AN: Hello anyone reading this, My name is DokkanGuru and I very recently took up writing as a hobby, and decided to post this story as I write it. This is the first time I've tried writing something, so I very much expect it to not be good, but I am giving it my best shot. I am treating this posting as a way to get feedback from anyone who chooses to. This story's plot has already been planned, so don't expect a ton of filler while I try to find a plot to follow, and I plan to make this the first book of three (a high bar I know). Writing is a complete hobby, and I cannot promise consistent updates, but I will attempt to post the chapters as often as I write them. Thank you for your time.

  Onto the story

  ________________________________________________________________________________

  THUNK

  THUNK

  THUNK

  -It was almost a form of hypnosis at this point. I can't even feel the blisters on my hands anymore, the numbness of swinging an axe into trees for the past several hours having dulled any pain through simply being too exhausted to care. I step back to admire my handiwork, if one could call it that. Resting the axe on my shoulder -it was easier to swing quickly if someone came by- I take in my attempt to fell the tree. Bark has given way to gouges in woodflesh not by any form of skill but by muscle and stubbornness, the damn thing had taken nearly half of the day to get this far and it seemed no closer to being felled.

  I wipe my brow of gathered sweat; it was nearly in my eyes at this point, and being hard of sight had gotten more competent men killed while wielding an axe. 'Damn torture this is, theres no reason to chop trees to extend farmland, only to leave the stumps for years.' and I wasn't wrong, all around myself were stumps of once great trees felled by slaves, many by my hand, sentenced to death by the whims of the master of the land, the 'Great' Lord Xandar, a soldier who proved himself on the battlefield and was given land and money for it. He used people like me to work it, I'm told. I've only been here to see a single winter, but compared to my last owner, Xandar has more often used us as an outlet of frustration and amusement, caring more for himself than maintaining crops or anything of the like.

  Having taken all of the break I'm willing to risk, I lift the axe from my shoulder in preparation to swing, ignoring the soreness in my back. I stopped quickly, having heard something unusual for this area; it sounded like the trot of a horse. I turn my head with my arms still reared to swing and see the carriage of Lord Xandar coming directly towards me at a brisk pace. 'Odd, he usually doesn't care to come out this far from the home." Knowing what is expected of me, I quickly place down the axe, take several steps away, kneel, and lower my head so as not to look at him - Scars pulling at my back made me unable to forget that.

  The horses slowed and stopped near me, only a few feet, enough to smell that they had not been washed recently. I heard a thud of feet on the ground and dared not look up, even though I was confused by the sound of metal hitting metal. "Seems you finally have some manners Okun, maybe you aren't the worthless piece of shit I thought you were." A jovial tone stoked the anger I didn't even realize was building since I heard him coming. The pain in my jaw that the slave brand caused when Xandar was near reminded me to calm myself. I dared not move nor speak, I hadn't been asked to, anyway.

  "What's the matter, no witty comeback for me?" Before I could comprehend what he meant, I heard a light heave and felt pain crash through my head as I tumbled on my back. The side of my face throbbed, and I wished the world would stay still for a moment as I opened my eyes and saw the bottom of Xandar's boot still extended from where he had kicked me in the head. Luckily, I don't believe he saw me looking before I shut my eyes. "Enough is enough, you may speak, you bastard." His voice sounded pleased, too much so to be genuine.

  I forced the words through my traitorous lips. "Mastar Xandar, thank you for taking the time to visit me. How may I serve you?" The words were poison, but the pain in my head reminded me of how much worse it could get. "Good boy. You can start by explaining exactly why you think I wouldn't have figured it out." His voice is near, and confusion wraps around my thoughts as I race to figure out what in the possible hell he could mean. 'I cooked like I was supposed to, I cleaned where he told me, I even did everything this month's courted lady asked of me. What could I have missed?' "I swear, Master, I know not of what you speak." Hopefully, it wouldn't hurt too much while finding out what I did this time.

  My first answer was a swift kick to the side. My breath left me against my own will, but I held my tongue. "Then allow me to remind you, The Lady Liza that I put you in charge of attending told me everything." His foot began pressing into my stomach. "She told me how from the moment you left my sight, you had been attempting to seduce her, that you told her all of the ways you could make her see stars, even without magic." A lie. "I-" His foot kicked my jaw shut, silencing any response I may have. "Enough. I'm talking now. A wretched Dull like yourself would never touch a woman like her, and the mere words you used would have gotten your tongue cut out to teach you a lesson." His boot pressed my head into the dirt. A telltale Fwoosh let me know that Xandar had formed the same magic fireball that made him somewhat famous on the battlefield.

