mother, held him, crying.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

"W-w-who is it?"

"Open this door lady!"

Mio motioned for Medikus to hide and walked to the door. Medikus hid around a corner of the house, giving himself an angle where he could peek and see who came in without being immediately noticed.

"Hurry up woman!"

"I-I'm coming now!"

Just as she opened the door Medikus recognized the voice, and before he knew it, a flash of silver hairs rushed into the door. Medikus stood there for a second, dazed.

"Everybody you love dies today Midaco, hahaha!!!"

Mio's body slumped to the floor, landing with a soft but terrifying thud. Gordias stepped into the house, wildly, holding the head of the slain Midaco. Medikus took off towards a window that was near him, trying desperately to stay alive. Tears flowing, Medikus ran as far and as fast as he could to get away.

Before he knew it, he had not only lost Gordias, but he also lost track of where he ran to in the first place. Being as tired as he was, the little boy walked over to a nearby shop, and as the night came in, he sat up against the wall and cried. He cried for hours, traumatized by the day's events. For young Medikus, this marked the beginning of his purpose in life he'd give himself. Save the Desert Continent from the sheriffs, at all costs.

--

"Hehe, looks like I've got a couple of new trophies"

Gordias looked down at the two heads of the people he murdered. Turning human heads of their victims into wall mounts was popular among Sheriffs, and Gordias's whole office was lined with heads. In fact, there were only two of the Great Eight Sheriffs that didn't flaunt their cruelty in such a manner.

Gordias took pride in his ruthlessness, and the Western Sands felt every bit of his wrath. The Western Sands was by far the most dangerous and downright scary place to grow up in all the Desert Continent, and Gordias made sure to keep it that way.

"That felt entirely too easy, just what happened to the great Midaco? I wonder what happened to the kid too! I couldn't find the little bastard for anything!"

Gordias sat there soaking in his crude thoughts, wondering where his victim had escaped to.

--

"Hey kid! Wake up! Hey!!!"

Medikus woke up to see a man in an apron standing over him. He was a tall, brown, lean man with a face full of scars. His face was riddled with several scars, giving him a manly look. His eyes were a dull blue. The man smelled like freshly baked bread, a smell that was a luxury in the Western Sands. Medikus sat up, wiping his eyes.

"Who are you mister?"

"Auxilium, but just call me Aux. Here kid get up, I own the bakery that you fell asleep by, let me take you in and get you cleaned up, okay?"

"Thank you, Mr. Aux."

"Sure, kid!"

Auxilium took Medikus into his bakery, which was also his home, and let him take a well needed bath. Medikus was filthy, not just from the previous day, but from years of being a resident of the Western Sand's poorest neighborhood to live in. Water, even dirty water was a rarity to him, and he was astonished to see clear, fresh water coming out of a faucet.

Inside of Auxilium's bakery was a large room with tables and chairs for people to dine in, and a counter that he'd serve people over. Behind that counter was a door that led to the rest of his home, a bedroom with two doors on each side, one that led to the bathroom while the other led to the kitchen. Inside of the bedroom was a single cot, and other than his clothes which were thrown miscellaneous on the floor, there was nothing else in his room.

"Hey kid, I went out and got you some new clothes. No point in wearing those rags anymore."

"Mr. Aux, I..., thank you so much!"

"Of course, we must stick together, you know. Here I'll make you something to eat."

"Thank you."

Auxilium came back with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a few slices of the delicious smelling bread he'd just made

"So, tell me kid, what happened? I can see in your eyes that something terrible brought you here."

"Well, my dad was... he was killed yesterday. And... so my mom too. Sheriff Gordias killed them himself."

"Wow kid, sorry to hear that. The Pillar Gods frown upon that man."

"The Pillar Gods?"

"Don't tell me you never heard of the 5 Great Pillar Gods?"

Medikus shook his head.

"Alright kid, story time! Long ago the Desert Continent was invaded by evil outsiders..."

Medikus ate and listened to the story wide eyed at the wondrous adventure of the Five Great Pillar Gods.

"They were wranglers, and the fiercest of them all. Their names were Crepitus, Insomnia, Kadies, Sytrim, and Krysus. They fought the invaders tooth and nail, hoping to end the needless slaughter of our people. But even then, they were outnumbered and outgunned, and on the verge of losing it all."

"How did they win?"

"Glad you asked, kid. A being we know as The Great One came upon them and gifted each of them the ability to control one of the Desert elements. Crepitus controlled lightning. Insomnia controlled wind, and her brother Kadies controlled rain. Sytrim controlled the sands themself, and Krysus controlled fire. It's said that they eliminated the invaders in no time at all and became known as the Five Great Pillar Gods. To this day, they choose people to fill their role and protect the Desert continent. They are known as triggers, the drinkers of elixirs."

"Elixirs?"

Medikus's stomach growled, and Auxilium looked over to see his bowl was empty.

"Hahaha, let me get you some more food kid, then I'll finish the story."

