Hellstinger

12. First lesson...

It was a quiet night. Marcus never knew he had the memory with him, but he can remember the eerie silence only punctuated by the occasional squeaks of the manor and chips of night insects. Then everything went wild with chaos. It was the night he met his blue-haired bodyguard.

For some reason, he hadn't been able to fall asleep that night. Then his nanny, Nana, and an angry-looking blue-haired lady wielding a blue sword busted into his room with terror-stricken hassle.

"Stand up, Marcus!" A stoic-faced Alexander had yelled at a young Marcus hiding under the covers of his duvet.

"Who are you to shout at me?" Young Marcus had yelled right back. Although scared of the wrath of the blue-haired lady, he remained stubbornly entitled.

"Nana," He turned to his Nanny. "Who is she? Get her out of my room!"

"Master Marcus, I..." Nana started with a shaky voice;

"I. Said. Stand UP!" Alexander cut her off. Taking two steps closer, she yanked Marcus' duvet from him. She leaned closer, very close;

"Whenever I say stand up, you stand up, young Hellstinger."

That was the last thing she said before the violence and chaos leaked into Marcus' room. And if it wasn't for Alexander's iron grip around his wrist and her masterful swordsmanship, Marcus knew for sure he would be dead. Either by the fire licking at the Manor, or the demonic men attacking them by the dozens, he would have died.

"Marcus!" Alexander's firm voice brought him back to the present, seated cross-legged in a wide Japanese-style dojo. His official first lesson on the paranormalities of the world. A world of demons, shrouds, ghouls, and magic. His new world.

"Focus!" Alexander said firmly, taking a step closer to Marcus as he was seated on the padded floor of the dojo. "You are trailing off. Why are you trailing off, I've barely started."

"Ugh, history is boring," Marcus said with a groan. "Especially the Hellstinger story. Everything is too self-absorbed and egotistic."

"Yeah it is, isn't it?" Alexander said in a softer tone. "But as much as everything about the Hellstinger lineage seems self-absorbed and egotistic, it is a part of your training. Knowledge in your ancestral works."

"That's exactly my point," Marcus said, shifting into a more comfortable pose. "Why do I need to know the story of guys who died a thousand years ago? How will that help me kill Romulus?"

Alexander sighed. All Marcus is fixated on is killing the killer of his parents, not understanding his sacred duty.

She walked up to her right, going toward the wall of weapons. From ceiling to floor was filled with shelves and hangers spanning the entire length of the wall. Hanged, or arranged, on the wall is a variety of medieval weapons. Just as four long tables placed three feet away from the wall contain weapons of different kinds.

From Ninja stars to Finger Darts; daggers and long knives; maces of different styles; mallets and war hammers; and swords of different shapes, sizes, and glow. And a lot more other weapons Marcus couldn't put a name on.

A smile escaped his lips and his face brightened up as Alexander approached the leftmost table and picked up a sword.

"This," Alexander said, turning to face Marcus as she examined the sword in her hand as though it was her first time seeing it. "This is a Hellstinger sword, I named it Bleedingstar."

"Cool," Marcus said, mesmerized by the soft bluish glow the sword seemed to let off. "So darn cool."

As Alexander took her place in front of him, cross-legged; "Your father gifted this to me on the night I took you away even though I'm not a Hellstinger."

"It is said to have been made from a fallen Star during the first wave against Romulus."

Marcus could see why she named it Bleedingstar. The sword is a Katana, with its bluish-hue blade bleeding into its environment. A Bleedingstar indeed.

"Here," She outstretched the Katana to Marcus. With a hint of doubt, Marcus took the sword by the hilt and brought it closer.

Marcus felt a cool sensation in his eyeballs as soon as his fingers closed around the hilt of the sword. He saw his eyes come aglow in the sword reflection and in true, something came alive in his pupils; slithering around in a random, yet coordinated, pattern.

Fear set in.

It was insensible. Fear doesn't seem like the appropriate response to seeing his eyes come aglow in the sword's polished blade. Seeing dozens, if not hundreds, of tiny intricate symbols appear and come alive with a radiant golden glow didn't seem fear-striking.

"For the good of all mankind, I must prevail. In the heart of looming woe, I must conquer. Darkness will remain defeated so long as there is breath in me."

