Here's the first half from chapter two of Archer's Legend. It's been finished for about two weeks now, I just didn't get around to posting it here until now. The first chapter to this story can be found here, and you might need to refresh your memory, specifically towards the end since this chapter starts from where chapter one left off, both in dialogue and scene. Oh, also! There's a part in chapter one that I added in and might've added in after I posted it here where Kaliyah punches Erabus, and it's mentioned in this chapter. If people want me to, I'll find the part where it happens in chapter one and post it in this thread so that people are confused when they go back to read chapter one and don't find it there.

I'm really horrible at writing action sort of scenes, and that's going to show towards the end of this scene. I'll post the next half of this chapter in a few days or so. I shortened it because the first scene is really long.

Oh, also- constructive criticism would be good on this. I'm not looking for grammar/spelling stuff to be pointed out (see my explanation on this in my post with chapter one) right now. Just basic stuff works for now, until I get this draft finished and work on the second one.

[pre:c6dcb59389]Chapter Two

From Truth, Logic

“And now, Kaliyah, I believe we owe you an explanation,” Faran said.

“No . . . I owe her an explanation,” Erabus corrected. He clasped his hands together as he considered how to begin explaining things to his obviously wounded sister. “I never meant to hurt you by leaving, Kaliyah. I want you know that, most importantly. However, if I had known a year ago what I now know, I would have known that it was the right decision not to tell you.”

“Tell me what, Erabus? Stop trying to beat around the bush like I’m still five years old. I can handle whatever you have to tell me,” Kaliyah replied, irritation obvious in her voice. “You never were good at telling me things straight forward.”

Erabus gave his sister a small smile and sighed, looking to the other men standing with them for support; none seemed to offer it.

“A year ago, I was approached and brought in to this very clearing. It was here that I was told about a race called the Alaycian’s. They looked like normal humans, with no obvious features that would make one think otherwise about them. They were involved in some sort of political argument with the humans many years ago. Over time, they were out numbered and slowly killed off,” Erabus explained. “I soon found out that our father is Alaycian.”

Erabus looked at his sister to see an unreadable, hardened look on her face as she stared at the grass below her feet. After the punch he had received, he could only begin to guess what she was thinking. He looked down to see her idly massaging the fist she had punched him with. Kaliyah said nothing, and so Erabus knew that he had to prod her in to telling him what she was thinking.

“Liyah? Come on . . . tell me what you’re thinking. I know this is a lot for you to take in. Believe me, it wasn’t easy for me either . . . “ Erabus said.

Kaliyah looked up at him, a firey anger appearing in her eyes, and stood to her full height, turning to look at him. “No, Erabus. You don’t know. I just found out that my brother is back from the dead, and now you’re telling me that our father is some descendent of an ancient race that got itself killed off, and you expect everything to be okay, for me to talk to you like nothing has happened?” She dropped her hands to her sides, turning to look at him. She raised one hand up and poked him hard in the chest. “You hurt me, Erabus. I looked up to you for everything. When you disappeared, things changed at home. Father became stricter, about my clothing, about my practicing archery; Mother became more worried about me being killed like you had been . . . and all the while, I was hurting inside because my big brother had been there one day, and disappeared the next without a single word to me. All that time, I thought I had said or done something to make you leave. But I couldn’t tell them, because all it would do is make them try to confine me to the house, and I couldn’t handle that. I just couldn’t.”

Erabus listened as his sister spoke. There was passion and determination behind her words, but also a lot of confusion, hurt, and anger.

“You have to understand something, Kaliyah,” Faran cut in. “When we approached your brother a year ago, he was given a certain amount of information- information that he’s all ready begun to tell you, and a bit more- that, in return for the information, extracted a promise from him. He would have to disappear completely from the lives of you and your family and let it be believed that he was dead. It was hard for him, but he swore an oath to us. The rest of us standing in this circle are Alaycian outcasts, all coming together for one purpose.”

Kaliyah looked over at Faran and raised an eyebrow. Somehow this is supposed to convince me that Erabus should be forgiven, just like that? she thought. “What purpose was that?”

“To rebel against those who cast us away for the blood that runs through our very veins and in to our souls. The same blood that runs through your veins, as well as your brother’s,” he replied.

“And how is it, exactly, that you expect me to believe this? What proof do you have?” Kaliyah countered.

“None, at the moment,” Faran admitted. “But if you’ll trust your brother- and trust us- then over time, you will be given proof by your very actions.”

She shook her head slowly, her green eyes moving to stare at the ground beneath her once more, red hair falling in front of her eyes. This was crazy. Even if she did believe them, it wouldn’t excuse Erabus disappearing as he had and hurting their family.

“Kaliyah, listen to me,” Erabus said. He reached out toward her and used a hand to lift her chin so she would look up at him. He placed his hands on her shoulders, attempting eye contact. “I know that this is hard for you. But if you’ll give us . . . give me a chance, we will show you that this is for a good cause. Father dishonored the both of us, as well as the rest of the family, by not telling us that he is Alaycian, and mother did the same by not telling us that she is a Thalian. Trust me.”