After fixing Medikus more food, Auxilium explained to him what elixirs were. Elixirs come from one of the statues of the Five Great Pillar Gods. The statues are of each of the Pillars God holding hands, and in the center of them sits a cup on a platform. The ceiling drips down water, and once the cup fills, it transforms into an elixir. Any time an elixir is filled, people from all over come to fight for it, and the winner takes the elixir for themself. The elixir then grants the winner control over one of the five desert elements, and the statues can be found at temples all over the Desert Continent.

"Wow! So, are there any triggers alive?"

"Well yes, but they aren't easy to find. The sheriffs either kill them before they truly realize their power or scare them into submission. All the living triggers are extremely hard to find, especially if they're still active."

Medikus's stomach growled again.

"Hungry still? You've got quite an appetite kid, haha!"

--

Medikus stayed with Auxilium for a week, helping him in his bakery and listening to his stories. After that week though, Auxilium saw something in town that even he couldn't believe.

"Hey this is me!"

"Yeah, I know, kid. And it isn't a good thing. Gordias as you know firsthand is a malicious dictator. He's guaranteed to be hunting you down as we speak."

"I know what a wanted poster is, Mr. Aux. My dad used to be on them all the time!"

"Well, you don't seem to be scared at all."

"Haha, because that means I don't have to look for him because he'll come to me!"

"What?! You don't plan on fighting him, do you? That's suicide kid!"

"This kid sounds a whole lot like someone I know, looks like him too now that I think about it."

"I won't fight him now, but ever since I can remember, I always wanted to help people. My dad trained with me for hours every day that he could and told me one day I could be as strong as him. So, I've decided to become a wrangler, just like my old man, and just like the Pillar Gods!"

"Are you sure kid? Becoming a wrangler is no joke little man!"

"My dad died trying to free us all from Gordias's rule. I know the risk, but the reward is even better! I really appreciate you helping me, but I'm leaving in the morning. Since the sheriffs are looking for me, they'll probably kill you too if I stay. Plus, staying in one spot would eventually get me killed too."

"You really thought this thing out kid, didn't you? Well tell you what, I'll go get you some extra clothes and supplies you might need. And I've got one more gift for you too!"

"Really?!"

"Yep, just give me one second to get it!"

Auxilium went into his bedroom, and after some bumping around, he returned to the dining room of his bakery with a katana in one hand, that had a black handle, and the sheath had a flame design on it, with a shoulder strap attached to it. In the other was a black leather jacket with a flame design on the bottom, just like Midaco's. Medikus saw the resemblance immediately, and his jaw dropped.

"Your father's name, would it happen to be Midaco, by chance?"

"Yes. Wait, did you know him?"

"I thought something was familiar about you. You've got his green eyes, a lot of people from here do, but your eyes kind of glow, just like his did. He was a friend of mine. I was once his partner in crime, we were both wranglers."

"Really?!"

"That idiot never told you about me?! We split up not long after you were born, after an argument. I told him to give up on being a wrangler, and to live in peace with you, his son. He wouldn't, that he said he had to keep fighting, so you could grow up better than he did. That's when I bought this bakery and gave up the life of a wrangler, in hopes that he'd follow suit. He died for you, and my biggest regret right now is that I wasn't by his side to help him. He... he was like a brother to me, and I let him die! The least I can do is pass these down to you. Your father's will lives on in you, and these are an extension of the fire he fought with. I want you to make me a promise before I give you these."

"Anything!"

"Please, avenge your father at all costs, but also, please keep yourself safe. Got it?!"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Well since you're still here, man the shop while I go get the rest of your things prepared kid!"

"Yes sir! Thank you so much!"

--

Medikus woke up early that morning and gathered his things. With his sword on his back, and his new jacket swallowing his small body, he grabbed his bag of supplies and headed for the door.

"You're just like your old man you know. Leaving without saying goodbye."

"Mr. Aux, you're up?!"

"Of course, I am! There was no way I was gonna let you take off without saying goodbye, plus I've got one more gift outside for you."

They walked outside, and standing there was a snow-white horse, saddled and ready to go.

"Her name is Pearl, take care of her Medikus, and I promise she'll take care of you."

"Pearl..."

"Be careful out there Medikus, the life of a wanted man is extremely hard. From this point on, you and Pearl here are going to be all alone! I'll be your teacher and supervisor until you can hold your own, so I'd better be seeing you at least twice a month, anything less and I'll track you down myself!!! I'll give you some pointers on how to use that sword whenever you do visit!"

"Thank you for everything Mr. Aux, I can't wait to start learning! You know, even if you and my dad were fighting, I bet he still loves you, even beyond the grave. Please, make sure you take care of yourself too Mr. Aux!"

"Take care kid!"

And with that Medikus and Pearl took off, going on an adventure bound to be riddled with hardships and horror, but even still without any fear in his heart at all.

"Midaco, you raised a hell of a kid, huh?"

Auxilium returned to his bakery, with both sadness and hope in his heart, and began to shed tears for his fallen friend.