  My heart began pounding so loud I would have been surprised if he didn't hear it 'what the FUCK is he talking about!? I only ever spoke to her when directly asked, and then I left when I was sent away!?' I felt the heat of his fire near my face, close enough to give me a sunburn. "Then she told me the ending, leaving me so furious that even I'm surprised I haven't killed you yet. She told me all about how when she denied you, you pushed her against a wall and put your disgusting mouth on her! To think I would house not just a delusional Dull, but also one so vulgar and disrespectful enough to spit on my name by assaulting someone I placed under my protection!" I wouldn't be able to answer if he had wanted me to. I could already feel myself trembling so hard I could feel it aggravating the scars on my back. 'I'm going to die, aren't I?' "Open your eyes, Okun; let me look at you."

  I dared to open my eyes and took in what would likely be my last day. The sun overhead seemed to work against me as it hung over Xandar's shoulder and shaded most of his defining features. Thankfully, the flame he was holding gave more detail than I needed to understand what I was up against. Xandar's boot still on my face showed old leather, and attached to his leather leg armor was steel shin and knee guards. Forcing my eyes upwards, I saw him wearing his leather armor with a steel breastplate. His sword was thankfully sheathed at his side, and on his head was a plain steel helmet. Despite it covering all of his features, I knew that his blonde hair was hanging in front of his hateful eyes. My eyes were again drawn to the blistering heat that his magic generated between us.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  "For your crimes against me, I will ensure that you never poison my land or those under my protection again." The words are solemn, holding certainty of my fate that I had no chance of changing. This was it. He was going to kill me. I was going to die over something I didn't even do. I couldn't think of anything to say, and I'm sure my voice wouldn't have cooperated with me if I thought of anything. However, it seemed my expression told him enough. "It seems you understand finally. Dulls like you are meant to listen, to work, and when we decide it... You die. You mean nothing outside of that; the spirits have judged you foul, and it is your place to accept that. Everything about to happen to you is your fault. If you want something to blame, then blame yourself for reaching where you don't belong. Now, get on your knees. Have the decency to not die like a dog."

  He takes a step back and allows the gravity of my situation to fall on my shoulders. This is it, huh? Almost numb, I feel myself roll onto my stomach and pull my legs underneath me. 'Judged by the spirits, huh? What a load of shit, I've never even seen of the spirits, flecks of light that gathered around those who use magic, lending themselves to those they deem worthy. What the hell right had they to call me unworthy, my hair proof that I wasn't worthy of their time!?' It wasn't worth worrying about at this point anyway, I had never even seen one. The distance between my world and theirs is greater than heaven and earth. Nothing was worth caring about anymore, not with a magic user in front of me, even if I threw all of my strength at him, it would be less than nothing, the power of spirits allowing him to take more hits and punch harder than I ever could, and thats not including the fire that still burns brightly in his hand.

  "You know, my fire is wasted on the likes of you," with less than a thought the magic dispersed though his taunting didn't cease, "I suppose I will just kill you with my sword, you don't deserve to feel the grace of spirits, even if it means your death." I wanted to focus on what he said. Those are the last words I would likely hear. Even now, he dragged the sword out of its sheath, a normally satisfying noise that now grated on my soul, but I was distracted. I had been staring at his hand since he dismissed the magic. I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at. It was small; a dust mite may have been bigger, but it was bright. I could almost make out wings, but it was probably a trick of the light. Spirits didn't appear to people like me, and yet... There it was. Drifting towards me with no haste, almost as if a stray wind blew it.

  I didn't dare move, the sword was moving now, an arc certain to remove my head from a body that wouldn't obey me. But the light was closer, just centimeters from my chest, and with nary a noise, I felt it touch me.

  BA-DUMP

  It was as if my heart had beaten for the first time. It sent tingles down every centimeter of my body. I could feel the wind brush against every hair on me, felt every impression of grass on my knees through my trousers. It was as though time had slowed down even more as the sword moved slowly enough for me to think. I could feel the energy from the spirit; it moved through my body as if it had a mind of its own. Awakening my body as if it had been in slumber all of its life, but it was not infinite. I could feel it even now, the energy seeping out of my skin, back into the world. I could move now, I could even save myself, but I had to be quick. With my mind decided, my eyes narrowed, and I exploded into motion.

