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CHAPTER 1 - JOURNEY'S BEGINNING, PART 1: INHERITANCE

Trakis was sure his death was near. It was a cold certainty creeping up his spine.

He was crouched in the dark, cold and tired, hidden away in a corner of the warehouse behind a stack of barrels.

Listening, he could easily hear the heavy footfalls of Malign nearby. The monster that had pursued him across seventeen worlds and was, even now, smashing his way through everything in the warehouse looking for him.

Quickly, he checked his right hand, and the shining metal Device covering it. The small red gemstone set into the Device at his palm was dark.

Damn! That meant he couldn't escape to another world yet. While he was no stranger to life-threatening situations, it was looking to Trakis like it would take something of a miracle to make it out of this one.

He couldn't stay here, with the seemingly unstoppable creature liable to find him at any second. Unfortunately, the only accessible exit was past Malign, on the other side of the building.

He activated his bionic left eye, scanning with infra-red. He had to find out how close Malign was.

He was just in time. The huge shape of Malign was standing on the other side of the barrels. He was bringing his weapon down...

Trakis rolled aside, hands covering his face. Malign's axe splintered through the barrels behind him. The axe blade thudded into the stone floor. It embedded itself right where Trakis had been crouching.

His body rolled to a stop and he found himself looking up at Malign, all two metres of him. The monster was staring at him with evil intent. He started to scramble to his feet.

"Found you." Was all that the monster had to say.

Malign swung a muscular arm around, striking Trakis just as he got up.

He felt his body go limp as he flew backwards through the air. He crashed painfully into a pile of broken crates.

It was a struggle, but Trakis managed to sit up. He felt a sharp, wrenching pain. It was probably a cracked rib or two. He tasted blood in his mouth. There were numerous bleeding scratches across his body. The feeling of death being near grew stronger.

Malign was distracted for the moment. The monster was trying to free his axe from the floor. Trakis had no idea why he always carried that massive heavy weapon of his with him. Frankly, he didn't care. He had to get moving.

The only way he could get up was to brace himself against a wall. Suddenly, Trakis found his hand resting on cold steel. It was a small ladder, leading up to a series of catwalks that criss-crossed the ceiling high above. It would be too small for Malign. The monster wouldn't be able to follow. The catwalks wouldn't offer him an escape route, but it would buy time for the Device to fully recharge itself. Not exactly the miracle he was hoping for, yet it would have to suffice.

His limbs were aching, but Trakis endured the pain. He forced himself to climb. And not a moment too soon. Malign had his axe free, and was coming at him.

The monster took a swipe with his weapon and missed. The axe hit the ladder just below Trakis. It sliced through into the wall as Trakis kept climbing.

The ladder started shaking. Trakis glanced down to see that Malign had a hold of the ladder. He was trying to pull it away from the wall.

Immediately, he knew he wouldn't make it to the catwalk in time and so made a jump for it instead. Despite his best efforts, he hit its edge hard, but he was able to grab hold of the railing. Behind him, the ladder collapsed, crashing down onto Malign below.

Trakis hauled himself up to the relative safety of the catwalk. He allowed himself the briefest of moments to catch his breath. Then he got moving again, along the catwalk, away from Malign.

A sudden, searing pain rippled through his left shoulder. He cried and stumbled. His whole body ached when he struck the catwalk's metal surface.

Trakis was stunned to find he was bleeding all over the place and had a metal bar impaled through his shoulder. It was one of the rungs from the fallen ladder, ripped off by Malign and thrown with incredible force and accuracy. He was already taking aim with a second.

"So much for the miracle..." Trakis mumbled.

A second missile was thrown his way, and he had to duck out of its path. He started crawling along the catwalk. A vain attempt to put some distance between himself and the monster.

A sudden whistling and something shot up past Trakis and the walkway onto which he was bleeding. A split-second later, he realised it was Malign's axe. It had missed by a wide margin. Trakis frowned. That was strange, Malign usually had much better aim.

It didn't take long to see that Malign had hit exactly what he'd actually been aiming for, one of the crossbeams set into the warehouse's ceiling, to which the catwalk was attached. The axe smashed it into splinters before clattering back to the ground.

It's support gone, the catwalk creaked and shuddered, about to fall. There was a sickening moment for Trakis as he could see just what was about to happen, but was powerless to stop it.

