~Chapter 4- The Sky Bandits~
Temp lived in the great desert among a community of Mecarne who resided there. In age 974, when Temp was 4-years old, the Sky Bandits came.
Each of them rode pitch black crows, descending from the sky and circling their land. There were seven of them. Three men, three women, and their leader- a monstrous being unlike anything Temp had ever seen before.
Sky Bandit 7 was an unnaturally expressionless red-haired woman. The only time she seemed to show any emotion was when she smiled while ransacking one of the homes of the town.
Sky Bandit 6 was a vicious blonde who seemed to delight in showing off her power. In a show of force, she decimated a building with a burst of light, simply to show what threat waited for them if anyone dared to resist.
Sky Bandit 5 was a calm woman with short brown hair and wide hips. She gathered everyone to the center of their community and kept them there while the others took whatever they desired. She spoke softly, but her eyes were intense. Temp recalled being terrified to move under he gaze.
Sky Bandits 3 and 4 were brothers sharing black hair who seemed to revel in causing trouble. Sky Bandit 2 was man of long brown hair, broad shoulders, and an intimidating bearing. They went from home to home taking any valuable they desired.
Sky Bandit 1 was unlike anything Temp had ever seen. He wasn't Ralosian like the others. But he certainly wasn't a Mecarne, Densius or Phantine either. He was something else entirely. With luminescent orange eyes, dark ebon arms and a bright white chest and face, he simply watched as his subordinates robbed Temp's people blind.
They didn't harm anyone. They didn't need to. The group was so unfathomably powerful that none could defeat them. It was said that they even faced the Earth Deity Ramesses and won.
The Sky Bandits left as quickly as they came. They mounted their crows and flew off, no doubt in search of another town to rob.
The Sky Bandits disappeared soon after. Temp assumed that they died or turned on and killed each other. In their wake many new bandit gangs were formed, viewing the Sky Bandits as examples to follow. Even Temp end up joining Ekor's group of bandits, thinking that was the best way to make a profit.
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Temp described the day the Sky Bandits robbed his people in as much detail as he could to the kids. Aero had a confused expression, Corri seemed to be slowly accepting it. But Jirro was seething with anger.
"My dad would never do that!" Jirro shouted, angry that anyone would dare speak about him that way.
Temp calmly replied, "You can't act like it doesn't make sense. Why else would your dad's keep moving you across the land every couple years? It's because they're still on the run."
Jirro didn't have a counter to that. But he clearly was refusing to accept it.
Corri decided to speak, "It would explain why Modi was after us last year. Maybe she was trying to get the bounty on them. Makes sense why they didn't join the tournament too," Corri continued, "When we were at Wilvur's farm, Cecil called our dad a 'good for nothing man'. Maybe being part of the Sky Bandits was why?"
Aero had a troubled look on his face, "I don't want to believe that."
"We can just ask them!" Jirro said defiantly, "When we get back to Platt Mountain they can explain everything. Then we'll know that they had nothing to do with the Sky Bandits!"
Jirro stomped towards the bounty board, cracking the stone beneath his feet. He tore down the posters of both of the Sky Bandits and ripped them to pieces. He couldn't wait and demanded they head out for Platt Mountain that instant.
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