Art of the Blade

Chapter 1

It all started when Marcus was younger, he couldn't have been more than twelve years old. He and his mother, Rachel were in Central Park in Fountain City, where they lived. It was the first time that he had laid eyes on them. The personification of evil, demons descended from a portal in the sky. These demons had been showing up for years, long before he was even born. But, this was the first time that he had ever seen them. His mother was struck with immediate fear, and as he turned to protect her, he knew that his minuscule body couldn't possibly save her. He closed his eyes and squeezed his mother as tight as he possibly could.

He began to clinch his teeth with so much force, that his jaw began to grow numb. Just as he began to feel a sharp pain in his jaw, this horrendous howl was released, and he slowly opened his eyes to see a man standing before him adorned with a bright red robe, and a katana in hand. The bright yellow shine coming from the hilt of the man's sword was hypnotic, he found himself lost in its glow. So lost, that he never noticed that the demons had gone, almost as if they just vanished. He turned to his mother who smiles and thanks the man, and when Marcus turned to say something, the mystery man was gone just as fast as he appeared.

Marcus immediately asked his mother, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Marcus, I'm more concerned with you." She said with a sigh of relief.

Shaken but, somehow drawn to the events that just happened, he appeared unsure of how to react in this moment.

"Marcus Parsons!" she implores, "Are you okay?!"

This snaps him out of his trance, and still ignores her question, "Mom, who was that, who was the guy with the sword?"

"That brave man is a Blade, they protect us from the demons who show up here.", as she smiles.

Awed by the idea of this group of people that slayed demons, he vowed to learn all he could about them, from that moment on.

That memory survives with him to this day. He often thinks of what he experienced that day. It motivates him like nothing else could. Marcus remembers staying up nights and studying why the demons came here, how society's own evils had brought about this plague. That it was the behavior of humankind that had unleashed this torment on them, because they hadn't learned how to treat each other with kindness and compassion after all these years. Many religions began to believe that the mere presence of demons was a sign from some deity that society wasn't where it needed to be, and that the existence of the demons was punishment for their sins, that god had turned his back on them.

Marcus never really knew what to believe. He just knew the reality of their existence was made clear on that day at the park. He remembered that people die almost every time there is an attack. He knew Fountain City installed alarms so that the people could more easily seek safety. Overall, he knew that life was different now. So, the question to everyone must be, do you fight, or do you flee? Many still haven't decided that part yet.

The Blades aren't like everyone else, they fight to protect everyone regardless of creed or color. All human life must be protected, because all humans are the same. Peril seems to know no bounds, and neither do the Blades. Just as religions have attributed demon presence to sin, they've equally turned Blades into angels, and as a result they are treated with the utmost respect, many people are enamored with the Blades, imbuing them with celebrity.

Not much is known about the Blades and who they are, or why they started. 'The Blades of the people', they can be heard saying. Marcus knew he wanted nothing more than to be that. He spent his life preparing for it, engaging in athletics to stay in shape, training in self-defense, watching online videos of Blades who were recorded in action. For eighteen years of his life, he knew that he didn't want to be anything but a Blade. There was no choice, he was destined.