RUNE WARRIOR
By: Eileen Bowen
((A story about a boy with strange markings, taken to a world were fantastical beasts are summoned to battle, work, and amaze others. But When He tries to summon from his own markings, he himself is transformed. He is his own Summon, A rune warrior.))


Chapter One
Kayle grimaced. “Yuck, what I step in?” He checked the bottom of his shoe. Something runny and dark dripped of the bottom. Walking in the side streets may be messy, but the freedom was worth it. He hated to be penned in. He felt claustrophobic in the foster house. There were too many kids, orders, and neighborhood punks, for him to feel comfortable. Only a year and he would be eighteen and perhaps old enough to get out of that place if he could. But for now he was reduced to the dank alleyways, no one used except the occasional drunk and homeless man. It was even free from the bullies and gangs. They preferred down by the docks, where the big cruisers came in. There wasn’t enough traffic here for it to be profitable. That and they felt intimidated by the police headquarters a few blocks over. It was the one place where he felt he had free will. Here he could choose where he walked, what he did, what he ate. Which wasn’t much, but until he went back for curfew, his time was his.

The aromatic air gave a little gust toward him, tugging at bits of his hair. He pulled his hoodie down lower over his strange, white, colored hair, making sure it was all tucked in. He loved having it long, but the strange color made for all sorts of bullying. He didn’t want to give in to their teasing or the looks of disapproval from the grown ups. So he kept it long in two back pony tails, with a shorter layer that was chin level. It was his very own style. Another bit of freedom. But it made for weird looks, and the occasional fists flying. So when he wanted some peace and quiet, he tucked it under his hood. He was tempted to where sunglasses to hide his eye color as well. But in the dark not many would notice that and well, it was already dim back here. He sighed as he skipped along the cracked pavement. The road was filled with potholes, the sides with boxes of rotting garbage, and broken what nots. He was so strange. No wonder he was left parentless. His eyes were an eerie gold, like a hawk. But that wasn’t were it left off. He had strange birth marks. More like tattoos, but who ever heard of being born with a tattoo? A strange glyph over his chest. Kind of like the tribal tattoos that some of the bigger guys had. The glyph reminded him of wings with a bell like shaped center. Or perhaps long flower petals. Similar marks were on his shoulders, back and neck. A diamond shaped eight figure was on his arm that had lines looping up and down to wrap around his arms and above his deltoids. Around his neck was one that resembled a strange collar with marks that ran from it on his back to the top of his back and led down around to his sides of his stomach. They looked like long ribbons connected to a collar. The last glyph was a small shape on his forehead. It reminded him of butterfly with a tear drop head and wings like the petals on his chest. His thoughts were penetrated by the sound of a beep at his wrist. He sighed and looked down at his arm.

“Time to head back already…” Kayle grimaced, this was supposed to be a nice walk, and instead he let his worries trouble him. He slowly turned around head down in dismay. A soft growl sounded ahead of him. He quickly shot up his head. A strange black dog was just a few steps in front. He froze stiff as his gaze locked on the dog. It looked more like a wolf, or a hound then a regular dog. It seemed somehow strange, the outline of it kept blurring like wispy fog, and it didn’t seem to have real substance to its body. The eyes glowed green as it seemed to penetrate inside him. Its growl became louder as the dog sniffed at him.

“Okay, don’t panic, just don’t move and maybe it’ll back down….” He felt panic rise inside him anyways. This was not good. The wolf barred its teeth, as it slowly took steps forward.

“Eh, nice pointy teeth….” He quickly stepped back, and got ready to run. “What is this thing!?” The dog jumped forward. “Ehyaaa.” Kayle whimpered as he stumbled backwards. He quickly caught his balance and shot backward. He wondered if he even had a chance of outrunning it. He started to look back but redoubled his running as he heard barking right behind him.

“No time to look, just run. Your fast remember? Only thing that saved you from the street gangs.” The buildings blurred as he ran. Fear caused him to run faster than he ever had. He came toward an intersection but as he neared it another growl came from the side street. He quickly sped onward. More growls came around him as he heard their claws scratching the pavement.

