[i]Ku Rudo Mountains // 0345 hours // Kaln'oir, the Snow God[/i] [i]By a fire in a small house in the Kaln'oir Village is a man, around mid-twenties, lounging in a large, old, green sofa. On his lap is a golden, magical longsword, the Holy Sword Excalibur. The man is holding a small, white rag, and he was polishing Excalibur, and the light of the fireplace was reflected in the Holy Blade's golden metal. The man was slouched, freshly shaved. His long, light blond hair was tied in a ponytail behind him, his golden eyes locked in concentration on the task at hand. His hands were strong, yet gentle, his casual, light yellow t-shirt tight around his torso. He wore light, faded blue jeans, and black socks. The room was small, the only source of light being the fire. A thin blanket was thrown to the side of the sofa, a pillow on top of that, and there being to bed in the small room, the man probably slept on the sofa. the couch was about a yard and a half away from the fireplace, the door to the man's right. The window's blinds were thrown open so the blizzard could be seen from inside the room. Suddenly, a loud scuffle was barely audible over the howling winds from outside. The man quickly stood, running over to his closet besides the fireplace, throwing it open. He pulled out a winter coat, throwing it over himself, and a pair of snow pants and shoes, hastily putting those on, as well. He pulled a long sheathe about the same length as Excalibur from the closet, putting the strap over his left shoulder as he ran back to the couch, throwing the Holy Sword into the sheathe. He ran to the door, throwing it open, and looked out. Another man stood outside, calling out at the top of his lungs:[/i] "The bandits! From the canyon! They're coming for the Vault!" [i]Eyes wide, the blond man shouted back:[/i] "You won't get nothing done like that! Knock on their damn doors!" [i]The first man's reply was inaudible, if he did reply, however he ran off, his footsteps unable to be heard over the screaming winds. The piercing gale was subzero, and visibility was near zero, for the night was dark and the clouds were dense, the snow soaring almost horizontally. The first man was soon no longer in sight, however the men of the houses quickly rushed out, grabbing their weaponry as they gathered around the blond-haired man. One yelled out above the winds:[/i] "What the hell is going on, Josh?" [i]The blond man, Josh, looked towards the man who had called out.[/i] "Bandits, Dylan," [i]He replied, loud enough so his voice was audible.[[/i] "Bandits're coming, and I'd betcha a hundred dollars that they've caught wind of the Vault." [i]Dylan cursed loudly, and Josh turned back to the other men then had gathered.[/i] "Alright, listen up," [i]He said, addressing the men that would risk their lives to protect what was dear to them.[/i] "I'll visit the Vault, see if the bandits have found it. If I ain't back in twenty-four hours, call me dead. Protect your children and wives, men, because I doubt that these bandits'll take pity." [i]With that, Josh turned tail, and headed into the mountains at a brisk jog, his footprints quickly buried by the falling snow. He entered a woods of pine trees, where the trunks and leaves of the trees blocked most of the near-horizontal snowfall. Here, footprints could be seen, footprints that Josh did not make. He stared at the footprints, and decided to follow, his boots falling silently in front of one another in the snow, softly blanketing the ground. Swiftly jogging, the blond-headed man soon caught sight of a small figure in the forest, cloaked in blank. He picked up his pace, his footfalls still silent as a rock, until he was only a hundred yards from the figure in front of him. Here, deep in these woods, soft moonlight shone through the trees, and the dark sky was clear. Josh had no idea that he had been running for so long, that he had completely outran the blizzard, yet he focused on the figure. The figure was about six foot two, and wore a long, torn black cloak, and their broad shoulders showed that the figure was most likely a male. His back was turned to Josh, his gloved hands hanging by his sides. Josh narrowed his golden eyes in suspicion, and decided to tail the strange figure. After what felt like hours to Josh, the figure turned a corner, and disappeared from view. Following the figure's footsteps, Josh rounded the same tree the figure had turned around. Suddenly, a soft whistling was heard in the calm night air, the quiet sound of a knife speed towards the back of Josh's head. He quickly ducked, and a throwing knife sank into the trunk of the pine tree only a foot away from Josh. He reflexively spun, drawing Excalibur, which glowed in the in the night, rushing forward quickly. The figure drew a longsword as well, a black, three foot long one. He swung vertically, the blade whistling through the still air, and Josh stopped in his tracks, sending snow flying. He lifted Excalibur up, the grip of the Holy Blade above his left shoulder, and the figure's black longsword struck the glowing, golden one with a loud clanging. Josh then maneuvered his arms so the force of the figure's vertical slash continued on down, however now Josh's blade was there, redirecting the blade downwards to Josh's right, and the tip of the longsword sank into the snow, Josh having executed a perfect parry. Josh smiled in pride, bring Excalibur up and thrusting with the blade, however the figure was ready; he jumped back, kicked off to Josh's left, and sprang forward, all within a single second. The figure was now on Josh's left flank, who was still facing forward. The figure lunged, aiming a wide, arcing slash from left to right, and Josh spun, blocking it the slash halfway through. He pushed forward, trying to knock the figure off balance, however his opponent held his ground, his boots firmly planted into the snow. The figure pulled his sword back, aiming a thrust forward, and Josh sidestepped slightly, lifting Excalibur vertically, and parrying the thrust to his right. The figure's momentum made him stumble slightly, however he used it to his advantage, taking a few quick steps to Josh's right. From underneath his torn, black cloak, the figure pulled out a black, 9mm pistol. Josh's eyes widened, and the figure pointed the gun at Josh's forehead. He, however, was already on the move; just in time. His head moved out of the way a millisecond before the figure pulled the trigger, and the 9mm bullet flew past his head, its soft whistling through the air drowned out by the loud bang from the gun. The bullet scraped Josh's left ear, and he grit his teeth. Without flinching, he used the rightward movement to aiming a swing with Excalibur at the figure's back, its soft glow unwavering throughout the night. The figure turned with amazing speed, blocking the swing, however Josh's attack was with much more force than the figure expected; he was sent flying back, and slammed into a pine tree, the snow on top of the tree falling on top of his body. The figure slowly stood, growling, before an earthquake shook the forest. Snow fell off the trees, landing on the ground with a soft thud the resonated within the entire forest. Just after, a loud rumbling was heard from behind Josh, the figure pointed behind the golden haired man, a shocked expression underneath his black hood. Josh turned, and was greeted with an avalanche, snow rushing down from the peaks towards him. He suddenly yelled out:[/i] "Run!" [i]Both he and the figure sprinted for their lives downhill, the hundreds of tons of snow closely following. However, they couldn't outrun Mother Nature, and their bodies were buried under the avalanche. The two were never to be seen again.[/i] ((Limit, continued in first reply.))