Max wiped his hand on a cloth absent mindedly, until he realized that his efforts were futile. The cloth was soaked in blue liquid that it wasn't able to soak up anymore. He flung it ontop of a pile of scrap metal. "How much longer do we have to be here? It's been 5 hours already." The blacksmith he was talking to turned to him, took off his gloves and asked "When did you ever get bored of something?" "When I stopped being a fighter to be a garbage collector." said Max, "Look, if there isn't anything left for me to do I'm going to go home and rest, alright?" "Fine, go. I don't need you here anymore anyway, got all the metal I need." Max needed no second bidding, as soon as the blacksmith was done he got out of his chair and headed straight for home.
He was not 10 minutes away from his house when he overheard some people talking in hushed voices;
"What did they find?"
"A body."
"Whose?"
"No one can tell, its too disfigured."
"But why is this happening during the day?"
"Where did this happen?"
The people turned to look at Max standing near them. "Near the market place." one responded. "Thank you, now you best get to your homes. If there are more attacks you'll want to be as protected as possible." Max ran off towards the market. "Damnit, is sleep so hard to come by these days?" he thought.

It had been a long travel, but finally Kolnar had got to the city of Heros, "finally i may actually get a soft bed to sleep in" he said to himself as he approched the large open gates, as the young man made his way into the city he saw a small group of what looked like city guards, one of them turned to look at him then spoke out loud "you arent from around here are you?" he ask before continuing to speak "you may want to get inside, it will be dark very soon and you dont want to be out on the street when it gets dark". The guards voice was shakey, as if he was scared of something but that didnt matter to Kolnar, he was used to all sorts. Making his way slowly through the streets he looked around, the sky was getting darker and the city had an odd spookyness about it that Kolnar just couldn't put his finger on, after shrugging off the odd feeling he continued to make his way through the cobbled streets, searching for for an inn and also somewhere he could restock on supplies. Each step the young man took was almost totally silent, like he wasn't even there, but sure enough he was, his crimson samuri attire had a slight sparkle to it as the the dim light from the street lamps hit it, he then stopped at a corner before raising both hands up to his head where he would then tie back his shoulder length raven black hair with a crimson coloured band, only a few single strands were left loose which would then fall infront of the white metal mast that he wore, this mask had no special meaning apart from to hide who he was, it was his job that needed such a thing.

After Kolnar had tied his hair back he lowered his hands back down to his waist before hooking his thumbs into the belt that was used to hold his sword to his lower back, this sword had been with him for as long as he had begun training, it was a simple sword by design but with a special ability. Kolnar had named his short sword Banakari, as he knew that naming one's weapon would create a bond, and that is what he wanted, his blood red eyes slowly scanned the darkened street, he saw a few of the locals but they fled after seeing such a strange man in the street, Kolnar could sense an aura of fear in the city and he knew that there was something terribly wrong. The streets had become silent as it got dark, only faint vices from inside the homes of the locals could be heard then all of a sudden a loud voice was heard shouting "OI... You shouldn't be out after dark, don't you know its dangerous?......." the voice then trailed off as Kolnar turned he head slowly to see who it was, he blood red eyes glowing slightly as he noticed it was a city guard, "do not worry about me" Kolnar replied, "I am able to take care of myself" and with that said the young man turned away from the guard and continued he search for an Inn.

"So, they know you." Max said, standing beside Anea, growing stronger by the minute. "I had a feeling you weren't an ordinary person."
The shadow saw the three of them and slowly backed away.
"We can't let it live you know. We can't let it return to its own kind and tell them about us." whispered Max to the other two.

"I will get it." Anea said and jumped at it with her scythe. She slashed it up badly. It let a scream out and its life was failing. The shadow turned back to a human male. "Anea why?" The shadow coughed. Anea then picked him up by his head. "You are a criminal." She said and crushed his head with her bare hands. A metal scrap scratched her arm. Out of the small wound came blue fluid. "Oh great. You probably saw it. I am a shadow but I am not like them. I am strong and have a good heart. I protect the weak from my kind and curse the day I was born as a shadow. I wish I was a normal human." Anea said.

