ShadowFrost’s Story: Chapter 1

Chaos; everything was being destroyed. Everyone was running every which way. ShadowFrost ran frantically, searching for his father. Amidst the chaos he was lucky he hadn’t yet been trampled. This tribe was being taken over, taken over by the corrupt and sadistic Elf King.

The King had a strange interest in these ice demons, the race to which this boy belonged. They were legendary beings born from the northern land of ice and said to have the power to control the cold, but in reality, they only looked the part. They had no ‘powers’ really, with the exception of their tribal shamans. From their royal blue skin and piercing bright red eyes, to their long horns and claws, to their long arrowhead tipped tails, the King was fascinated by them. However this fascination was simply on an entertainment level.

He would send out hunting parties every week to raid the tribal villages and capture many of the demons from them, killing any that were considerably old or sick, as well as usually killing all the females as the King only had interest in the males. The King was quite openly sexist and found the females of any race absolutely disgusting. He simply refused to take wife, and would not allow any female within a several mile radius from his castle.

The captured demons would typically be kept by him if he took a liking to them, and all other demons would be sold into slavery to satisfy his other hunger, wealth. The demons he kept would typically be trained, as though they were dogs, and either be used as a war asset or a form of fighting entertainment. Demons were known to be exceptional fighters, and it had now grown to be a popular sport to get into the large cage ring in the Elf Kingdom’s relatively new coliseum to fight one of these beings, occasionally to the death if an extra fee was provided. Otherwise the fight was until unconsciousness or near death, and no weapons were permitted.

ShadowFrost heard a weak voice that sounded like his father. He turned around, and to his horror, found his father on the ground, a crossbow bolt through his chest. The boy knelt down near his father, not knowing what to do as tears welled up in his crimson eyes. “Father…” ShadowFrost managed to choke out. “Son…” his father said quietly, then began to choke on the blood in the back of his throat, “You need to find your brother,” his father strained to speak, “then find SnowScar, he’ll keep you safe. Take my necklace, it will protect you…” his father began to choke again. The ten year old demon, tears rolling down his cheeks, replied, “Yes, father,” and gently lifted the dragon tooth necklace from his father’s neck and pulled it over his head onto his own. Ice dragon’s were extremely sacred to these demons, and wearing the teeth of a fallen dragon on a necklace was said to give protection, strength, and knowledge to the wearer.  His father turned his head slightly, seeing a group of elves nearing him, some on horseback. “Run! My son! Don’t look back! Find your brother!” his father yelled, voice cracking as he choked on blood after each word.

ShadowFrost jumped up to his feet and did as his father commanded. He then heard the sound of a crossbow firing and a weak scream of pain, and then it became dead silent in ShadowFrost’s head. He knew his father was dead. He had to fight back his tears of pain, fear, and grief, and did so with anger and determination to find his little brother before the elves got him. However, he couldn’t find the young demon anywhere. He became frantic, and started shouting his brother’s name, but received no answer. He then heard what sounded like the screams of a young demon. The demon sounded to be the same age as his little brother was, only around seven years old. He then saw a flick of the tail of a young demon being pushed into a covered wagon with a cage door at the back. He saw a flicker of silver at the base of the arrowhead shaped tip of the tail, and knew it was his brother.

His brother was the only young male demon in the tribe to wear a tail band. Tail bands were typically worn by the women, and his had belonged to his mother. Ice demons were naturally monogamous, however due to the very small numbers of their kind, and the very low fertility rate, they were being forced to take several mates to keep their numbers up. What this tribe didn’t know was that they were the last existing free tribe of Ice Demons in the world. All others were presumably enslaved by the Elf King or killed. ShadowFrost’s father had taken three mates in his lifetime, hesitant to break the bonds he had between each when it was time to take another, but this was necessary to keep their kind alive. This meant that ShadowFrost and his brothers were only half brothers. Blizzard’s mother was killed by the elves a long time ago, and she had worn the silver tail band since she was a little girl. Ever since she had died, Blizzard wore the band on his own tail, regardless of the occasional bullying he would receive from the other young demons. ShadowFrost never knew his own mother, and SnowScar, the eldest, had a mother who used to be a force to be reckoned wit in battle. She was one of the only females of their kind to have ever fought in battle. She also once killed an entire troop of the Elf Kings men with her own hands. Sadly, she died of disease a few years before ShadowFrost was born.

Despite the fact that they were only half brothers, the three loved and treasured each other more than anything in the world. They couldn’t dream of losing each other, although Shadow and Blizzard were still very young, as well as being much younger than their eldest brother. They hadn’t seen their older brother in five years since he had gone to live and train with the Ice Dragons in the North, learning their skills and knowledge, as well as some day hoping to receive the gift of flight by those sacred beasts. He did write to his younger brothers every few weeks though, which was the only way they were allowed to keep contact with their dear brother.

The covered wagon set off, following behind several other wagons full of demons. The noisy clatter of hooves on the rocks was intimidating, showing how big the draft horses pulling the wagons were. ShadowFrost was in shock, he had just lost two of the most important people in his life. He couldn’t chase after those wagons, or he would be captured himself, maybe even killed. Then he would have no chance at ever rescuing his brother. Thankfully, from stories he had heard, Blizzard would probably not be killed. He took comfort in this, although it still made him sick to think of his brother being forced into slavery. At that moment, he swore he would rescue Blizzard from the clutches of the satanic Elf King someday. First, he would have to get big and strong like his father and older brother. He would do so, and then he would again be reunited with his brother.

With that thought, ShadowFrost disappeared into the forest, an adrenaline rush from his newfound determination keeping him running until he found a place he would call his new home, and train himself like he had seen his older brother train to be the strong, skilled warrior he was now. He knew that one day he would rescue his brother and avenge his father’s death. He would make his father proud.

Author's Note

Any critiques welcome.