"We know enough. They kill, they destroy, they rape, they feed, and they reproduce. Every single one of them are an abomination from the otherworld, what more could you possibly have to shed light on at this point?" a councilwoman said bitterly. Again Triska's mother merely held up her hand to silence the members. Daniel shook his head and looked at the council member with a dull expression.
"For one, they're not all like that," he said flatly.
"Oh no? Name one example of one of those things acting civil or tame," another said with discontent.
"Ok, again, shut up and listen to the kid," Triska's mother said, covering her eyes with one hand tiredly. Daniel looked around at the council members then to his book as he calmly opened it to a page.
"Monster class: Elf. Lives among secluded forests. Peaceful and good-natured when encountered. They use bows, arrows, and small weapons to hunt woodland animals with and are omnivorous. There have even been several reports of elves coming to aid humans against other hostile monsters in the forests. Although they are prideful and aggressive when provoked, they do not hunt or attack humans unless attacked first," he read aloud. After a quick glance around at the women to seeing no reaction he continued.
"Monster class: Angel. Seemingly from heaven itself. They are not technically monsters, although since they aren't 'human' they are placed into that category. They are protective and caring to those that value life, and have in rare cases shown themselves to humans that are in dire need of help. They are not hostile with humans, and do not even engage in battle or fights if provoked," he continued. The council members glanced to each other then back to Daniel, none of them speaking or showing any further reaction.
"Monster class: Unicorn. Found in forests, although extremely rare. As peaceful as they are gentle, they do not engage in any battles or conflicts. They mostly avoid contact with us because we are considered to them 'evil and untrustworthy'. The few cases of contact reported show that they are good-natured and have even helped heal wounded or sickly travelers out of pity for them. They have a high magical affinity and have even created cures to certain deadly poisons that we humans couldn't," Daniel said calmly. He looked around at the council members as Triska smiled softly.
"Those are just three examples for you. And yes, I'm not blind. I do know there are a great deal of other monsters out in our world, many of which who are indeed evil-natured. But just as humans can be both good and evil, so can these 'monsters'," he said proudly. Triska smiled then looked at the council, the women among the table watching the boy with dull expressions still. After a moment Triska's mother raised her eyebrow.
"Before we respond to your… examples, what is it you have come here to ask?" she asked with an accusing stare.
"I wish to venture out into the lands around our village and learn more about these monsters, and hopefully others as well. Perhaps even form alliances with those that are peaceful. Our walls and weapons may stop lesser monsters from destroying our homes, but that won't last forever. The city of Rishkin was leveled to the ground by stronger ones than they were prepared for, we could fall just as easily. We shouldn't fear all these beings when there are some that could help us," Daniel pleaded. The council members started to chuckle amusingly as he shook his head.
"Some of them have powerful medicine and magic, others are expert warriors themselves. Why must mankind treat them all as enemies when they don't all have to be?" he asked with urgency. Triska's mother looked to her daughter with a dull glance then back to the boy.
"Because they all are enemies. Your examples do nothing to back up your theory that these… things can be anything other than monsters," she said. Daniel looked at her with concern then to his book.
"You left out one important detail with your little presentation, I'm sure by choice. Every monster, every type, either good or evil as you put it, has one thing in common. And you must know this as well seeing as how you dedicated your life to studying them like this," the chief said with discontent. Daniel glanced away as he knew where the council was going with this.
"I know… I know about that. But-"
"But nothing," the chief said sternly. Daniel and Triska looked to the council as they glanced to each other.
"Every single one of those monsters is a threat to humans. No matter what they appear to be, or what they can 'offer' our race, it all will end the same way for us," a council member declared.
"Did you think listing off the few monsters that claim to be peaceful like that would sway us? That we didn't already know of those types that roamed our world?" another said with a dull glare. Daniel glanced to Triska then back to the council.
"Every single one of those things is female. There are no male monsters, ever," another council member said crossing her arms.
"Their desire to breed always takes precedence over all else, some more so than others," another member added.
"It's how it is with all monsters, how it would be with you should you venture out to 'talk to them'," another said shaking her head slightly.
"They would take you, force you to be their mate, and keep you to help populate their race. That's why we fight them, why we try to kill them. They will take all the men from humanity and use them to breed new monsters, leaving the human race to wither and die," Triska's mother said sternly.
Daniel glanced to his book with concern, knowing what they said was true; every single monster that exists was female, and all desiring to reproduce. Even though all monsters resembled human women in some way, and some may be quite alluring, they were still monsters. That meant abducting and taking human men by force to breed with. Even the ones he had listed off, the ones that were so peaceful in nature were the same way eventually. Those that were gentle with people, those that offered medicine or help from other dangers would all succumb to their inner nature at some point. Men would be taken away while women were either fended off or downright killed. Normally sex wouldn't be something a man would turn down, but when being forced into it to help breed something far from human, the allure of the carnal act loses its appeal rather quickly to most. Not to mention they can be rather… forceful and rough when it comes to their 'love making', with some being quite sadistic in nature.