Orin who had been lurking in the shadows of the alleyway steps toward the people in front of him. He pulls the small ritual dagger from his belt and cuts his left hand. He waits for the blood to pool in his hand, then he mutters something in a guttural language and tosses it at the remains of the shadow. When his blood hits the remains it begins to sizzle as it eats way at the body. He turns to the young woman that claims to be a shadow as well and says, "Thank you for killing it for me. My client will be most pleased hear that the shadows are fighting amongst themselves." To the others he says, "greetings my name is Orin Verner. Who are you?"

"My name? I am Anea Kaloun. I kill only kill the shadows who prey on the weak. There are only few shadows like me who protect the weak. It is best that not everyone knows what I really am because it might happen that citizens of the city will stereotype all shadows of being evil bloodthirsty beings. I wish I wasnt a shadow though and have lived as a normal human but recently I had to fight against my own kind." Anea said to Orin.

"My name is Max Defreys." Max held out his hand "I've lived here all my life, been protecting these people from various menaces...such as these shadows. I work for the city, i've been taksed to find out the source of these shadows and stop them from murdering people."

"Nice to meet the both of you," he says as he shakes Max's hand. "Seeing as we are being honest with each other I am a warlock currently employed by the high priest. He wants me to deal with the shadow threat to the city." He looks at Anea, "If what you say is true then you due not fall into the conditions of my arrangement with His Holyness (bitter emphasis) and therefore have nothing to worry about from me. And frankly i don't care if you are human, shadow, or a giant scorpion as long as you don't interfere with my work." As he moves toward the end of the alley he mutters, "soon the whole city will know the truth about my kind." He laughs bitterly

Kolnar would raise his eyes to the door as he hears two people rush outside, but then lowers them back down as the barkeep places a plate of food and a mug of water down in front of him, the young male would nod to the barkeep before dropping two gold coins into his hand "thank you" he said, his voice almost silent, he would then raise his right hand to his face and with it he removed his mask then placed it upon the bar next to his plate. His face was hansom, or at least it would be if it weren't for the large scar that went down the left side of his face, starting just above his left eyebrow it cut down over his left eye then half way down his left cheek and was about 4mm thick, the scar tissue was pale against his normally tanned skin. Kolnar kept his left side away from prying eyes as he slowly ate his food, it wasn't the best he had ever had but he was glad to get something in his belly, while eating his food the young man thought about what he was doing here, remembering what the fortune teller had told him over a year ago.
He was told to find Heros, where the shadows come alive with the sound of grinding metal, when he was first told this he was unsure what it ment and now that he was in Heros he still had no clue but from what the guard said the evil creaturs attacking the locals were called shadows..
"could this be what he ment?" he asked himself, pondering what he was to do. After about five minutes he finished his meal and then quickly drank the water before picking up his mask once again with his right hand and placing it back onto his face, covering the scar that he tries so hard to hide, upon doing this he turned to look at the door, only then did he wonder what all the fuss was outside.

After a few seconds of thought Kolnar stood up from his seat at the bar and before he did anything else he placed the sword belt back around his waist, he always liked to have Banakari with him, he learnt the hard way about being unprepared, that was how he got the scar on his face. After securing the belt and making sure the sword was in the position where it should be Kolnar slowly made his way to the door then left the tavern, as he exited the establishment he saw the two that had rushed out, they were talking to a third person. The young man couldn't hear what they were saying so he decided to go and ask if they knew what was going on.

"Excuse me.." he said as he neared the small group, "i was wondering if you could tell me what is going on and what exactly is attacking the locals"

He stopped a few feet away from them, awaiting an answer and unsure what kind of reception an outsider like himself will get..

"I am perfectly understanding. If you had known what I've been through then you would understand my hatred of shadows." Roy turned and walked towards Kolnar and Max trying to stay his blade and attack the shadow that claimed to be 'good'. "Kolnar if it pleases you shall we accompany each other to deal with the shadows?"

