The Final Journey of Lance Chandru

Slowly he walked  along the road. The sun shone brightly in the early morning sky, the sound of his footsteps  thumping beneath him as the dirt crackled, and the stones seemed to snap with every step. The smell of the morning dew slowly burning off the wet grass  filled his nostrils with it's slightly musty smell. A simple trip, one he had made many times before, so often in fact he knew  how many steps it took to get  there. The morning songs of the birds sang in harmony with the sound of his  feet providing the rhythm. It was just like every other morning, a smile upon his lips, the spring in his step, his  pack strapped  to his back. Off to visit his eldest brother and  his  FC in the next  town over, just like any other day...

...The wispy smoke  of  the morning dew  being  burned off by the rising sun danced in the air, fading into the blue of the sky blurred and distorted the tall stalks in the fields. The air slowly grew heavier, thicker, the heat of the sun trapping the mist, pushing it down. It was going to be a hot one this day, but  the rains would come soon and cool the air and quench the dry, thirsty land. Onwards he walked, the words of the scroll still swimming in his head...
  "Brother,
 I bid you to come to my home as soon as you can. I have the greatest of news of our brother Tristan and together we will travel to be there for the signing of the contract between himself and Lady Callisto.  Come at once as we will have to sail to the island he now calls his home. I have commissioned us a ship to travel there and we  leave as soon as you arrive.
          Stephen"

Oh how the words swirled and  danced in his head. To finally get to see his brother Tristan after so long... He had many pranks to pull on him to make up for lost time...


...The air grew thicker, the  heat of the morning  licking at his flesh, biting at  lungs as he trudged  on. Almost half way there he smiled, he would be there before the searing heat of the afternoon sun. The forest ahead, some relief from the cruelness of the rising sun, it was  just a little further...

...The shade of the trees welcomed him, their cool darkness embracing him as it surrounded him. Pools of light splashed through the canopy, their  light licking at his skin, trying to sting his eyes.
 Step after step he walked on, the song of the forest seemed to sing along  with him as he began to hum a tune softly. Just the other side of the forest lay the city  his eldest brother lived in, he thanked the gods for the cool shade of the forest today...

...The gurgle of the river caught his ears, how he remembered the sweet coolness of it's water. He checked his bota, almost empty, a few extra steps to refill it would be well worth them.
 The forest floor crinkled and crunched  under his feet as he stepped off the road into the forest. The thought of  the river's sweet water brought back memories of him and his brothers playing and  splashing in it. He hoped the entire family would come, but he  knew  his sister would  be too busy  keeping the kennels full where she lived...

...The bite of the cool water soothed his feet, chilled his hand as he filled his bota. He closed it tightly and slung it onto his back and leaned forward. His hands dipped into the water, cupping  it to his lips for a cool drink. He could feel it's sweetness as it slipped past his lips into his mouth, down his throat....

...Blackness, complete blackness. The searing pain raced through him, his ears  hearing the sickening thud and cracking split  of bone. he could feel the cold water crashing against the back of his head, swirling around the front of his face. His head  pounded, his  vision blurred as he struggled to see. But all he saw was not the crystal clear water his lips had just enjoyed, but red, blood red. His head throbbed madly, he could hear the voices of men around him, he could not move.
  "Take everything, where he is going  he will not need them anymore." he heard barely over the throbbing in his head and ears. He could feel his life slipping away, his thoughts went to his brothers and sister.
 A darkened figure stood in front of him, just a black, faceless figure loomed above him...
 
   Then nothing but the last image his eyes would ever see again...
    ...his body strewn upon the ground...
               ....headless....