“How many of these things are there?” He could sense they were getting closer. His energy was running low as his breath became more and more rapid. The buildings were darker and run down. He couldn’t feel the time but knew by his surroundings that he had gone much deeper into the slums. There didn’t seem to be anyone around. No one to ask for help. It was strange, all these wolfs, and the lack of people. He couldn’t concentrate much on his thoughts as he concentrated on running. The pack was closing in on him, and he was slowing down. A howl ahead of him, forced him to come to an abrupt stop. Another wolf stood in front of him. This one was much larger and barred his way. Three others came from behind and from the side. They walked slowly toward him, growling lowly. They opened up a small space. It led to a deadened street. The large one jumped a little and forced him to head back. They led him carefully to the back of the dead end.

“What’s with this? These aren’t just some crazy wild dogs. There must be someone giving commands.” Kayle looked around but could see no one but the four wolfs. He looked around for something to fight with, but the street was bare. The buildings were tall cement blocks, without windows. No doors, not anything, it was a perfect spot for a trap, and he had run right into it.

“But why? Why don’t they attack, and why lead me here?” It was then that he heard the click of shoes becoming louder. It sounded like high heels. A figure came into appearance at the end of the alley. As it came closer, he saw outlined the shape of a tall woman. She was dressed strangely with high heeled boots, and a tight fitted dress. It glinted like dark green scales and had a long slit up the side, almost to her hip. She wore plenty of jewelry and when she came closer he could see that she had long spiraling tattoos up her arms. A belt held a plethora of daggers, and she loosed one as she came closer. Finally she moved past the dogs and stepped in front of him.

“And here’s the end of the hunt, with a prize worth all the effort.” Her voice was low, and seductive. Her hair was a deep maroon that curled around her shoulders. As she stepped intimately close he could smell the scent of cherries. He moved his foot back, and the growling grew louder. He wasn’t to move then. Fear won over his confusion and he kept still. The lady smiled viciously as her hand moved up to reveal a long dagger. She brought it up toward his neck.

“Wait, stop. What are you doing?” Kayle gasped in surprise as he leaned backwards. She ignored him as her other hand grasped the top of his collar. She slashed down along the cloth, ripping his shirt down toward his belly. His breathing grew rapid as she brought a finger to trace along the mark on his chest. His back pressed against the wall firmly, the air grew thick as he felt the confined space pushing in on him. He lashed back with his arm, whipping her hand away from him. She stood back in surprise as he shifted moods. He grew angry in his fear.

“Don’t touch me! Leave me alone.” He closed his eyes tightly and tried to sink into the wall.

The lady laughed in glee. “This is it. The end of the hunt, and now you shall belong to me.”

“What are you talking about you wacko? You chase me with your crazy dogs, trap me down here, and rip my shirt. You don’t make any sense.” Kayle started to babble with hysteria. He made a dash to the side. Immediately one of the dogs knocked him down, pressing down upon him. Another bit down on his leg in a firm grip. Kayle loosed a scream of pain as the teeth punctured his skin. Tears came to his eyes while he struggled under the weight. The women called out something but Kayle could not understand. There was a strange noise and as he looked up his jaw dropped. Fear rose in him anew as a strange creature loomed beside the women. Its body was humanesk but had large snake like tendrils everywhere. Its body was like human woman if her flesh had been molded together and laid with snake skin. Her eyes where slanted and large, she had no mouth and her nose where two long slits. The snake tendrils where from her head and back, and she rested on the largest one like a snake tail. It slithered toward the lady, and it seemed subservient toward her as it lowered its head before her.

“Hold him while I charge the transportation circle.” The lady spoke calmly as she directed the beast. Once commanded she ignored everyone else as she reached forward with her arms outstretched. He lost sight of her as the creatures tendrils shot toward him. He yelped as the circled around him with a cold grip. It slithered around him as it tightly bound him with tendrils around his waist, arms, and legs. Immediately the dogs let loose their hold over him as this new entity took charge of him. He was slowly lifted off the ground.

Kayle cried out in anguish, “no, let me go! What do you want with me?!” Tears rolled down his face as hope vanished. He was caught in a strange nightmare, which was all too real. He could barely move as he tried to slip from the creatures grip. Kayle began to shout for help. Not much escaped as another tendril slid around his head to smother his sound. Kayle blinked as a bright light flashed. He could only see a bright light beaming from the corner of his eye. The light was shadowed when the women stepped in front of him.

“It’s time to go now.” Her voice purred as she eased up to him. “I will be your master and then none will be able to withstand me. I have greatly desired your power, ever since learning of your existence. But who would have thought that you would be sent to another world. It has taken great effort to come here and find you. Now you shall come back to your home world. The world of Falgir.” She eased back, her arm gestured toward the light. He was turned as the creature slithered around toward the light. There he could see an oval made of light, with strange runic writings around the boarder.

