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› The World Of HeadBang - "In The Shadow"
Chapter One - Eagle's Eye
Three men sat in the clearing; a makeshift shelter was all that held the harsh winds outside from freezing them to death. Stock still they sat, waiting. Tension mounting each second, each small twitch or blink becoming suspicious, each breath taken with caution, the three men looked hard and warily at each other. All three looked perfectly alike save for one being a few inches taller with an old scar upon his right cheek. A crack of undergrowth whispered into the clearing, three swords sang from their scabbards, the uncertainty of whether or not to aim at each other or face the surrounding clearing.
"The Brothers Iron, what mistrustful beings you are." The voice spoke with fearful coolness once more, "How beautiful it is to feel such hatred in any family, even more so in yours!" The voice seemed to be echoing from every tree, the brothers could not see it, yet still as they scanned the undergrowth they flicked wary glances toward each other.
"Come forward and speak, beast!" Spoke up the taller of the men, his cool blue eyes not betraying him, unlike his brethren. His voice remained calm, powerful and even through his hidden terrors. The three men closed backs to each other, their muscles bunched and stiff as they came to the understanding that they must trust one and other.
"That's more like it, back to back with your brothers." The sick laugh echoed loud in their ears as a small man appeared from the trees in front of the youngest brother, brother Fist. A young man, he was strong and was know as the Iron Fist, his brothers, the Iron Death and his oldest brother, Iron Eagle, had long been jealous of him, at east in his own eyes. For he was handsome and was never without a woman to please him. His name derived from his keen fighting ability, invulnerable hand to hand, he was the warrior of the three. His long black hair showed no thinning and his beard was dark and thick, he felt he was the only true warrior of the family and this made him fearful that one day his brothers would take out their envy, if he could not subdue their lives first. He smiled, for the man had appeared to his, he had been chosen.
"I have not all evening Brother Eagle!" The voice this time full of quiet malice as the mirage disappeared from in front of the younger brother, he quickly swung around to see Iron Death crashing to the ground, a black hilted hunting knife jutting from his open throat. The Iron Fist tore his eyes away from the gurgling corpse just in time to see a large silver axe deliver the death blow. His head cracked from his shoulders, spraying bright blood over the clothes of his brother and killer, and the Iron Fist was no more.
"What is it I can do for you, my lord?" The tall man bowed, his white clothes shining with crimson gore.
"My son." The voice whispered once more around the trees. "My child's birth is near, it is written in the stars and I have heard it in the earth. I have foreseen that my life is in the balance, the King William has allies that will one day wish to see the child dead, you must be there to protect my rebirth."
"It will be done my lord, this I swear upon my soul." The Iron Eagle smiled as his head rose, he had waited so long to see the blood of his brothers spilled. The fact that he was fortunate enough to kill them both was overwhelming; his only regret was that he could not have savoured the kill, feeling their fear swell and their anxiety grow as they waited for the cold death. It was of no matter to him, they had died and their blood had revitalised him. Not since the slaying of his father had he felt this form of joy.
"I have no doubts that you will; your brothers were weak and could not match you in any battle, my son." The voice faded and all sound was gone from the clearing. Weariness settled on the Eagle then, and the weight of what he had done began to crush him. He could not remember what had happened to him, why he had murdered his own brothers so, he knew how it had happened, for he had always feared it would. When young they had been the best of friends, they had loved one another and had a parents who loved and cared for them. It had been very strange, one day it all just changed.
* * *
The boys were all playing in the meadows on an old oak tree not far from their village, his brother Daniel had fell from the tree, as he looked his youngest brother Mitchell fell also, both crashed hard on the ground, then he felt his hands slipping and a darkness dragging him from the high branches, Barry fell into the black. Silently all three sons had fell and silently they had lay there until they awoke together, all bloodstained and bruised. They had been fearful and ran home quickly the villagers all watching the three blood covered children running in blind panic, hurtling toward their home, as they arrived they were grabbed by the village guardsmen and torn from their feet to the ground, punched unconscious.
When Barry had regained his consciousness he had seen his brothers standing freely looking nervously at him as they talked to the guardsmen. Moments later a guard walked over to the young man, a ferocious look of disgust unmasked on his face.
"You sick little bastard!" The guard had said, although Barry had no idea why. "Your brothers have told us all about your... Evil!" The old mans face hardened and he shut tight his eyes as he struggled to look at the boy. Barry recognised him as his kindly uncle, who he had many times been hunting with and had talked about a future in the guard with.
