Chapter 1: Connected

A strike to the face causes Darian to stumble back as the small group of onlookers cheer and wait for their chance to take the hill. He scans the group of boys, before adopting a strong stance and facing the three newcomers, who have taken to teaming up against him. Darian was having a bit more difficulty defending the hill than he'd like. Individually, they wouldn’t be giving him much trouble, but as a team, they were putting up a decent fight. He needed to turn the odds to his favor, or he risked losing the hill. Darian smiles as he decides to taunt the largest boy.

A smug grin crawls across his face as he stares down the trio. "Hey, how come you guys are ganging up on me? Am I too much for any of you to handle?” He points to the largest boy. “ Why don’t you just use his enormous head to bludgeon me to death? Or you could come at me yourself, big guy. Maybe you should try headbutting." The onlookers laugh at the boy’s expense.

The large boy’s face turns red as he looks around at the crowd. He steps forward. "A lot of shit from such a puny asshole. You’re going to regret running your mouth."

As the boy draws closer, Darian's confidence rises, and his grin grows wide. "He's got a big head, but he doesn't seem very bright. Time to pay him back for that punch he landed". The distance between them continues to shrink until there is less than one foot between them. The boy launches forward with a wide, right punch. However, by the time his fist had started moving toward his target, Darian had already stepped out of the way. His fist stops moving as Darian plants his foot in the boy's stomach. The poor kid lurches forward, presenting Darian with an opportunity to end it. He quickly grabs the boy by the back of his head and introduces his face to the dirt. The boy lets out a grunt, which then turns to whining as he clutches his face and squirms on the ground.

The boys stare at their fallen impromptu leader, as they realize what had happened. They look at each other, both thinking the same thing. Neither of them wanted to make the next move and risk meeting the same fate. Darian looks at the two of them impatiently before darting forward and leading the dance himself. The smaller of the two remaining boys doesn’t notice until is within striking distance. He flinches and throws his hands in front of his face. Darian smiles. "Shame you can't see what I'm doing if you block your eyes". A quick punch to the gut puts the kid on his knees.

Darian readies an uppercut to take the boy out of the fight, but the other boy responds faster than Darian had anticipated. Darian stumbles backwards as the punch strikes his arms. He guarded against it, but there was quite a weight difference between the two of them. However, he recovers before the weakest boy had gotten back up. Sensing a chance to take out another opponent, he sprints towards the one who hit him. His target takes a step back and assumes a defensive position. Once Darian is close enough to strike, he abruptly plants one foot into the ground, turns and kicks the boy who is still on his knees, swiftly taking him out of the fight. The boy lands with a thud and clutches his face. The only remaining boy, stunned, and confident he can't win a one-on-one fight with Darian, turns tail and runs.

Darian scans the hesitant onlookers, but none of them seem willing to challenge him. "Guess that makes me king, then." Darian says, as he takes his rightful place on the marked dirt. He looks over his handiwork with a satisfied grin, before turning and walking into a nearby alleyway. The game continued once he was no longer a part of it.

A voice from the shadows announces itself. "I have to say, that was both the most interesting and least rule abiding game of King of the Hill I have ever seen." A slim teen boy with sharp eyes emerges from the nearby alleyway. He continues, "Glad to see that you can use more than just your abilities in a fight. It's always important to look before leaping. Had you just rushed in there, things might not have turned out in your favor."

Darian responds as he continues down the alleyway. "Ah, Aeric, I didn't know you were watching. That was actually the first time I got truly teamed up on. Usually when I join in on a game of King of the Hill, the other kids work together a bit, but not as an actual team. I'd say I actually learned something from that fight. What are you doing in this part of town?"

"I could ask you the same. Did you grow bored with beating up the kids closer to your place?" Aeric motions his fist hitting his hand.

"That, and my mother kept catching me. I had to move locations or risk being locked up in our house for gods know how long if she caught me again."

"Well, if you keep beating up everyone, I doubt it will matter where you go. They're bound to hear of it, eventually."

The two of them exit the alleyways and begin walking down the streets. The buzz of merchants and smell of commodities fill the air. To both sides of the streets, there are shops and stalls of all sorts. Though the town of Elwood is considered somewhat small, because it’s between two larger cities, it sees a considerable number of travelers. Most of the items that are sold here are trinkets or supplies for the road, as more popular items can easily be purchased in the neighboring cities for a considerably cheaper price.

Aeric continues, "Word is traveling around town, and you are getting rather famous amongst the more impressionable ages."

"How else am I supposed to train? My father continues to refuse hiring someone to teach me the sword, and I don't have the money or time to hire someone myself. I might as well train what and when I can."

"You could always help the gang and me. Train your skills and make a bit of extra money at the same time. You could just borrow a sword from your father's things. He probably has too many as it is."

"Aeric, you and your group might not have the attention of the guards now, but I guarantee that if a connected was to get involved, your gang would be disbanded before you could even blink."

"You might be surprised. While I did say you were famous, few people know that you are Life-Connected. Hell, most kids your age don't even know what Life-Connected is. Sure, they've heard the stories of warriors, but they don't know the origins of their heroes and villains. They would probably just think you're some freak of nature. I'm sure that with your amazing speed and great reflexes, you would make an excellent member of our group."

Aeric stops in front of a dessert stand and places 6 copper pieces on the table. The shop keep hands him two twisted pastries, covered in sugar. Aeric hands one to Darian before saying, "Look, I'm not asking you to decide now. However, it is one option you can consider. What other options do you have for money and training?"

Darian looks at Aeric for a moment before taking a bite out of the pastry. "Fwell, I wash finking-"

"Please swallow first."

Darian chews for a bit longer before swallowing, "I was thinking that I should try to become a warrior for a group of adventurers or perhaps work under a lord, but my father is heavily discouraging me from following that line of work. He wants me to take over his smithy."

"Your father really seems to be against violence for someone who propagates it."

"Propagates?"

"It means to…" Aeric stops himself before reiterating. "He seems to be against violence despite his business relying on it"

They begin walking down the street again, with no certain direction in mind. Aeric occasionally scopes bystanders out as they pass, before noticing Darian looking at him.

"It's not that my father and mother are against violence; it's that they are against me committing violence. It seems like they're more concerned with the well-being of my opponents instead of being worried about me."

"Well, you are quite a bit stronger than your average kid. They're probably worried you're going to kill someone."

"Well, I think that's stupid. I haven't even gotten close to killing anyone. What about you, Aeric, are you worried I might kill someone?"

"Not really, no. You've been in plenty of fights, and broken egos notwithstanding, most of your opponents have escaped with cuts and bruises. You seem to have a pretty good handle on your abilities."

Darian tosses what's left of his pastry into his mouth and swallows a bit too quickly. After he works it the rest of the way down, he says, "Thanks for the treat. I've got to get some errands done for my parents, so I'll see you later."

Aeric looks directly at his younger friend. "Darian, we could really use you, so please at least consider joining us. That said, even if you say no, I will still support you in any way I can. You're like a little brother to me. I would do anything if it meant helping you."

"Thanks, Aeric. It's impressive that you can say stuff like that without blushing. In any case, I'll think about it."

Darian turns away and considers his next task.

"I've got a few things to do, but not enough time to do them. I really shouldn't have spent so much time training."