Hwarang: Hansung's chronicles

Chapter 2

here's the chapter I promised! again, sorry it took so long!

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Hansung panted as he sprinted away from those... things chasing after him. They looked like the corpses of people that had been dug up and had suddenly come to life again, except with much more bloodlust then a normal human would have. There were so many of them and more continued to appear. He was well aware that he had crossed the borders of any known kingdoms to him and was now into unknown lands far away from his home. He climbed up the least steep part of the cliff face that he could see in the area to try and escape them as it was becoming painfully obvious that he wasn't about to outrun them in the violent storm that continued to rage on around him.

Just as he was about to reach the top he felt the rocks underneath his mud and sweat slicked palms. Before he could slip and fall down into the ever-growing horde below him, a hand suddenly reached out from seemingly no-where and grabbed a hold of his wrist to stop him from falling. Hansung looked up in shock as the hand pulled him up onto the ridge of the cliff and to safety. He stared at his rescuer for a long time, shock evident in his eyes as he gazed upon the obviously immortal being in front of him, the man had long deep brown hair and brilliant mossy green eyes and a healthy olive tan, showing that he spends most of his time outside. He also had no pupil, which Hansung found in equal parts disturbing and fascinating. The man was well built, even if Hansung's view was blocked by the man's beautifully intricate green and yellow robes.

The man turned to look at him, amusement glinting in his eyes.

"Are you going to stare at me all day or are you going to follow me someplace warm and dry?" The man asked and Hansung realised that he might be being a little bit creepy... just a tiny bit. Hansung quickly scrambled to his feet, blushing in embarrassment as he questioned, "who are you? Where am I? oh! I'm Seok Hansung by the way, nice to meet you! Thank you for saving me! Where are we going?" The man smiled gently at him, waiting for him to calm down as he led them through the mountain. "I'm Jinyeol, it is a pleasure to meet you as well Hansung. We are in the Yanshan mountain region, and I take it you're just a little bit lost?" Hansung nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Alright, I'm going to take you to my cave until the storm dies down, then we can decide what to do."

Jinyeol led Hansung into a cave hidden beneath vines and different types of shrubs, pulling the vines away to reveal the path inside, which at first seemed like a normal cave but as they got further in Hansung could see light at the end of the tunnel and about five minutes into their journey the tunnel opened up into a huge cave full of many different kinds of plants, coming together in one big underground eco-system, light up by what seemed like thousands of different coloured crystals that glowed like a million stars on a particularly clear night. Hansung also noticed a large tree house in the direction in which Jinyeol was leading him.

As they settled into the chairs that made up the seating in what Hansung assumed was Jinyeol's treehouse's kitchen, Jinyeol turned to him, raised an eyebrow and asked "Where did you come from? If I'm going to help you get home I kind of need to know." Hansung jumped from the sudden question breaking the fairly comfortable silence they had previously been in. "Ah... um... I'm from the kingdom of Silla. But I'm not going back, at least, not yet anyway." He stuttered, resulting in Jinyeol raising an eyebrow at Hansung's blatant nervousness. Hansung could tell that the raised eyebrow was a silent question that was more than likely either 'why are you so nervous?' and 'why are you not going home?' Hansung realised that he probably shouldn't be talking about something like this with a relative stranger, a stranger who may have saved his life and taken him into his home, but a stranger none the less courtesy of a little voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like his Danse hyung when he was scolding him for doing something stupid. Nevertheless, Seok Hansung was not Seok Hansung if he didn't live to defy the authority figures in his life. He sighed, before explaining everything that had been happening in Silla recently right up until he 'died' and slipped off in the middle of the night.

Jinyeol was suitably and predictably shocked but understanding of why he was trying to hold off returning. "you could stay here with me Hansung, seeing as you have nowhere else to go and you have literally just admitted to me that you are pretty much incapable of protecting yourself with anything other than maybe a bow and arrow." Hansung was about to protest, not wanting to impose and overstay his welcome, when Jinyeol beat him to it, "Hansung don't even think about telling me no on the basis of imposing on me, if I felt that way I then I wouldn't have offered for you to stay with me. It gets boring here alone with no other nymphs or creatures other than the occasional wild animal so it would be nice to have some company. And in the meantime, I can train you to become one of the finest warriors that Silla will ever see, in both combat and, if you're up for it, a little bit of magic." Jinyeol said with a bright smile that lit but his entire face, his eyes seemingly glowing from excitement.

Wait... Glowing?

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Someone was screaming in the background...

Hang on. Screaming?!

Jidwi launched himself out of his bed, swiftly followed by the other Hawarang and together they ran off to find the source of the scream. However, the scene they came across was not one that they expected as there, kneeling on the ground next to Hansung's (the mention of the boy, who had become a dear friend and younger brother to them all shot a fresh wave of pain through Jidwi's already bleeding heart) coffin, was Ah Ro, sobbing and looking every part in shock as he felt as his eyes, along with everyone else in the room's, fell upon the empty coffin, which was going to be buried the next day.

Hansung's body was gone.

Hansung... was gone...

Jidwi allowed one tear to fall before rushing from the room to get everyone else.

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well that's it for today! I promise I will try and update more regularly... Aiming for once a month at least! ~ Snow