The Lunar Warriors - Book of Seed – Chapter One - “Brothers in Arms”

“Tik…. tak.. tik.. tak” the sound of rain drops on the roof, echoed through the room. Bertrand was sitting at the corner of the room, cursing at the rain, his clothes soaked wet with water. His brother, Alden sat quietly across him. Weaving his fingers in the air and chanting the words of magic, he’s trying to conjure the spell of fire, to light up the small pile of firewood that Bertrand has made out from the broken pieces of furniture scattered around the room.

“Give it a rest Alden, those darn woods are too wet to be of any use. We’ve fought hard and long today, better save your energy for tomorrow’s journey home.” Bertrand uttered. Alden just stared blankly at his brother, too tired to even think about arguing such matter with him. He took out a wooden staff, pointed directly at the pile of wood and shouted “fireball!” out loud. A burst of energy channeled through his body, and a fireball shot out from the tip of the staff. For a moment, the light emitted by the fireball lit up the room. Bertrand lifted up his hand and shunned his eyes from the burning light, while mumbling some words to himself. Alden looked at the pile of wood that he had just ignited, shaking his head in disappointment that he needed the help of the staff again to cast such simple spell. Clutching his fist, Alden smashed the staff to the floor, and at the same time he shot a glance to his brother, warning him not to say a single word.

The flickering flame brought much needed warmth to the room. Alden wrapped himself up with a blanket and sat in front of the fire. His hand extended to the flame, warming his cold and slim fingers. Not wanting to waste the fire, Bertrand quickly sat down beside his brother, and pulled out a package of sliced meat that he has salvaged from the battlefield this morning. He skewed the sliced meat with his knife and started roasting them over the fire. Licking his lips, Bertrand eyes lit up in excitement as he watched the meat getting cooked. His stomach started to grumble as the smell of roast meat filled the air. Within minutes, the meat is cooked with its juice dripping into the flame below. Ignoring the heat, Bertrand’s hunger took the better of him as he swallowed a mouthful of sliced meat fresh from the fire. “Ummphhh, Arldennn.., yumm… the meat is pretty good, want some?” Bertrand mumbled to his brother while his hands were busy skewing the meat again. Alden shook his head slightly, he signaled to Bertrand to hand over his pouch.