Roy then turned to look upwards and glared. He had noticed Kolnar reaching for his blade as Roy talked to him. He heard the faint sound of metal if only barely but it was there. "Who's there?!"

keeping his eyes in the direction of where the sound had came from Kolnar had heard someone speak to him, asking him a question he then slowly turned his head to look at the male known as Roy, "thank you for the offer, but i prefer to work alone and honestly, i am not here to rid this city of its problem", a soft chuckle escaped past his laps as he continued to speak, "I am here to find answers to something that has bothered me for a long time, but once again thank you for the offer". Kolnar the moved his hand from the swords hilt and hooked his thumb into his belt again so he was now resuming a casual stance as he spoke with the others, "what I would like to know is, what it is that these 'shadows' want, there must be reasons why they are attacking"

Max turned to Anea: "One second," he lowered his voice to a whisper "I think we may need these two if we are to get to the bottom of what's going on here. Besides, what do we have to loose?"
He then turned back to the other two. "Kolnar, I don't have the answer to your question, but fortunately that is the answer I wish to find as well. I know you would rather work on your own here, but I think that our expertise could be of use to each other. You could search for clues on your own but you don't know this city like me and Anea here, and if you're looking for answers from the people you'll find that they're not as comfortable with strangers as one might think."

Seeing that the others are ignoring him Orin decides to investigate the source of the sound of metal. As he turns a corner he sees a shadow making a run for it around a another corner and out of sight. "Infernus!" he cries as he sees it disappears. He turns to the others who had been discussing some plan. "Splitting up now will only make it easier for the enemy to track us down and kill us one by one. So I suggest we work together for now."

Max entered the tavern next. Just as he walked in he turned around to see what the others were doing, they were still outside.
Upon reaching the table he sat down across from Kolnar "It'll be a big deal if we get together to hunt down these shadows. This will be the first time the city has taken an aggressive stance. Regardless, its a huge step forward in getting rid of the problem."
Both sat in silence for a while. Then Max spoke again: "What is known so far is that these creatures prey upon the weak, in my experience after I killed one they were not usually agressive towards me, unless, for 2 reasons; I'm hunting one down or if I get in the way of one of them attempting to kill a civilian. They tend to keep away from guards during the day, but if they find one alone in the dark they will not hesitate to kill him. Other than that I have no idea what their motives are."

When Anea was about to enter the tavern, she noticed a man leaning against the wall. He look familiar. "I heard you are turning against us. The elders are trying to find a solution because they fear you. It isnt good for them, if someone as powerful as you is their enemy. It looks like you have found strong friends." The man said. Anea noticed who it was: "Minot. it isnt wise for a rogue like you to get close to the village and spy on the elders." She said. Minot was a guy who violated the laws of shadows by disobeying the elders. He was like a bandit. He killed and robbed people without caring if they were weak or strong. "Anea, they contacted me. They know that were good friends. The elders believe you have bigger plans. They say you want to kill all shadows and want to rule the human realm, killing people at random. Please dont tell me that, that is true. I..." Minot said but then felt a pain in his gut. Anea had stabbed him with a large needle that came out of her hand. "So... they were right." Minot said. Anea then replied: "I dont kill humans at random. I kill those who I think are evil. I will spare the shadows who join sides with me. The good and innocent shall be protected. So are you on my side or have you betrayed me." Anea seemed so cold. It wasnt like people knew her. Minot then said: "I would rather be on your side than on the side of the elders because I love you." He embraced Anea, even though a bit of blue fluid was leeking out of his diaphragm. He couldnt hurt her. He felt so close to her.
Anea opened the door to the tavern and called in: "I will be right back, Max. I have met an old friend." She then went on a walk with Minot. They walked around the area hand in hand. Sometime a gang showed up in front of them. "Oh. We have ourselves a couple here and one of them seems to be wounded. He probably wont be in our way when we rape his girlfriend." They said. Anea immediately turned into her evolved shadow form and said: "Evil humans like you dont deserve to live. I will tear you all to shreds." She felt the sudden fear of the bandits and liked it. They couldnt run away. So Anea tore one of them apart. She tore the second bandits head off as if she would pull a cotten ball apart. The third tried to run but was too slow. Anea ran to him and grabbed him by the face and lifted him off the ground. Anea had an evil grin and said: "Bandits, sexual offenders, outlaws and other people like you are worthless. I dont feel any empathy for your suffering." She then crushed his head with her right claw. Anea then changed back. "Thats how you should handle criminals Minot." She smiled and grabbed his hand. Minot didnt know what to do. He even was afraid of her. He didnt know if she was really protecting innocents or if she was insane and might kill him for fun.

