Ancient Family Heirloom

25th of Kraal, year 991

"I am thinking of leaving my quarterstaff to Hubr," Kraszad said during coffee time. It had been five days since Jogr started his training in martial arts under Kraszad's tutelage.

Seeing that Magra did not react for some time and seemingly contemplating something, Kraszad grew quiet and had an inquiring look in his eyes.

"You can't," Magra said after about half a minute later.

Kraszad did not reply immediately but waited for Magra to explain further.

Magra regarded Kraszad with mixed emotions. She loved her brother dearly and always thought of him as though he was her own blood. Yet, at the same time, there was a gnawing fear that had consumed her during those early years since Kraszad became part of the family.

She had since gotten over that fear knowing that Kraszad would go all out to protect her, but the barrier that her fear had erected between her and Kraszad seemed already impossible to take down.

It all went back to something that the man in armor, who introduced himself as Kraszad's servant, told her thirteen years ago when he left three-year old Kraszad to their care. At the time Kraszad's eyes told the story of a harrowing family tragedy but without tears nor signs of fear.

Seeing his lonely but indomitable demeanor, Magra then wanted so much to hug him and assure him that there was still so much to live for.

According to that armored servant, Kraszad was the last of an ancient bloodline of beastmasters. When Magra heard that beastmasters had the power to control animals, a cold feeling swept through her heart. Add to this those times when Kraszad did some things that would stop anyone's heart such as picking up a poisonous snake and playing with it without the slightest resistance from the usually ferocious snake.

At the back of Magra's mind, who was then already eleven, Kraszad was too dangerous to be around with. 'What's to stop him from sending a snake or some ferocious animal to bite you at night?' she thought one too many times.

It was this fear that drove Magra to reject Kraszad, not the troubles he caused her nor the fact that she ceased being the center of her parents' universe. She was, in fact, rather glad about the latter as it had freed her from the overprotective clutches of her parents.

Her fear of Kraszad's affinity with beasts gradually diminished through the years. But what really sealed the deal for her was that moment seven years ago when Kraszad saved her from being dragged into some abandoned building by a jilted lover who could not accept that she chose a poor orphan over him, the first-born son of a wealthy noble.

That day, Magra decided to buy a few necessities at the Calandra marketplace when Tump, the jilted lover, approached her. She was carrying Hubr who was only eight months old at the time. Tump invited Magra for a little chat somewhere more private. Magra, of course, refused as any self-respecting virtuous woman should. There was obviously nothing innocent about Tump's invitation.

At first Tump tried gentle persuasions. But when Magra had repeatedly rebuffed him, he resorted to violence and grabbed Magra who couldn't give much of a resistance given her tiny frame. She was also holding a baby in her arms.

As for Tump, he no longer bothered to hide his lascivious designs on Magra. He even shouted it for everyone to hear. Given his family's status, nobody dared to go against him.

That's when Kraszad swung into action.

At first, Kraszad was merely trying to take away Tump's grasp on Magra by pulling out Tump's fingers from Magra's wrist. Annoyed, Tump slapped Kraszad who was sent rolling by the blow. Kraszad got up to try once more, but Tump kicked him, sending Kraszad to the ground. Tump stomped his foot on Kraszad while screaming profanities at the little boy.

Magra could only scream in anger at the sight of her younger brother getting trampled. With one hand being grabbed by Tump and another hand holding on to Hubr, Magra cursed at Tump while calling pitifully for help.

Thinking that Kraszad was done for, Tump pulled Magra down the road. However, he hadn't walked ten steps yet when a small figure dashed behind his back and jumped at him. At the same time, Magra saw a handsome and muscular man from the side of the road walking towards them, seemingly intent to help them. However, the man stopped after seeing Kraszad mount Tump's back and rain blows on the latter's face.

Tump grabbed Kraszad and slammed him to the ground. Amazingly, Kraszad got up in an instant and charged Tump once more. Kraszad sent a punch to Tump's chest, pure anger giving twice the usual power to the punch. The punch was followed by a swinging overhand left that landed squarely on Tump's jaw. That forced Tump to let go of Magra. At that time, all Tump wanted to do was beat up Kraszad.

The seventeen-year old Tump grabbed the nine-year old Kraszad and pushed him to the ground. Lying on top of the smaller boy, Tump rained blows on his younger opponent, but Kraszad was able to cover himself well and blocked most of the blows.

With anger replacing her initial fear, Magra put down Hubr and slapped Tump several times. Tump managed to push her away, but she went back at him even more fiercely. With her hand forming a claw, Magra swung hard at Tump's face causing a deep scratch that made the bastard hold his bleeding cheek as he screamed in agony.

Seeing the blood on his palm, Tump got off Kraszad and grabbed Magra's hair. He slapped her hard twice and was about to send another pair of slap when Kraszad rode his back and grabbed his hair. Tump tried to pull Kraszad off him but the young boy tenaciously held on to Tump's hair. Then, when he found a chance, Kraszad boxed the back of Tump's head.