She pointed to the oval and again the creature motioned to go into it. The light became brighter and wind began to gust. The women covered her eyes as she peered forward grimacing. The snake creature stopped. The wind continued to whip around. It tore at him with a furious strength. He seemed to slip out of the tendrils as the wind snatched at him. The portals light flashed wildly and the wind blew toward it. The creature lost its grip on Kayle as the torrent of wind pulled him into the flickering light. The women shouted and made a grab for him. The last thing he heard, as he was pulled in, was her chilling vow.

“The hunt will last until you are mine!”

He felt the pull of energy around him, but was blinded by the light. It felt like he was absolutely still and yet around him seemed to be fast movement. Energy flowed around him, through him, in s strange weaving. It felt familiar, and new. He felt stronger, more alive, and more himself than he ever had. It was like reconnecting to yourself after a weird dream. There was a surge and he felt himself falling backwards rapidly. The light vanished, and blue sky surrounded him. He felt gravity pull kick in and he was falling horizontal, facing up. He grew dizzy and everything blurred. He closed his eyes, and his consciousness slipped away.

((Wanted to keep character's straight... So I'm putting some profiles down.))


Looks:Golden Hawk Eyes, white hair, and natural tattoos.
Name: Kayle
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Race: Rune Warrior
Runes: Gale Hawk
Background: Kayle grew up in a shelter for homeless boys. he never knew his family or where he came from. He was found at the age of three wandering the streets. Totally ignorant and uneducated. He grew up picked on by older boys and teased because of his strange hair color and eyes. He learned to be quick, and more importantly the value of not being around for trouble to start. he became quite the loner, quick to judge.

Kayle fell softly towards the ocean surface. The sails filled as a strange gust flashed down. A large oval of light shone high above the waters surface. The sail hands looked off to their port bow as they gazed in wonder at the sight. Wind swirled around the oval as a dark shape appeared below it. The shaped became a figure as it came through the oval. Suddenly the wind stopped and the oval vanished. The figured dropped toward the sea like a dead weight.

“Get blankets Tym!” A girl’s voice called out from among the viewers. The girl grasped the side and swung over. Water Washed over her as she plunged into the water.

“Riel! Don’t! We don’t know who that is!” The older man clutched the sides of the wooden bow as he watched the girl stroke toward the sinking soul. Her long arms and legs kicked out with powerful strokes. Many years working on the sailboat had made them strong. She dove under, looking for signs of the figure. She began to panic as she couldn’t find any sign. She swam a little further and luckily found a trail of bubbles leading to the figure.

Encouraged she pushed onward, straining to continue holding her breath. She managed to get a hold of him and pushed him upward with her. Sound and light came back as she broke the surface. People called out to her as a rope was thrown toward her to aid her in the retrieval. She kicked, arms struggling to hold the boy’s head above the water. Finally she was within reach of the rope as she grabbed onto a stiff bag tied onto the end that kept the rope afloat. She was tugged forward as hands pulled to haul them in. As she got closer, she could make out curses coming from the older man, who had yelled at her earlier.


“Riel that was one of the most stupid things you have done!” His arm reached out for her as he leaned over the side to get her out. A few other men reached for the unconscious boy.

“That was no ordinary transport rune! Why it didn’t back fire with explosive energy is beyond me.” He finished pulling her onto the deck as he looked her over. “Jumping in was reckless. The danger involved! Your father will skin you and me when he hears of this.” He continued to rant on how reckless she was, when she interrupted him impatiently.

“But he was in trouble! Where in the middle of the Selk sea! He would have drowned!”

“We don’t know who or why he came here. He could be murderer for all we know.” But for all his harsh words he gently wrapped a blanket about her shoulders.

“Sir, you should see this.” One of the deck hands motioned for them to come over. Riel looked carefully over the laid out figure. His chest slowly rose up and down. She let out a sigh of relief and looked over to where the men were investigating. There was a long ragged tear ripped into his shirt. There revealed the tattoo on his chest.

“He’s a rune user. But I don’t recognize these runes. Do you Tym?” Riel looked up into the older mans eyes. They were almost hidden under large bushy eyebrows that were white with age. His skin was old around them, with many laugh lines. Many years at sea had made the skin course from the sea salt. But it was strong and tough as leather.
“Nay, there unlike any I have seen, and I’ve seen quite a few.” There was a low moan from the boy as his body spasmed.