Kaliyah watched her brother as he spoke, allowing eye contact. “All right, Erabus. Tell me more about the Alaycian’s, and the Thalian’s, and perhaps I’ll believe you,” she said. She raised a finger up toward his face and shook it at him, “This does not mean that I completely forgive you for leaving. And if you expect me to do the same, then you can forget it. Family doesn’t abandon family; siblings shouldn’t, either.”

Erabus sighed softly. “There might not be another choice for you,” he said. He slowly nodded, “All right. Sit and listen to us, and we will tell you what exactly is going on.”

Kaliyah sat back down, her eyes traveling around the circle of men who stood in front of the rocks, hands clasped behind their backs as they listened to the conversation taking place. A hint of amusement as she watched them stand there silently crossed her features before she looked back up at her brother, waiting for him to speak.

“The Thalian’s aren’t any different from anyone living in Kalevi; they don’t have the same . . . magical abilities as the Alaycian’s, they’re simply the people that Mother comes from.” He paused, eyebrows coming together as he tried to find a way to further explain. “When the Alaycian’s and humans got in to their political disagreement, things eventually broke out in to a war; the Alaycian’s were outnumbered by the humans, and were massacred. I’m not sure what Father’s part in this was, or how he even came to survive the massacre . . . that’s something that I plan on asking him, when the time comes for me to return home . . .”

“Which will be when?” Kaliyah cut in before she could stop herself.

Erabus turned his head to one side, glaring at his sister for her interruption only for a moment before the glare softened in to a forgiving smile. “I’m honestly not sure, Kaliyah. What you need to understand is that . . . well, to put it lightly, I am now a member of outcasts, of Alaycian’s who were miraculously able to survive . . . it’s our suspicion that a group that called themselves the Righteous Knights are at least partially behind the start of the war. We have very little evidence of this . . . outside of the fact that they’re looking for us, and we’re almost certain that they know who we really are.”

Kaliyah blinked slowly, trying to take the vast amount of information she was being given. Images began flashing through her mind as she thought of the moment when her brother, believed to be dead, returned to the house they had grown up in . . .

. . . And the looks that would be on the faces of her parents and siblings. A grin played at the corner of her lips, but she didn’t dare let it go further than that.

“So you’re an outcast on the run . . . but isn’t it dangerous for you to be here, even this long?” Kaliyah asked.

“There’s always a possibility of danger, even more so if we’re found out,” Erabus agreed. “But we had to take that chance, so that we could come and talk to you. We want you to join our group, Kaliyah . . . I want you to join.”

Kaliyah started blankly at her brother, blinking a few times before opening her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted when something the size of a bird sped past her face and flew in to Faran’s direction.

The bird was covered with yellow feathers, with white below the eyes and a white nose. It landed on Faran’s shoulder, its beak almost in Faran’s ear. The bird seemed to be speaking, or chirping, as birds do. Kaliyah was amazed to find that neither Faran or any of the other men were alarmed by the sudden appearance of a bird now sitting on Faran’s shoulder.

After a moment, the bird flew off of Faran’s shoulder and he looked at his comrades. “Someone has followed us here,” he said, barely above a whisper. His eyes darted around the clearing, his left hand slowly moving toward the handle of the sword hanging from his belt at his side, fingers tapping lightly against it as he waited for the now detected danger to make its move.

Kaliyah stood slowly, her eyes moving around the forest. She reached over her shoulder to where her bow and quill rested, taking the bow off her shoulder so she could knock an arrow, but she felt a hand on hers and looked up to see Erabus shaking his head slightly and mouthing the word “no.” Frowning in disappointment and confusion, Kaliyah put the arrow and bow back in their places on her shoulder.

Suddenly a shout was heard, and Kaliyah turned to see a large, heavyset man jumping out from behind the bushes at the edge of the clearing, a dagger in hand; with him jumped at least eight more men from different directions, similar in weight and size. They all wore black cloaks with the hoods pulled up tightly around their faces.

“Run, Kaliyah!” Erabus yelled, reaching in to his cloak to pull out his sword.

“Erabus, I’m not leaving you! I can fight,” Kaliyah replied, reaching back over her shoulder for her bow.

“No! Just go, and don’t look back. I’ll find you again,” he said before rushing at the other men to begin fighting. “Weaver, take her.”

Kaliyah stood back, watching as the attackers and outcasts fought each other. Suddenly she felt a hand on her arm and she looked up to see the man she had seen in Kalevi following her around.

“Come on, I need to get you out of here,” he said, pulling on her arm.

Looking back in her brother’s direction, she saw him lunge at one of the attackers, sticking the blade of his sword in to the man’s stomach. Swallowing hard, she looked away and allowed the man to pull her out of the clearing and on to a path in to the forest.

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