Tump tried to shake himself free from Kraszad's grasp by kneeling and pulling his head down on the ground as he tried to push Kraszad off his back. Before Tump could successfully push him off, Kraszad was able to land a few punches to Tump's right ear and temple.

When both of them got back on their feet, Tump's feet were still wobbly. A fully enraged Kraszad charged the older and much bigger boy once more and unleashed a wide arching overhand right that struck Tump on his nose. A sound similar to that of a dried twig breaking under one's foot was heard. Kraszad's punch drew blood. Tump's face became a bloody mess instantly.

The two then traded blows. However, Tump's punches no longer seemed to have their usual power. He was also breathing hard through his mouth.

After an exchange of ten blows, Tump's fighting spirit seemed to wane while Kraszad's only seemed to grow stronger.

Kraszad chained one punch after another, which forced Tump to cower and call out for his servants to help him. However, his servants could not dare to make a move as they were blocked by the handsome muscular man with the bearings of a martial artist.

At last, Tump was brought down by Kraszad's punches. The arrogant youngster threw away all sense of pride and cried out in surrender while covering himself with his arms. However, Kraszad's anger had turned him into a monster who was hell-bent on destroying his enemy. Punch after punch landed on Tump.

It was then that everybody including Magra realized that if nobody stopped Kraszad, he just might kill Tump. The man with the bearing of a martial artist stepped in and carried off Kraszad. He instructed Tump's servants to carry their young master away. Even with a very strong man holding him, Kraszad struggled mightily to break free and deal more damage upon the obnoxious youngster who wanted to have his way with his sister.

With tears of rage flowing down his cheeks, Kraszad repeatedly shouted, "I'm going to kill you, you filthy scum!"

Kraszad cried for a long time, his hands balled into a fist and mouth set in a grim fashion.

Carrying Hubr in her arms, Magra approached her brother to try to console him but realized she was out of practice. When she looked around, many in the crowd still wore a stunned look on their faces.

Kraszad lost his four upper front teeth. He also had huge lumps all over his forehead, several bruises on his cheeks and a blackened area around his left eye. Still, that day until several days later, Magra thought that her brother was the most handsome toothless nine year old boy in the entire world.

The handsome muscular man asked Magra where they lived. The next day, much to her surprise, the man visited their house. When the man introduced himself, Magra got the shock of her life. She didn't realize that the man was actually the famous Master Tszarek, headmaster of the Ragha Martial Arts Academy, the fighting school which every Ragha youngster dreamed of entering.

As it turned out, Master Tszarek wanted to bring Kraszad over to the academy at the beginning of the next year.

Master Tszarek explained to Kraszad that it would be very tough for him as he was coming in two years late and that he would have to make up for it even as he still had to join the regular training regimen given to those already there.

Declaring that he wanted to learn martial arts in order to protect his family, Kraszad made up his mind to endure every hardship along the martial path.

And just like that, Kraszad was taken away from Kasgar by Master Tszarek as soon as the last day of that year, 984, was over.

As for what happened to Tump, his father complained the very next day after the incident to the Council of Calandra claiming that his son was ganged up on by several individuals while specifically identifying Kraszad and Magra as the main perpetrators.

However, an elegantly dressed man of almost sixty years of age, who happened to be the business rival of Tump's father, was also a member of the council. Worse, he was able to rush in time that day to witness the sight of a nine year old boy slugging it out before eventually prevailing against the seventeen year old son of his enemy.

Moreover, the mayor had conducted a thorough investigation of the matter especially as the presence of Master Tszarek had been confirmed by many of the onlookers. He didn't really have to as one of the members of the council as well as the wives of two other members of the council had witnessed the entire episode from the very beginning when Tump was coaxing Magra to come with him. It was no secret in Calandra that their town mayor always liked to be thorough for the sake of being thorough and nothing else.

In the end Tump's father was rebuffed. He was even told that any self-respecting father would have already beaten to death such a useless piece of trash of a son. Furthermore, the mayor ordered that after Tump had recovered, he will be publicly caned at the town square for the crime of attempted sexual assault.

The public caning never happened although Tump's family could have done better by accepting such a little humiliation. As it is, the family secretly moved Tump to another town to avoid punishment.

Angered by what they called as the family's "disregard of the prestige and power" they wield, the Council of Calandra ordered the arrest and public caning of Tump's father who arrogantly presumed that the council would not dare do anything to him. Furthermore, Tump's father was ordered to produce his son within ten days lest he would once again be subjected to another humiliating round of caning for aiding and abetting a known violator of Calandra's laws.

The second round of caning didn't happen as well. Five days after his caning, Tump's father fled Calandra. This time he brought the entire household with him. He tried to sell the properties he had left behind but the agents he sent to Calandra were harassed and threatened endlessly by the local merchants who wanted to make a profit at their expense.

Surprisingly, the very thorough town mayor didn't deign to crack his proverbial whip against such unbridled opportunism when he had always actively put his big foot down against any and all manipulative acts to gain unfair advantages.

