Chapter 15: Warpath

Drake dragged his sword as he wielded it. The blade was by no means light, but it seemed as he lost the strength to wield it, it gained the strength to wield itself. The battle had been long, and now it seemed no end was in sight. The on-lookers didn't shout encouragement. No witnesses spoke. He fought the monster he had once called Sage. He fought for his life.

He had been betrayed by the man who had been a father to him. The monster lifted his sword and abruptly charged. Drake brought in his blade to block. He tried to spin out of the way. Drake was knocked to the ground by a powerful kick he had been faked into. Drake looked up at the looming blade making its descent toward his flesh. He could see his end as clearly as he recalled the moments leading up to it.

Drake stormed into the Hunter's L.A. office. If anyone thought to stand in his way, one look at his expression would quickly have deterred them. His face was a visage of revenge. He was after a specific prey. He had some very important questions to get answered.

"Hey Drake, how's it going?"

"Where's Sage?"

"I think he is teaching a class right now. Yeah... he should be in his ritual class right now... room one-thirty-six."

The Hunter didn't waste time on pleasantries. He went directly to the stairs, too impatient to deal with the elevator. Practically flying down a flight of stairs, he slammed open the door leading into the hall. At the door to one-thirty-six, he stopped for a moment to steal himself.

This is Sage I am confronting. He is the one who gave me my name. He supported me through my academy days. He has always been there.

How long has he been planning this? Did he know when he convinced me to continue the academy? Was he plotting to feed me to a demon even then? How long has this deception been going on? I cannot let this continue. He is giving us over to the demons. What is he getting out of this? What was the price he received for selling humanity to slavers?

Drake pushed the door open and stepped in. The room was one of the largest lecture halls. Twelve rows of seats were set up stadium style. The door was in the back. Sage stood at the head of the class speaking about the rituals for resolving a conflict between demons. The students right by where the door noticed Drake enter, but none others. Sage continued to lecture unaware.

"Who knows when peaceful negotiations are no longer an option and you must use force?"

Drake spoke up, his voice carrying over the heads of a hundred students of all ages, "When human lives are at stake it is the time to use force."

"That's right Drake, of course your right. Students, you all know Drake, may his name be forever a legend."

"May he forever be legendary," the class toned in response.

Drake walked down the stadium to the lectern.

"What is it Drake?"

"How long have you been betraying us?" Drake grabbed hold of either side of Sages jacket and shoved him against the back wall. He didn't notice the hundred students in the room anymore. Sage seemed equally uncaring.

"I never betrayed the Hunters, Drake. It is my job to ensure our people continue. Humanity is destroying itself Drake. They are diseased, plagued by their doubts and their inaction. We hide our actions. Every day we protect humanity. Every moment my Hunters are out there, fighting the good fight. And we hide ourselves. What do we get for it? We get nothing, Drake. No one knows we exist. We give our lives every day and no one cares. I will bring us out of the shadows. With me at the head our Hunters will enter the light. We will be center stage. Demons will run rampant and we, The Hunters, will emerge to defeat them. The Hunters fighting demons in the greatest war known to man, and we will emerge victorious."

The Hunter recoiled as if the snake he held had bitten him. Drake dropped Sage and stepped backward to take in his full view. He didn't know this mad-man.

"So you were going to let a monster through? You thought to let the most powerful vampire known enter the world. How did you expect to kill the monster? Or did you not get to that part? I certainly wouldn't be around to do it for you."

"You... Why would I need you? At first I thought you had potential so I helped you through the academy, but I was wrong. Now you can serve a good purpose to us." Drake took another step back, repelled by Sage's words. "We are Hunters. There are no demons we can't kill. If the war was easy it wouldn't come out into the streets. If we could simply kill him what would be the point? The world needs to see what we do. They need to understand why we give our lives!" Sage's voice picked up in tempo and volume as his speech continued. Drake picked up in like speed and rhythm.

"Hunters, what is our duty?" He called to the class.

"Protect the people!" Every member of the room shouted their obligation with practiced ease.

"What do we protect them from?"

"Demons," the word was used as a curse not a description.