“There’s something wrong!” Riel placed her hand on the boy’s forehead. It was hot to the touch.

“He has a fever, is he sick or wounded?” She looked lower and spotted the rips in his right pant leg. Dark spots lined the rips. She pulled up the pant leg to reveal a wicked bite mark. It was swollen and had a strange tint to the skin around the punctures. She gasped in disgust.

“It’s some kind of poison. We need to get him inside.” The old man looked down on the wound, worry in his brow.

“My cabin, there’s plenty of room and I can keep an eye on him there.” Riel quickly offered. The older man nodded and they lifted him up. The men made their way across the deck to the rocking of the waves.

The ship was a medium sized brigantine. There were two tall masts with large square sails. They carefully plodded over to the aft cabin. There Riel hurried to open the door with a key at her belt. Her hands were rough from the sea salt but well taken care of. Her hair a sun bleached brown. It was bound in a tight braid that trailed down her back to her thigh. Bits escaped the top and curled about her face, trying to hide her sea-green eyes. Her face was splattered with freckles that were dense across her nose. She was tall and wore leather breeches and a laced up shirt. Her overcoat was cast off before she had jumped in. She managed to open the door and swung it wide for them. They squished a little to get them through the narrow door. Inside the room was spacious for a ship. Headroom was a little low but the room was wide enough for the table, desk, and other items that lay in it. A plump bed lay off to the side where teal curtains hung for privacy. At the back was a large round window that showed the sea air. Lanterns hung from the low eaves giving a gentle amber light.
Tym took off the top blankets to the bed before the men put the boy into it. The boy continued to whimper lightly as sweat began to form upon his brow. Tym lifted the pant leg to examine the wound.
“Curt, go fetch the healer bag and Brei go tend to your station.” He addressed the men that had carried the boy. He didn’t know how much he could involve the crew with at this moment.
While waiting for the bag he deeply examined the wound. Riel hung just behind, almost prancing with anxiety.
“This wound is fresh, I’d say within hours even. Luckily the bite didn’t go very deep, although it could have.” He sighed as he leaned back. “I believe this is a shade wolf bite.” He replied worriedly.
“But, aren’t shade wolfs a high caster spell? There’s not many of them.”
“That’s why this worries me.”
“Can he be treated?” she quickly piped in. Her hands clutched her belt tightly as worry set in. “Aye, It’s not meant to kill, but to immobilize. Although he’ll have a terrific time trying to shake it off.” The boy would lightly twitch, as the toxins penetrated his muscle tissue.
There was a noise at the door and Tym turned toward it to see it opening. Curt had returned with a large bulky bag.
“Here’s the supplies cap’n.” He laid the bag down, an easy weight for his strong limbs. He was lean and muscular, without being bulky. He had bright orange hair that was tied back in a simple ponytail. His deep violet eyes hid a bit of mischievousness about them. He began to open the bag and take out items of bandages and bottles. Tym eyed him carefully. Curt briskly instigated himself among them and quickly took on the task of cleaning and bandaging the wound.
“I see you’ve developed a hand for medicine.” Tym half teased half accused the man as he worked.
“Well you know Cap’n, in my work there’s a powerful need for healing n such.”
“Well we’ve all seen your negotiating skills. The sods would need a bit of attention after meeting you.” Riel couldn’t help but tease him. He often thought of him as an older brother, and not just a shipmate. He winked saucily at her as he tied the last bandage.
“Well all that’s left now is to get em out of these wet clothes.”
Tym looked pointedly at Riel until she started to blush, catching onto the meaning of his words. “Uh, I’ll go change as well.” When she came back, he was nicely tucked under several layers of covers. Tym and Curt were deep in discussing what had happened.
“...Also the transportation spell was so immense. For that much power needed, it would be a transport from very far away. I’ve never seen one that immense.” Tym slowly tapped his fingers across his chin. "I think we’ve caught ourselves a mighty big fish.”
“Yeah, and who was the shark that was chasing it?” Riel answered, slowly entering into the conversation.
“You think he was chased?” Curt questioned.
“Well why else would he teleport here, in the middle of the sea. If we hadn’t been here, he would have drowned. That and he’s wounded.”
“Well that could mean that he was in a fight. One that went poorly on his side.” answered Curt in his opinion.