  The weapon was first. I lunged forward, twisting my body to face away from Xandar, focusing on the weapon. I grasped the hand holding the sword as hard as I could and squeezed, the blisters on my hand making me very aware of exactly how much force I was putting on both of us. "ar-UGH" the noise of pain he let out was satisfying, but not nearly so much as the crack his wrist made as he dropped the sword, the fingers going limp. I held my breath, it seemed to limit how quickly the energy left my body. With a twist of my torso, I was under his arm and facing him. Gods, I wish I could see the look on his face right now. "What the Fu-" I didn't let him finish, the satisfaction of being the one to shut him up filled me with happiness I hadn't felt since arriving at this damned farm. A satisfying WHUMP resonated out loud as I used my forearm to slam into his neck and collarbone, just below the helmet he wore. He went down faster than any tree I had ever felled.

  Releasing his wrist with my left hand, I went down after him. I couldn't afford to waste time, I was a dead man walking if I slipped up even a little. Straddling his waist so he couldn't escape, I saw his unharmed left arm coming towards me while generating his fire. I discarded the fear that the red flame ignited in my heart; fear would make me hesitate. Using my right arm to snake around it, I trap the forearm in the small of my armpit. My left hand quickly grasps his elbow, and with a sudden forceful pull towards the center of my body, the joint gives way. A sickening CRACK is my reward for making his arm useless. The fire fades away from his hand, hopefully never to return. The whimpers I hear coming from the helmet are music to me. Releasing the useless limb, I pull the helmet off of his head to get a good look at the man who has tortured me. A look at the man who decided I should die based not off of actions, but off of a single accusation with no basis.

  He looked as pathetic as I had felt earlier, his blonde hair plastered to his forehead with a cold sweat -likely from pain- and his blue eyes were wide, they stared directly at my face with the same fear I had seen in other slaves eyes as they were beaten, punished, and even killed based off of this man's whims. His mouth hung open, searching for words. "H-How did you-" I never felt so glad to shut him up as when my fist crashed into his face. Squeezing my fists tight, I began to pummel him with all of the energy granted to me by the spirit. "How- Does- It- FEEL-" I began shouting at him. "IF YOU WANT SOMEONE TO BLAME, THEN GO AND BLAME YOURSELF!" Every word was punctuated with another blow, and when my knuckles began to groan with pain, I used the bottoms of my fists, blood covering my hands and his face with a sickening gurgle coming from his lips, a dying gasp or attempts to find words I did not know, nevertheless blows rained down until the noises ended.

  He lay still other than the occasional twitch, his hair stained red with blood and no definable features left on his face, merely broken bone, flesh, and viscera. My heaves of breath were the only things left to accompany me, the spirit's energy having left me when I accepted that Xandar was dead. The mote of light lazily drifted away from me, and when I blinked, it was gone. Were it not the body below me, I never would have believed that I had seen it in the first place.

  I stood from the man who had tortured me and made it an entire 2 steps away before collapsing as my stomach churned. The little food I had eaten earlier in the day left my body, and the bile attempting to digest it left me as well. I felt every bit the wretch that Xandar told me I was. A monster in human flesh. The moment that I held the same power he did, I used it to kill him. Not run. Not escape. The first thought that I had was to slaughter him before he could stop me. Tears and snot fell from my face into the pile of slop below me as I heaved and sobbed.

  Moments ago, I was the strongest I had ever felt, but now I had never felt so weak. So what if I was going to die? I had done exactly what I despised him for doing, and now that he was dead, what would happen to me? I couldn't go back to the house, and what good was running when my hair and slave brand would immediately give me away with a single glance? I was still dead; all I was able to achieve was killing a man with me. Despite how much of a bastard he was, he was still a person. I wiped the vomit from my mouth with my bloody hand, probably making myself dirtier than I had been before. With a hesitation born of regret and shame, I look back at Xandar, and a shine of light catches my eye coming from the reflection of his helmet. His helmet, the one that had covered all of Xandar's discernable features. The helmet of the man that I had killed... I steeled my heart.