"Sage, you have forgotten your duties. It is our responsibility to protect humanity, no matter if we do it from the shadows. You are going to kill thousands of our charges so that we can come out of the darkness. Do you realize how that sounds? You have lost your capacity to lead. All of you bear witness, Sage, I hereby remove you from your position and call an immediate session of the..."

"I cannot let you do that Hunter."

"By the will of those gathered..."

"Class, here is a ritual for you. I challenge you, Hunter Drake, to trial of tales. I say this is for The Hunters' best interest. Let the liar give his life to cleanse his name."

The time for talking was over. "So be it," Drake smiled, "This war is not good for The Hunters. It will destroy our entire code of honor. I accept your challenge Sage."

"And I will adjudicate," Chimera stepped down from the doorway. "If you two insist on killing each other, I will be your arbitrator."

"So be it."

"So be it."

"Let it be." The class intoned.

The trial of tales is an outdated ceremony, left over from the time of the Demon Wars. It was held in strong belief that during a battle every man's hidden truths became apparent. One of the only rules dictated that a martial weapon was required. Through studying the truth of their blade, their truth would appear. Two Hunters claimed different tales; they would fight to show the adjudicator the truth of the matter. He was the one who finally made the call on the matter in question. By his decision, the liar would die.

Friends turned into enemies met at the arena. The floor of this room had absorbed the blood of a few Hunters. It was tiled like a chess board would be: each square three tiles wide by three tiles deep, each about two feet total. White squares and black squares. The room was eight tiles long by eight wide. Surrounding the square board, a circular room left little space for spectators. There was a ring of benches recessed into the walls. The benches were nine feet up, more placed on a shelf than anything. The room had two doors, one on either side. On either side of both doors were stairs leading up to the shelf.

The ceiling of the arena held a glass room for the arbiter. The floor of the glass room was ten feet from the ground. From this room the adjudicator would make his judgment on the truth of the matter. When he did so, would be his decision.

In the hour it had taken to make the arrangements, Hunters from around the area had gathered. The trial of tales is a sacred ceremony. It is not a spectator sport. The only people allowed were Wings. The bench surrounding the field was filled. Every Hunter within a hundred miles had come. The equivalent power of each Hunter there was a massive amount of fighting potential power in the room.

Drake summoned his sword and took his place. Comparing the field to a chess board, Drake started at c3. He had on a pair of black work pants and a white t-shirt. This had been the only result he had imagined when he was heading to confront Sage so was prepared well for it.

Sage had with him a classic English long sword. The sword had hung at his desk for the last thirty years. He stepped to f6, his face focused. Sage had removed his jacket, wearing a button down blue shirt and a black pair of pants. He too was ready for this fight.

This was not a fight to the death. It was a fight for the truth. In the end, tradition dictated that one of them would die. A man who is proved to have lied will never be trusted again. His word is dead, what is the point of his life?

The two combatants looked up at the arbiter, and upon his signaled the fight began. Drake attacked first, he charged diagonally bringing his sword in a lunge. Sage fluidly moved out of the way. Drake spun out from his lunge, slashing his blade downward. Again, Sage danced out of the way. The two continued their dance for several minutes Drake leading, and testing Sage. They traveled almost the entire length of the field twice. Drake kept up on the offense.

Sage stood in the corner of h8, Drake straddling the lines of g6 and g7. The younger lunged in with a feint, slashing right, out of a spin. Sage had moved out of the lunge not realizing the ploy. Drake's blade came in and Sage just barely brought his blade up to take the slash. The light in his eyes changed at that moment. Sage started fighting.

The old man jumped into the air, flipping over Drake. He landed gracefully on f6, striking Drake in the back with the hilt of his blade. The force of the blow knocked Drake into the wall. The old man attacked a recovering Drake in a fast combination of strikes.

Flashing blades drew the attention of everyone present. Drake was forced to focus entirely on the movements of Sage's weapons. It wasn't only a sword he faced. He had to be watching for feet, elbows, knees, fists, Sage attacked with every weapon he had. As the fight continued, Drake gained more and more respect for Sage. The old man moved as if he weren't a day over twenty-five. Nothing slowed him down, and he moved with the precision only years of training can teach.