Daniel looked at the book in his hand then shook his head.
"I don't believe that can be the case for them all. The ones that showed they care about us, that protected those that needed help, they can't all be so… so…" he said with a bit of frustration.
"Evil?" Triska's mother finished with a raised eyebrow. Daniel nodded and looked to her.
"They have to be able to be tamed, or helped to control their inner nature. There are other monsters out there that do kill everybody, man and monster alike, and they are greater in number than we know. Some with powerful magic or incredible strength, those are the real evil ones, the Darker Ones of our world. There has to be ways to coexist with those that are good-natured, we need their help in survival just as they need ours," he defended with.
"There have been those that shared your ideas boy. Those that thought some of these things could be civilized and brought into our homelands or that they could be trained to control their urges. I have yet to hear of one that is still free in the world without being taken by force by their trusted monsters," a council member said with a scoff.
“We hardly hear about anything here in Edgewood, we barely let what travelers do come our way past our walls,” Daniel said shaking his head.
“That’s because it’s safe here in our village, and we have no reason to risk losing that by going out into the wastelands of this world or by letting every stranger that comes by into our home. We have everything we need here, and no monsters around us, this is as good as life will get for our people. There is no sense in us trying to coexist with those… things out there,” a council member firmly stated.
"We have to try though; we can’t stay isolated from the world like this, especially if the Darker Ones do come near our home. The enemy of our enemy i
s our friend. We need help against those that are truly evil at heart, and so do some of these other 'monsters'," Daniel said urgently.
"They are all enemies, none of them can be 'friends' to humans," another councilwoman said shaking her head. Daniel started to speak again before Triska's mother held up her hand to silence him.
"Now, we've all heard your ideas time and again, and we've even agreed to hear you out this time in hopes you had something to prove it with, but your assumptions are not enough for us to even consider forming 'relations' with these accursed beasts," she said sternly. Daniel looked at her with disbelief then down at his book. Triska glanced down in thought for a moment then looked over to her mother.
"But… mother, he does have a point. Our village, our race is in danger from being wiped out, not simply dying off from our men being taken, but being trapped here like this. What if learning to live with them peacefully is our only hope? What if some of them can help us survive?" she questioned. Her mother shook her head and leaned back in her chair as Triska stepped forward.
"There is no denying that certain classes of monsters have extraordinary fighters and healers, some with powerful magic and medicine as well. Some even make weaponry greater than mankind has to offer. If we could find a way to live with them, then the Darker Ones wouldn't be such a threat to us," she pleaded.
"Our way of survival is to stay the hell away from these things and kill them if they dare come after us, not try to talk to them when all they want to do is have their kind increase in number while ours drops. Mankind is already spread thin around the world, much too thin if you ask me, and you two know this,” the chief declared firmly. Triska opened her mouth and started to speak before the woman slammed her hands down on the table.
"Enough of this pointless discussion. You have done nothing but waste our morning by telling us what we already know, and we have better things to do with our time than hear some crazy theories that have absolutely no proof to back them up with," she raged. Triska looked down with closed eyes then slowly glanced over to her friend. She had feared this would be the reaction from the council, and her mother as well. Daniel clenched his fists as he looked at his book, his eyes narrowed as he refused to believe such blind thinking. After a moment he looked to the council with a determined expression.
"Then let me get the proof," he offered.
"We are not letting you take any of our fighters or resources with you on this foolish journey. That would be a death sentence on them and a waste of weapons and food," a council member said shaking her head. Daniel growled quietly to himself then nodded.
"Alright then, so be it. Then I'll go alone," he declared. The council looked at him with a bit of surprise as Triska stared at him with shock.
"What? Alone?" she said in disbelief.
"You'll go out into the wastelands alone? A lone boy against a world of monsters? How foolish are you?" a council member said with a laugh.
"You must be joking," another chuckled.
"Not at all. If that's what it takes then so be it. I won't just accept that this is our lot in life, living out a meager existence in fear of what may be lurking in the darkness," Daniel said firmly. The council started to laugh as Triska's mother just eyed the boy carefully. Daniel shook his head and looked at them with discontent.
"I'll go out there myself, and I'll prove to you that some monsters can be our allies. That we need them to survive in this world just as they need us," he said assuredly.
"He's serious, he's actually serious about going out there alone," a councilwoman said while chuckling.
"I say let him go, let him prove us right and be rid of another lunatic in the village at the same time," another said with a laugh.
Triska looked at her friend with worry then shook her head as the council members started to laugh more. She slowly reached out towards him as she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
"You can't mean that… you can't-"
"Silence!" Triska's mother called out. Everybody stopped and looked to the woman as she stared intently at Daniel.
"You would really throw your life away like that just to try to prove a point? You are by no means special to me, boy, but I don't wish for you to kill yourself so early in your life," she said. Daniel just looked at her for a moment then glanced to the book in his hand.
