Edge of Warfare

Pilot

One thousand years ago, the Time Hurl War began between two factions: the Black Mercy and the Guild Mash. These two factions went to war when the leader of the Black Mercy faction tried to take control of the Guild Mash by force to unite the two factions. Offended, the Guild Mash fought back. What started out as rock throwing, became gunfire, magic, arrows, blades, and explosives. Cities were destroyed, families killed, and the castles crumbled. No one was safe from this war. Then an awful weapon was used on both sides.

We called it the Harrier. It was the largest explosive ever used in the history of the land we once called Guardia. The two Harriers hit the center of each faction, killing all but ten. Those ten, were in the thick of battle when the explosions hit.

When they realized they were all that was left, they decided to finish the war with them. Them and them alone.

On the Black Mercy: Gavin, Ying, Toro, Dreah, and Moth. On the Guild Mash: Sora, Takashi, Yui, Brian, and Lisa.

These ten survivors will clash many times but, in the end, only one faction must remain standing for the war to end.

For this is the tale of the faction that outlasted the other. Whether the winner is 16 years old or 21.

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I crouched behind a torn wall and looked over my shoulder. I closed my eyes and felt their presence nearby. North... West... North-West. 45 degrees North of my position. Keeping my eyes closed, I pointed my bow in the direction of the target. Aim at an angle of 29 degrees... 30... 46! 46 degrees. I sighed and poured my mana into the arrow. Fire... Ice... No. I need something strong. Gunpowder. I felt the arrow grow heavy. Beads of sweat formed on my head. I pulled the arrow back and perfected my aim. Two targets, both strong and both knew where I was. I let the arrow fly and kept my eyes shut. The arrow exploded but the targets weren't injured. They moved. East... South... No! They're above me. I leapt forward and dodged the large six foot by two foot blade. I opened my eyes and pulled another arrow into position. When I opened my eyes, I saw Ying sitting on Toro's shoulder.

Ying was the youngest in this war. 16 years old with long black hair and shy brown eyes. Her black ears poked out from the top of her head and twitched at the sign of danger. She wore a small purple top with a matching skirt. She wore tall black boots and a belt around her waist held potions to aid her teammates.

Toro was a different story. He was a tank. A full armor battle suit hid any sign of humanity other than the piercing blue eyes shining from inside the silver helmet. His large sword had a gold hilt and the blade had a red gem in the center. Toro stood twice my height and lifted his 300 pound sword like it weighed nothing more than a feather.

I swallowed. Archers aren't very good at close range. We carried gold twin knives but they were awkward to use without, at least, two years of training. I only had two months. My inexperience made me extremely vulnerable in close quarters.

"Oh, Sora." Ying jumped off Toro's shoulder. "A-are you ready to... die...?"

I hung my bow on my quiver and drew up my twin blades. I held both so that the tips of the blades pointed behind me. "I'll die when the war ends in the Guild Mash's favor."

I rushed forward and Ying ran behind Toro. Toro swung his blade at me but I quickly ducked and swung up. My blade bounced off his thick armor and he punched my face. I slid a hundred meters away on my back before I could flip over and recover. I reloaded my bow and fired a flaming arrow. The arrow bounced off of Toro's blade and he dashed toward me. I ducked under his blade with the consequence of not seeing Ying's foot coming to my right. The foot connected with my side and I dropped to my knee. I sighed and jumped up to punch Ying. Toto quickly grabbed my arm and threw me into a large building. When I hit an interior wall, I fell down to a sitting position and grunted as pain tugged at every inch of my body. I forced myself up just in time to see Toro's blade barely miss my face. I leapt aside and fired three ice arrows as I slid backward. The arrows froze his right arm but he only needed one arm to shoot. Ying quickly appeared behind me and went for a punch in the back. I backflipped over her and slid to a halt by a large window. I tossed my bow aside and drew up my blades again. I focused all of my mana into them and rushed Toro. Toro rushed toward me and swung his sword to my right. I jumped over the blade and stabbed through his shoulder plates. He roared in pain and tossed his blade aside. His left hand found my waist and he pulled me off, quickly pulling me back in for a metal head bash that made the world spin around me. He tossed me to the ground as I coughed up blood trying to find my sense of balance. He kicked my side and I dropped from the third floor of the building. I landed on the cobblestone path with a slam and lost all strength to move. Toro jumped out of the building and prepared to stab me but a beam of light knocked him off course, sending him a block away.