No breath was wasted by the fighters. They were both experts and any false move might mean death. Drake's world had become completely focused. He felt the same he had when he fought the shadow. The two were almost equal. The speed Drake had was countered by the skill Sage possessed. Drake's vision began to isolate Sage's thread from all others in the room. The threads had all been running together in his vision and he hadn't looked closely at any of them. If he had earlier he would have noticed something strange about Sage.

Sage's line was corrupt. Even for someone who could see the lines it was hard to detect the corruption. The flow of his thread was twisted. Instead of him flowing into the Consensus, he was drawing the Consensus into him. Gradually as Drake watched the life thread that linked Sage to the Consensus blurred. The thread was reaching past, reaching through the net. Sage wasn't just a demon, he was something else. One thing was certain, he wasn't human.

Sage didn't seem to tire. He moved and attacked with the same speed and strength he had been using at the beginning of the fight. Drake needed to end this quickly. He picked up his offensive, exerting himself to create new maneuvers and counter-attacks on the spot.

Drake brought his sword in from the right, twisted it around Sage's and knocked the opposing blade out of the way. He stabbed his sword in when Sage jumped back. Carrying on the attack, Drake struck Sage's blade as it was coming back into play, knocking it back out. Drake grabbed Sage's sword hand with his left, spun so his back was to Sage, and brought his right hand holding his blade stabbing behind him. His strike hit Sage in the stomach, leaving a long gash spilling blood. Sage planted a foot in Drake back, sending him flying forward.

"HOLD!" Chimera's voice echoed through the chamber. "By my will, Drake tells the truth. This trial of tales is finished. I hereby call for a removal of Sage from the position as our leader. His word no longer lives."

Sage had dropped to one knee, his blood spilling to the tile. He dropped the sword to the ground. "So you will replace me? I will not allow that. Deception isn't needed anymore." The blood flow stopped immediately as the wound closed. He straightened to his feet and Drake saw the line attached to him flair brightly. The old man's body started to flesh out. The gray hair became black, his skin tightened. His muscles bulged. Forty years had melted off of him in an instant.

Sage leapt into the air straight at Drake, he stretched out his hand and the sword flew to it. Drake found himself fighting for his life. Sage's strength had doubled, his speed increased as well. The Hunter knew that he would be in trouble.

The fight had reached a new level and Drake was quickly losing the strength to continue. Why isn't anyone doing anything? Drake knew the answer to that question, it wasn't allowed for anyone except for the two inside the arena to fight. Only the adjudicator could enter the battle. Sage charged in, a deceptive kick knocking Drake to the ground.

The sword loomed above Drake. Sage held it above his head, a wicked smile on his face. Drake was suddenly showered with blood. A sword blade exploded out of Sage's chest.

Drake rolled out of the way as Chimera pulled out his sword and kicked Sage in the back, knocking the body to the ground. The monster got right back up to his feet and attacked his new opponent. The monster and the blind Hunter squared off. Drake watched as Sage moved with speed Chimera was barely able to keep ahead of. He knew he would need to step in to help his friend, but how?

Every time the monster was struck his line would pulse and the wound would heal. It would be so easy if only... Why not? Drake launched himself to his feet. He jumped into the air just as Chimera was knocked to his knees. Drake flew over Chimera's bowed back, one foot dropping down to spring off his shoulders. He blocked the oncoming strike from Sage as he flipped off Chimera. While passing in the air, he slashed his blade above Sage's head, imagining the blade cutting through the link.

The blade cut cleanly through the thread and Sage visibly sagged. Drake landed several steps away, falling to his knees. Sage looked at Drake with vengeance in his eyes. As he straightened Chimera was there, his sword cutting into his chest. Sage looked down unbelieving the sword in his chest. He staggered backward a step and fell on his ass. Chimera stepped over to Drake, his arm reaching down to offer a hand up. They stood up, both weary. Wiry with caution they approached Sage.

The wound did not close. As he lay there, more and more blood spilled, with it, his youth. The old man, everyone assembled knew, now lay dying on the floor. Drake walked over to him and crouched down, looking him in the eyes.

"B-boy... we are... Nuishii." he gasped in breath, "T-they a-are... yours."

Sage's eyes dimmed. Drake watched as the life flowed out of him, blanketing the room momentarily, spilled water quickly evaporating.