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by azrieljohnson

A Warrior's Destiny by Azriel Johnson

Chapter One - John Ross Gerstung

John Ross Gerstung, age five, runs as fast as his legs will carry him. Unfortunately this is not fast. The other boys, the Bollin Ballers, are faster and they will catch him eventually. He could stop to face them, but there are five of them and only one of him. He doesn't remember why he has to run, but for as long as he can remember he's had to run.

He comes to the edge of the lush forest and enters into a flat meadow. The forest behind him had given him trees to dart in and around to evade his pursuers, but with the meadow he was much more likely to be caught.

He stands at the edge of the meadow. From behind him he hears the dreaded, "Strike!" from his nemesis Todd Bollin. John Ross sighs and starts running again. He is about 100 feet from the edge of the meadow when he is finally tackled by Todd Bollin. The other four boys, James Odin, Joe Trehaine, with the twins Don and Mike Malters joined Todd in his kicking and punching of young John Ross. They were all around the same age. They all went to the same one room school house on the outskirts of Meton.

John Ross tried to fight back, but the punches and kicks rained down upon him. After about five minutes of a beating, the other boys laughed and scampered away to their next activity. John Ross was left bruised, but not bleeding too badly on the itchy dry grass of the meadow.

"Next time I'll get them," John Ross said raspily. He picked himself up from the ground and dusted the dislodged plant fibers and seeds from his cotton clothes. These were his only cotton clothes. His leather singlet was at home, he had wanted to dress up that day. He was going to see his uncles later in the day, but wanted to take a walk before they arrived.

"I should have known better," John Ross said dejectedly.

Later at home, John Ross' mother Aurora doted on his bruises and asked him what happened. He relayed the story of falling out of a tree he was climbing. The last thing he wanted was to worry her about some of the other boys of the village. It wouldn't do her any good to worry, because even if she knew what was happening and went to the boys' parents nothing would change. In fact, the boys beating him might increase. So he kept quiet.

Aurora knew her son was lying, but she knew why. She knew as he did that nothing would change even if he told her. She didn't like that the boys were beating him up, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Sure, she had a few tricks up her sleeve, but she wasn't sure she wanted a life of fighting for her son if it could be avoided. She'd already had to deal with the loss of her father and the worry that her brothers inspired whenever they went to war.

John Ross went to his room after a soothing kiss from his mother to his forehead. He awaited the arrival of his uncles. He always enjoyed spending time with his uncles. They were heroes of the Supremacy War. They had fought many great battles against the Dragons. Among those in the Human army they were known as the Courageous Gerstung Brothers, following in the footsteps of their father, and John Ross' namesake.

John Ross Gerstung, the elder, was the first man to ever kill a Dragon in battle. This happened before the advent of the alloy Dragon's bane. The battle inspired others to join the Human Army and resist the take over of the Dragons in the Supremacy War.

Gerstung was also the inspiration of the elite Human Army group called the Hell Bringers, due to his famous quote.

One of his officers asked Gerstung, "What if they bring the Tyrant?"

He replied simply, "Then we'll bring them Hell!"

It was nearly nightfall when John Ross' uncles, Max, Oli and Zack arrived. They were very affluent, however, they refused to buy horses or invest in a very expensive automobile to travel. They felt walking was more beneficial and would keep them healthier in the long run. They were probably right.

John Ross ran out to greet them. Uncle Max, the eldest, scooped him up and said, "Hey there JR! It's good to see you my boy!"

JR snuggled his head into Max's shoulder and noticed JR wincing when he touched the boy's ribs. Max asked, "What's wrong?"

JR replied, "Oh nothing Uncle Max. I just fell down."
Max didn't believe him, but he didn't press the issue then.

Later that night, Max, Oli and Zack talked to Aurora about problems with JR.

Aurora said, "It's the boys from the village. They never leave him be. He can't even go out and just play and be a child. They are constantly attacking him and beating him up. I've tried talking to the parents of the boys, but the parents seem to be encouraging it."
Zack, the youngest and quietest uncle, suggested, "Maybe you can teach him how to fight. We know you know how sister."

Aurora replied, "I don't want JR to be in that kind of environment."

Oli spoke, "He already is in that kind of environment.

Even if he didn't have to deal with the bullies every day, he lives in a time of war against a much tougher foe than other Humans. The Dragons will kill him just for being who he is. So would most Humans if they knew."

Aurora sighed, she never knew if her brothers mentioning JR's true birth was a cut against her or not. She put her face to her palms and sighed again.

Max touched her shoulder, "We're not blaming you Aurora. We've said numerous times you are not at fault."

Aurora looked up and said, "But I am. If I hadn't betrayed father's memory by..."

Oli stopped her, "No, you did not betray his memory.

You followed your heart and you know father would have encouraged you no matter who it was you followed your heart to."

John Ross Gerstung, the elder, was recruiting for the army in the town of Bellato. His family had lived there since before the Supremacy War started. Before it was even called the town of Bellato, it was merely a few families who lived near each other so none of them would be lonely. By the time the Supremacy War was in full swing, many survivors of the original Human holocausts had moved to the more rural areas of the United States and Bellato had become a refuge and was named for Tony Bellato, the man who built the first underground shelter in Bellato.

The shelter was nearly undetectable by Dragons and eventually other townsfolk followed suit. Eventually the underground shelters all combined into one huge communal shelter that everyone could share in the event of a Dragon attack. However, the townsfolk kept their houses above ground. Bellato impressed upon the town the need to stay above ground and not to be driven to hide in the ground like worms.

The underground shelter was twice the area of the towns that stood atop it at the time. The underground shelter was heavily reinforced with steel construction to keep the ground from caving in. The entrances were all descented by the presence of guard dogs who specialized in smelling strongly.

The warrior structure stood next to the north entrance of the shelter. Gerstung was interviewing a few potential recruits. He had not proceeded to the physical tests. His resistance movement required that the warriors be quick witted, agile and able to defend themselves in case Dragons were about. The first warriors of the Human army more closely resembled protectors who offered diversions for the non-warriors to escape.

Gerstung had reached the end of the interviews for another day. Only a couple Human warriors had passed the quick wit tests, but those who had, passed them with flying colors. One last man remained.

The man's hair was long and grey, but his face was young. His body was well developed, much like Gerstung himself. They could have been mistaken for brothers, or at least cousins.

Gerstung introduced himself as the man sat, "My name is John Ross Gerstung. I am the leader of the Bellato chapter of the Human Army. I am going to ask you a series of questions to test your courage and wit. If you pass them, you will join myself and a few of your fellow Humans in the physical portion of the testing process tomorrow. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," the man replied in a deep, powerful voice.

"First, what is your name?"

"I am called George Saint."