Saving Halasue.

Sweet dripped down my forehead and soaked my already filthy hair, as I swung my pick back and forth. It had bin barely a week yet I and all the Sue people, where already tired and hungry from the many long hours working deep in the mines, with little food or water.

I didn't know much about the war with the Osato people. All I really knew was that one night, only a few hours after my father had left with the other warriors, I'd woken up to people screaming and groaning.

When I'd opened my eyes I had seen a bright flickering red and orange light.

I'd pushed off my blanket, put on a robe and walked to the window. The sight that my eyes met made my heart ache and head pound. Fire was everywhere, engulfing buildings, fields and any living thing that couldn't get away fast enough.

Parents where screaming, looking for there children, unaware that if they find them, it may be to late. Children where crying for there mothers and fathers, some with large burns allover there small bodies.

A young woman was crying somewhere nearby, cradling a little child who was screaming in pain. The child's arm was stuck under a fallen bored from a nearby barn. soon it stopped screaming and fell limp in the woman's arms.

Quickly I'd run away from the window and pulled on my leather boots. I flung the door open and ran outside into the chaos.

Men dressed in yellow where holding torches and knives. They where lighting everything ablaze, laughing like this was the funniest thing they'ed ever seen. Some had there spirit animals out and where riding on there backs, killing anyone who tried to get away.

One of them was holding a young woman down. The girl was screaming and clawing at his face. He yelped and covered his bleeding face with his hand. The girl tried to get up while he was distracted but he'd seen her and smacked her hard on the face. She fell down and hit her head on a rock. She went still.

The man got on top of her while laughing in a demented way, sneering at her. Quickly I'd grabbed a large sharp stick that was nearby. I ran towards the man and stabbed the stick into his side.

He'd turned his head to look at me.

His face was twisted from the pain from the stick in his back. Taking this chance I'd kicked him in the jaw and he fell backward with a thud. Just as quickly, I pulled out the stick from his side and drawing it back I swung with all my strength, hitting his head.

He didn't move. Blood started to trickle down from where i'd hit him on the head. I let out a sigh of relief, but that relief was short and immature seen as the town was still in chaos and the girl was still on the ground and hadn't moved or made a sound since I'd arrived.

I pushed him off of her and placed my finger under her nose. No breath. She was dead. I felt hatred boiling up in my chest, she was dead and this man had still bin planing on-? I didn't want to finish the thought.

I wiped the sweet from my forehead and groaned. My pick had hit something hard and the force from the swing hurt my already sore wrists. I looked to see what I'd hit. It was the green ore that these people wanted so bad. What had they called it? Oh yeah. A spirit nefritas.

Such a weird name. But it must be valuable sense they had bothered to fight us, such a small clan. Not like they'd of had any other reason.

Although they where gross evil people so they might have done it just for fun. But that wasn't the case because they stuck around after pillaging the city.

I started to chip away the softer rock around the ore so I could grab it and add it to my almost full bag of gems, like itself.

The only other reason she could think of was the land and cattle. But they'd burned a lot of the crops and animals. Plus they put most of us into the mines. From what I'd seen, with the few glimpses of there camp, the'd only kept a few up there. But they seamed to just cook and keep the crops and few cattle that where left alive so that there was food. I looked at the ore bellow me. It must be useful or valuable. Although my clan never really paid much attention to them.

I set my pick down and started to wrap my small cut and bruised hands around the ore. I gave it a few tugs then fell backward as it finely slipped out.

"You okay?" An older man asked as he bent over to help me up. "I'm alright. I'll be better when I can eat and get some sleep." I said giving a tight grin. He pulled me onto my feet.

"I'm sure all of us could use some sleep." He said sighing. I bent over and picked up the ore I'd dropped. "Whats your name lass?" He asked.

"Speranza. And yours?" I turned to face him still holding the ore. He looked about thirty years older them me. Maybe in his forties?

"Names Demon." He said smiling a little.

I looked at him for a minute. Then moved the ore in my hands a little closer to him so he could see it.

"Do you know why they need us to mine these?" I asked.

He looked at the ore I was holding. The same ore everyone of the fallen Halasue clan had to spend days mining till there arms failed them and they where throne out to be eaten by whatever hides in the forest. He frowned.

"It's shiny I guess. They are always sporting those shiny emeralds and diamonds. Maybe this is the same thing. They want to make jewels out of it. Although I don't know how they'd do it seen as those thing are so tough. But they do have those powerful kethein, maybe those beasts can crush them?"

Kethein where powerful spirit animals, other wise known as beasts. They where less common then just spirit animals witch where called Farene. I hadn't awoken my animal yet and was way past the normal age to do so witch was fourteen, but I was to years past that already! I'd begone to lose hope I'd ever awaken my spirit animal.

Suddenly I heard a man yell "Slacken are ya? I'll teach ya to slack!" and before I could dodge it, a whip slashed my side!