A few years later, the five richest families agreed among themselves to send an emissary to negotiate with Tump's father for the purchase of their Calandra properties. The emissary was given specific instructions to force the other party to sell at one-third of the value of the properties. In the end Tump's family simply had no choice but to sell under such confiscatory conditions.

With very little resources to establish a firm footing in a different town, the family was eventually reduced to destitution. Tump himself was disowned and chased out of the house by his father after creating another ruckus that his father had to settle with what little remained of the family's wealth.

What Tump's family failed to understand was that it wasn't so much the crime committed or their arrogance that drove them to such a pitiful fate. They failed to put into account the presence of Master Tszarek during that slugfest.

The power of a martial artist could move mountains in Blink's time. The presence of a resident martial artist brought a stability that spurred growth that turned villages into towns, and towns into cities.

Since Master Tszarek was acknowledged as Ragha's most powerful martial artist, the sighting of even just his shadow was treated as a national event. In effect, the incident between Kraszad and Tump became a source of national embarrassment for Calandra. If not for Master Tszarek's presence, the incident and the subsequent actions of Tump's father would not have drawn the ire of the mayor and the town council as it had.

Having personally witnessed the power of Master Tszarek's influence, Magra hoped that her brother would someday climb the peak of martial arts prowess.

On the day of Kraszad's departure Magra handed the short staff to her younger brother. She told him that it belonged to his father so he must take good care of it and never lose it. Right then, she didn't tell him the entire truth about the short staff which eventually became his popular tool in dealing with bandits.

Following the admission of Kraszad into the academy, Magra researched what she could about beastmasters. What she found out, though very little, opened her eyes to her own ignorance. It turned out that beastmaster families were the greatest unsung heroes throughout their world's history. Despite their enormous contributions in war and in peacetime, they have chosen to remain nameless.

Everyone knew the warrior-poet Qat'l Banwar, or the heroic couple Milal and Agnos. There were even songs of their many deeds and exploits. But almost nothing was mentioned of another whose greatness equalled if not even surpassed theirs. He was simply known as The Beastmaster.

This little bit she learned completely turned Magra's attitude towards Kraszad's beastmaster heritage from wariness to admiration. Magra realized that, in a lot of ways, this explained her brother's heroic tendencies.

"That staff of yours is an ancient family heirloom that goes way back to the Age of Demons," Magra revealed to her younger brother.

The Age of Demons was believed at the time to have started about ten thousand years ago from the time of this story. It was called so because it was an era in which demons roamed the world and lorded it over men. Many demons were also able to establish their domains during this dark period.

This period when demons ruled the world was believed to have lasted for over five millennia.

After a very long period of oppression at the hands of the demon race, humans eventually resisted. From small packets of defiance, the resistance spread through all corners with every ripple of victory and every howl of glorious death.

In every successful resistance movement, beastmasters have distinguished themselves, their various abilities becoming indispensable.

Using animals as their eyes while hiding from the enemy or setting out for battle, beastmasters were a decisive factor in the war against demons. Aside from this, their tenacity in combat was also unrivalled.

Knowing what she did about the beastmasters of ancient lore, Magra was quite sure the early ancestor who held Kraszad's staff had saved many lives in his time. How can she let her younger brother just simply ignore such an enduring legacy?

"Nimgun, that one you're holding is not a quarterstaff. It's a beastmaster's taming rod."

Kraszad had a confused expression. However, Magra waited to let her words sink in.

"Namgan, are you saying…" Kraszad hesitated.

"Yes, Nimgun. You come from a beastmaster bloodline."

Kraszad looked even more confused.

"What's a beastmaster?" he somehow managed to ask.

"Beastmasters were among the greatest heroes in the war against the demons," Magra said it as simply and as clearly as possible. "Your servant—the one who brought you to us—could have taken any family treasure to take away with you that night your family was put to the sword.

"But he made sure to take that piece of your heritage."

Kraszad held the taming rod in front of him as if seeing it for the first time. He twisted it at different angles trying to find some clues about it.

"So, this could very well be more than five thousand years old?" he wondered out loud.

"Pretty much. And it has a name, too."

"It does?"

"Yes, your servant said you only need to wipe a drop of your blood on any part of it, and its name will appear magically. I don't know about that part, but it's what the old warrior said."

Kraszad went to get a knife and went back to his seat.

"It wouldn't hurt to try," he said nonchalantly.

With that, he pricked his finger with the tip of the knife and let his blood drop on the staff. He then wiped the blood over the body of the staff and waited. To both their shock, a greenish light enveloped the entire rod. After the greenish light dissipated, the rod turned deep black in color and gained a metallic lustre.

"Qaatemaharash," Blink read the word that appeared on the body of the taming rod.

"Qaatemaharash, he repeated. "That's its name."

Magra was still startled from what just transpired but she still managed to ask, "What does it mean?"

"I don't know. It's such a strange name."

For several minutes Magra and Kraszad did not utter a single word. Kraszad turned the heirloom over and over, mesmerized as he was by the changes that happened to it after he spread his blood onto it.

"I guess this means Hubr can't have this then."