Kolnar sat in silence as he listened to Max and the two others, not even the sound of his breathing could be heard, just then the bartender came over with the drinks and as the tray was set upon the table Kolnar reached froward and took his mug of water with his right hand, as he did so his left hand was already on its way up to his face where upon reaching its destination it would slowly remove the mask before placing it down on the vacant seat next to him. The young man's blood red eyes looked over those that were sitting at the table and after taking a small drink of water from the cup he began to speak.

"so can someone please explain to me what is going on, and what exactly those shadow things are"

After he had finished speaking he took another drink of water as his left hand went up and untied his hair, after doing so he moved his hair slightly so that it would cover the large scar he had on the left side of his face.

Max put down his mug and looked at Kolnar; "You sir, want answers?" he said and then pointed to Anea "Well you talk to her."

"Shadows are beings made of metal. They can have a human form and a shadow form. Some even have evolved shadow forms like me. Most shadows want to kill the weak, while me and my friend here kill shadows and criminals. So if you see us, remember that we are the good shadows. The shadows come from a large village hidden in the forest north of here. The elders tried to negotiate with me because I am strong enough for them to ask not to be the enemy." Anea said.

Kolnar began to frown slightly as he heard the explanation to what the shadows were, although he had seen many things on his travels it was this that brought him the most concern. After a moments thought, the young man looked down at his mug before looking back to the group, his voice had that of an annoyed tone as he spoke, "I believe i have came across something like them before, it was years ago and a long way from here" he paused for a second as he took a drink and as he placed his mug back upon the table he continued to speak, "I am not certain but i think it was one of those so called shadows that gave me this scar and i believe it is them that i am here looking for, when I think about it more it does make a lot of sense"

Kolnar then went quiet and began to remember the night that he was caught of guard, he would never forget the sound that he heard just before the attack, it was like nothing he had ever heard before, unearthly, inhuman. The information that he had just been given concerned him alot, he wasnt sure what exactly he was going to do but he was sure of what needed to be done, these shadows needed to be destroyed.

"I am not interested in saving anyone's life, lets just be clear on that" he said, his voice low and with the hint of annoyance still there, "but I will help you rid this city of these blasted things, I am intent on finding the one that attacked me, i want a reason to why and then i will destroy it"

"Do you remember how the shadow looked like? Maybe I can help." Anea said. Suddenly there was a loud bang outside. "Oh come on! Cant we have a nice cup of ale together!" Anea yelled towards the door. She went to check what the sound was. It was a huge shadow killing a bunch of soldiers. It was about five times taller than a man and compared to Anea, it wasnt humanoid. It was like a tank with a huge claw on top. With one swing of its arm it killed multiple soldiers. Suddenly the claw crushed a soldier after picking him up. Then a drill came out of the claw and dug into a soldier who was laying on the ground. "Pathetic shadow. Only picks on the weak." Anea said. "Okay which one of you cant prove himself and show this thing whos boss. Remember it cant drive curves too well but it is very fast when it drives straight. And it has a thick armor. If you need help ask me. I know this guy and have beaten him before."