As soon as Marcus translated the symbols, everything changed. Alexander disappeared, and the dojo terraformed into a bloated war field filled with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dead people. Soldiers, heroes, even children. Every last one of them is dead.

And at the center of it all was the demon god. Basking in his terraformed planet and reeling in his victory. The sun radiated in despair as a bloat covered it, giving off a green hue, and the skies mourn in blood. And under it all was the failure of the Hellstinger lineage...

"No!" Marcus dropped the sword. Blinking once, then twice, and then again. Slowly, everything faded back to normal as the slithering in his pupils slowed to a stop. "It...that...I wasn't..."

"That is the charge of the Hellstingers," Alexander said, collecting her Katana from the floor. "Tell me, what did you see, Marcus?"

"Romulus...he...he won. He will win."

"No." Alexander said, "That was the failure of Ferdinand Magellan De Hellstinger. The last of the Mohicans lineage."

"What do you mean?"

"Being a Hellstinger means a lot more than being of your bloodline," Alexander said, placing her Katana back on the floor before her. Marcus noticed that the symbols had disappeared and their golden glow faded unlike his bow - laying in front of him.

"Hellstingers are a band of protectors in ancient times. Anyone worthy of the charge is gifted a Hellstinger weapon and powers." Alexander paused;

"Over time, the bloodlines of the other Hellstingers weakened as Romulus attacked consistently. And in time, all that remains between him and this plane of existence is your bloodline."

"Your ancestors held fast and mastered the mystics of the Hellstinger weapons. So they fashioned it with more powerful enchantment to even the odds. They prevailed over Romulus and took the name Hellstinger."

"So I saw the past when I held your sword, but you don't see anything because you are not a Hellstinger?" Marcus asked, his eyes fixated on his unstrung bow.

"Yes." She answered, "In my hands, a Hellstinger weapon is nothing but a piece of metal. But in the hands of a Hellstinger, great power will be unleashed."

"Then what I saw when I held this bow was also the past?" Marcus asked.

"I don't know." Alexander said, "All I know is what I have been taught by your parents. They taught me everything that was needed to know so that I would be able to teach you in case they died."

"You have to string the bow to know for sure whether what you saw was a past or a proclamation."

Marcus remained still, calm, and collected. It is unlike him to be calm and collected after an ordeal, and the thoughts that could be running through his mind scare Alexander.

She always knew Marcus to have a very dangerous imagination. Whether it was seducing or retaliating when offended. His imagination is always wild. And so is his inability to acquit a grudge; even when he smiles, he still holds a grudge.

"So," Marcus said in a leveled tone, "all I have to do is string this bow?"

Alexander nodded; "string the bow to prove you're worthy of its charge and you will trigger your physical abilities."

"All righty," He said, picking up the bow; "how do I do this?"

"This is the part where you figure things out on your own. Use G****e if you will," Alexander said, raised, and walked past Marcus towards the screen door exit. "Until you string the bow, all I will teach you is the history of your lineage to better help you understand your duty."

"Wha...are...are you kidding me?" Marcus groaned; Alexander paid him no heed as she reached the door.

"Hey, Alexander," Marcus called her by her full name. She couldn't remember the last time he called her by her full name. Turning to face him;

"You told me before that you would tell me about my parents the day I finally understand who I am," Marcus said, his voice dropping to a soft tone. "I know I am still very confused about all this demon business and protecting mankind. But can you at least tell me what they were like?"

For a few seconds, different memories flooded Alexander's mind as she contemplated what to tell him;

"Strong." She said. "They were the strongest people I have ever known. They protected me despite my irregularities, and I'm sure they would have protected you with their lives if they could."

"They did," Marcus said, "they made sure you can protect me."

Alexander nodded in his silent gratitude as she left the dojo to attend to the Manor's housekeeping while Marcus got to work on stringing the bow. And unsurprisingly, it was a lot harder than physically reasonable.

>< >< ><

Let me tell you the Hellstinger story;

Long long ago before the age of man. Demon hordes conquered the Earth, leaving mayhem and death in their footsteps.

Then the son of man was born. He mastered the ancient mystics arts and crafted the Hellstinger blades with which he drove the demons back to the Ether life. But the demon god was unrelenting and he came back; angrier and more powerful.

The son of a man trained a band of warriors and gifted them the power of the Hellstinger. Mankind stood victorious but at the price of their heroes. Now, only one Hellstinger bloodline remains.

>< >< ><