"What have I done? Please, uncle..." The guard slapped the boys face.
"We are no longer of relation, your father, my brother, is dead at your hands, you will hang for this!" The old man hawked and spat in the boy's face. He turned from the shocked boy and stormed from the guard house. Barry had watched as his brothers were marched toward him, the door of the small room where he had been sat slammed and locked into place, he cried as both his beloved brothers held him down, unknowing what had happened, their faces though were menacing.
"Brother, you are to hang, as are we, for your actions they believe us possessed for our lack of memory!" Said Daniel, his fist slamming into the stomach of his brother as he talked through gritted teeth.
"You listen carefully to Daniel and we might just live Barry, you want that, do you not?" Mitchell demanded.
"What is going on, please just tell me... I don't remember anything... God I know so little, is father dead? What of mother? Daniel, Mitchell please tell me what happened to us!" The boy burst into tears as the confusion, grief and pain swept over him.
"We played upon the Oak then as we fell we both awoke briefly to see you use fathers own hunting knife and slice open his throat, then you came toward us and all went black, next we awoke at the oak once more." Daniel coughed as he spoke and took a sharp breath, his grief and guilt taking him. He looked upon his older brother, the one who had looked after him, the one he loved above all others, and he hated him. With a passion he hated them both, they had both possessed him and made him do it, he was sure, why else would he kill his own father, Mitchell had seen nothing but agreed with Daniels score of events as he always did. One day he would kill both his brothers, when he did not need them any more.
Thoughts of blood and glory filled Mitchell's mind as he watched his brothers grapple, he had rejoiced in the blood of his father, and now was clear of the blame, his brother had hallucinated and thought he had seen Barry kill their father, all Mitch had to do was play along, like the younger brother was expected to do and he would be freed of this, he knew Barry was clever enough to keep them alive until the day he needed his brothers no longer, then he would bathe in their blood also. "Use your mind, brother and free us all, we will forgive you for the killing if you keep us alive." He smiled inwardly as he uttered the lies.
"I swear to you both that I have no memory of the death, brothers I swear I remember falling from the Oak and then waking with you covered in blood&..." He trailed off as he saw in both his brothers' eyes something new, at first he thought it just hatred, but now it seemed a presence was there, something inside the eyes watching through him, his brothers these were not, though he could not understand his own thoughts. Their eye gleamed and faded, the presence had gone, as though it had realised he could see it. Daniel and Mitchell both suddenly softened and began to weep; Daniel looked at Barry and embraced him in a tight hug.
"Brother dear gods, what is happening, I mean none of these things, I did not see you kill father. I don't know why, but I remember the same as you, it was as though someone willed me to say it... Are we all possessed good brother, are they right to kill us?" Mitchell collapsed to the floor unable to talk, for he felt the same as Daniel.
"We will leave this place, I promise, now be strong, we must break the iron latch on the door." He sighed. "I will keep watch like the eagle and guide you through it." Hours passed into the dead f night when suddenly the door creaked open, three boys ran through the darkness and into the cold night of the woods, the villagers saw nothing of the them named; Brothers of the Iron Prison until many years later, when the three children had become a feared legend, The Brothers Iron.
* * *
The Iron Eagle wondered around the dawn lit forest as the sun crested the horizon bringing warmth with it. He found a small stream and stripped his clothing, washing his bloody hands and body vigorously. In his frenzy he did not notice his own blood seeping from his nose. Once again he had been possessed. The brothers were damned, and all knew that one day they would die for it, his memory was unclear of the events that led up to his arrival at the clearing, but his brothers seemed as mystified by it as he. The trickery was total, he realised, all three brothers suspecting one another possessed and ready to kill the other two. They had agreed after the death, burning, rape and pillage of Lancaster, their old village, they must never meet again. Together they were dangerous, a force to be reckoned with, something cold would always engulf them when they met, they became unspeakably evil. On his last raid it was said that the famed Iron Eagle's blood lust was insatiable, that he had raped many women and killed children, something he truly could not recall doing, and did not believe himself capable, but it had been confirmed by his closest comrades, he had tried then, but failed.
He was now awake and alive, he knew what he had done and knew he could not prevent it; his guilt was total that he had not tried harder to end his life before all this carnage. He dressed swiftly in new cloths of dark brown trousers, a white wool shirt and doeskin riding boots, threw a fur blanket over his horse and mounted the beast. He kicked the steeldust gelding into a canter, following an intense desire to travel north, toward the city of the King.
Baz H
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