"I'm not doing this for you; I'm doing it for our race. For mankind. If this is what it takes to help my kind then so be it," he declared boldly. Triska looked at him like he was crazy while her mother eyed him cautiously. After a pause Daniel looked up at the council with a calm smile.
"If I'm really wrong, then you'll indeed never hear my crazy theories again. You can do whatever you think is best with the village against the monsters without me being here speaking such radical ideas. However, what if I'm right? What if they can be our allies? What if we could have a better life than hiding in our little pocket of the world?" he questioned. The council members glanced to each other while Triska just shook her head at him with disbelief still. Her mother looked up for a moment in thought, then back down to the boy.
"Seeing as how you're going to go either way, very well. I personally don't expect to see you ever again; however you do have a point. If you are right, and that is a very big if, it could be beneficial for mankind. Still, you are aware that the first monster you meet will not show mercy when her nature calls to her, correct? If you really are prepared to face that fate then be off with your quest, we will not stop you. For what it's worth, I wish you luck. Not that it will make a difference," she said calmly. Daniel nodded as the council started whispering to each other. Triska looked at him then to her mother.
"Mother, you can't let him go out there alone. He's not trained to fight or anything. He won't last a day," she pleaded. Daniel chuckled and looked over to his friend with a slight smile.
"Hey, c'mon, I can handle myself out there just fine. I know how to prepare meals out in the wilderness and to watch out for thieves," he said reassuringly. Triska shook her head and looked to him with concern.
"You can't go alone, you won't be just fine. Thieves would be the last of your worries if you meet a hostile monster. You might even be killed on the spot if she deems you an unworthy mate," she cautioned.
"I would expect as much actually," a councilwoman chuckled to another member.
"True, what monster would want that boy as a mate?" the woman laughed in agreement.
"My daughter does speak the truth, boy, you should heed her words," Triska's mother warned. Daniel shook his head and looked to her with a calm smile.
"Thank you for your concern, but I need to do this. I know what I've put together is the right start to this, and I'm going to carry it all the way. There are those out there that can join us in our survival, maybe even help us live better lives in this world. I won't just sit here and do nothing to help my race," he said proudly.
"Very well, we will have the gatekeeper near the plains open the way for you when you are ready to depart. I expect we won't see you again," a councilwoman said.
"I will give you this, you are brave. However it doesn't hide your foolishness," another said simply. Daniel nodded then bowed to the council as Triska watched him with worried eyes. Her mother looked at Daniel with a dull gaze then shook her head.
‘Such a waste of a life, however there is no reasoning with this one. I feel a small amount of pity for you, lad, may your end be swift and painless out there.'
*****
Inside his home Daniel was gathering his gear into a backpack, the brown leather carrying bag being filled with essentials from his home. Food that was wrapped in cloth, with bread, vegetables, fruits, and some freshly cut meat, a change of clothing, as well as a rollout sleeping mat that was secured to the bottom of the backpack. After putting away a few other items he glanced to the table. There was a small dagger he had since he was all alone, the boy having never really used it for anything. He smiled softly then took the blade, and sheathed it then placed it
inside his outer shirt in a pocket. It may not do much against a monster, or even a human, but it was all he had for protection. As he finished packing other items for his journey the front door opened. He looked over to see Triska walking in and setting down a large leather duffel bag as she eyed him with an annoyed expression. On her back she had a sheathed sword that was strapped behind at an angle.
"Alright, let's get going then. We have a long way to go, and need to find a decent place to set up camp when it starts to get dark," she said firmly as she checked her dagger at her hip. She reached back and slightly extended her sword out to examine it with a careful eye. It was of solid steel and polished nicely, the fine blade having an angled hilt and black grip. Normally a weapon of that quality would be expensive to obtain, however being the daughter of the chief had its benefits. She sheathed the blade then looked to her friend who was staring at her with surprise.
"What? We? What are you talking about, Triska?" he asked. The girl marched up to him and leaned in close to his face with a slight scowl.
"What does it look like? I'm going with you to keep you alive out there," she said sternly.
"Going with me?" he stuttered.
"Yes. Going with you. You won't last a day out there without somebody watching your back," Triska said firmly. She looked to the window then back to him as she crossed her arms before her.
"Actually, I don't think you would even last an hour. Thirty minutes tops," she said flatly. Daniel sighed at that comment.
"Hey, I'm not that helpless you know. And I do have protection, I have my own weapon, remember?" he said as he held out his shirt to show the dagger sheathed inside. Triska scoffed then quickly unsheathed her sword, whipping the blade around to Daniel’s throat. The sound of the metal ringing from the maneuver echoed out as Daniel fell silent.
"You call that a weapon? This is a weapon, and I'm far more skilled with using it than you are using that little knife," she said proudly. He looked at the sword with wide eyes while trembling slightly.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 2