As soon as the loud noise was heard, and the female was up and to the door, Kolnar was already up and had his mask back on and as the female known as Anea stopped, a sudden and silent wind blew past her. This wind was in fact Kolnar, speed and stealth was what he was best at and by the time he saw the large tank like shadow his blade, Banakari, was already in his right hand, just then the young male threw what looked like three odd shaped throwing stars, as they flew through the air towards the shadow they made no sound, they were aimed at what looked like the shadow's tank like tracks. The stars then slammed into the tracks and exploded, Kolnar knew that they wouldnt do much damage but it would at least get the thing's attention, and just as he thought, it did, the large shadow spun round and swung its massive arm at Kolnar, but the young man was expecting something like that and as the arm and claw came at him he jumped up onto it then dropped into a crouched position, this was so the wind resistance was lowered and there was less chance of him falling off. The large shadow then began to swing its arm around, probably trying to throw off the young man, but this was to no avail, Kolnar was trained for killing, his job had taught him alot of tricks to do and he was about to send a message through the shadow ranks that their time was at an end.

Kolnar picked his moment carefully, it seemed like minutes but it was more like a few seconds, he then launched himself forward as the shadow paused for a split second, this was all that Kolnar needed to do what he had to, as he moved quickly and silently up the shadow's arm he let Banakari trail along the metal, this caused the arm to split open as Banakari was forged from something special, a very rare and strong metal. There was not many weapons that Kolnar had seen that could match it but there were those that he would call "friends" that also had weapons made from the same metal. The young man had soon made it to the main body of the beast and within seconds had begun to slash away at its armor skin, it didnt take long for him to halt the shadow's movements and then with one fluid movement he jumped forward, raising his sword above his head then brought it down upon what looked like the shadow's head, the short sword of Kolnar slid straight into it, like it was a hot knife through butter, the result of the slowed its movements but did not stop it but Kolnar had already thought of how to finish it, he quickly took out four fragmentation bombs, each one the size of a large grape and the dropped them into the hole after removing the sword, the only problem with these bombs was there wasnt much time to escape, Kolnar had just managed to turn round and was about to jump from the tank like shadow when the four bombs exploded, the resulting blast sent the young man flying.

Flying through the air Kolnar knew he was about to get hert as he was heading straight for a wall so as he slowly spun round in the air he tried to position himself so that it was his left side that took the impact. He hit the wall with some force and then dropped to the ground, just in time to get covered in an odd blue goo that was sent out by the exploding shadow.

Anea had a slightly evil grin on her face: "That fool. Might seem big and strong but is a failure like most shadows. They dont even pick on someone their own size." She went to the frame of the shadow and tore it in two with her bare hands. She grabbed two crystals out of the blue fluid. One was white, the other was blue. She ate the blue one without anyone noticing. She then showed the white one to Kolnar and said: "This is a power crystal. To absolutely destroy a more powerful shadow, this needs to be destroyed." Anea then crushed the white crystal in her hand. "If you dont do this, they might regenerate." Anea said. Then she smiled friendly and said: "Didnt I offer you an ale." She held her hand out to help him up.

"Ameture" said Max as he walked out of the Bar and leaned against a wall. "No, no i'm joking." He said with a big smile on his face. "Although, you did make quite a mess of things" he started to wipe the side of the shirt that had touched the goo-covered wall.
He walked over to the other two and put his hands on their shoulders; "We'd better help these guys out." Max said, nodding to the soldiers. "An no Anea, you did not offer the man ale."

A soft growl would slowly ripple from Kolnar's throat as he began to stand up, his crimson attire splattered with stinking blue goo, "I wasnt expecting to to blow up as quick" his voice had a hint of pain in it, this was due to the fact that he had dislocated his left shoulder by hitting the wall so hard. As he stood up, he picked up his sword as well the resheathed it before moving his right hand up to his left shoulder, upon doing so he would then begin to work the shoulder back into place, he knew that was going to be sore because he had done it a few other times.
Kolnar took a deep breath then pulled the shoulder forward from its position, a slight pop was heard as the joint was reset, the young man was clenching his teeth as the pain was almost to much to bare.

"These things.......are starting to...........annoy me" his voice was quiet as he spoke