It was a long way to the ground, Trakis found himself thinking as the catwalk fell with a tremendous crash, carrying him and a good chunk of the ceiling with it.

Next thing he knew, Trakis was pulling himself from the pile of debris from the fall, the dust still settling.

Pain was now his constant companion. He was sure at least a few more bones had broken here and there. In addition, a fragment of metal had become lodged in his left thigh, giving him trouble as he tried to stand. Things had just gone from bad to worse.

The billowing dust was in throat. Trakis coughed, trying to see through the dust to where Malign was. He could make out the monster's shape and realised Malign was retrieving his axe, pulling it out from among all the debris.

There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. He wouldn't be able to escape with all his injuries. This was the end. So he was going to die here...

Suddenly, he caught a red glow out of the corner of his eye. He checked his right palm to find the gemstone was glowing brightly. The Device was charged! He could get away!

"Guess that's what they mean by 'the nick of time'..." He muttered as he turned quickly, and swiped at the thin air with his palm.

The gem flared and sparkled. It looked as if some sort of hole had been ripped in the fabric of the world, a ragged pitch black opening, floating motionless in the air, glowing red at its edges.

Without a moment's hesitation, Trakis dived through it, vanishing instantly from sight.

The creature known as Malign calmly watched him go, standing amongst the wreckage of the warehouse. He continued to watch as, a few seconds after Trakis disappeared, the hole seemed to close up of its accord, fading away as if it had never been there at all.

Slowly, Malign looked down at his massive left hand. There was a shining metal device covering it, with a green gemstone, glowing brightly, set into the palm.

"You do not escape that easily, Traveller."

* * * * * *

Max Cutter was having a bad week.

It was almost 7 am. as he wandered aimlessly through the streets of the Chitslewick, the small English town that was unfortunately his home. The day was dawning, light filtering back into the world. He'd thought that an early morning walk might clear his head, help him organise his thought. But it was during this walk that Max realised the problem.

He just didn't belong here.

A part of him had known this all along, yet still it was something of a surprise.

It wasn't just that he didn't belong in this town. Deep down, he felt as if he didn't even belong in this world. He just didn't fit in. It was that simple.

But, frankly, there was nothing he could do about it. He was stuck here, in a dead end office job and with a girlfriend with whom he had broken up with the day before, and he would just have to live with it.

"Damn, that's depressing." Max said to himself.

It was then he realised he was wandering through Danbury Park, a standard public area of grass and trees and green plastic benches. It was deserted at this hour, of course, unless you counted the litter, in which case it was positively bustling.

Max selected a bench and sat, wallowing in his depression. He even considered offering a prayer to the God he didn't believe in, but decided against it. The big non-existent guy upstairs was probably busy.

Besides, his attention had to suddenly be diverted elsewhere. A man appeared literally out of nowhere right in front of him.

Out of nowhere is, perhaps, not true. He came out of a strange black-looking hole that was suddenly in the air in front of Max.

The man tumbled to the ground and lay there in a crumpled heap, not moving. The hole through which he'd come vanished in the blink of an eye.

Despite the strangeness of this, Max remained calm. Maybe it was because he was inherently a bit strange himself. Maybe not.

Max stepped over to this newly arrived person. He found him to be unconscious and badly injured, dressed in the tattered remains of a blue jumpsuit. There was a metal bar impaled through one shoulder and various cuts and bruises adorned his body. He was covered in a mixture of grime, dust and blood. Fearing other injuries he didn't know about, Max didn't attempt to move him.

Max was just about to run off to find a phone and call an ambulance, when he noticed this strange man's left eye.

It wasn't a human eye. It was artificial, made of some sort of smooth blue metal. There was no iris or anything, just the smooth blue surface. As Max leaned in closer, he could just make out a faint electronic hum.

It was plainly obvious that eye was beyond anything of its like on Earth. Automatically, his mind began going through where something like that could have come from. And, being the kind of guy he was, that included some pretty strange stuff.

And there was something else. The right hand of this stranger was encased in what looked like some sort of device, made of smooth grey metal, with a dark red gem embedded in the palm. Cautiously, he reached out to touch it.

It was cool to the touch. But as his fingers rested on its surface, the device suddenly seemed to melt in a split-second and turn to a metallic liquid. Before Max even had a chance to react, it had flowed from the unconscious stranger's hand to his, where it re-solidified in an instant.

There was a moment of panic. Max stumbled back, trying to pull this thing from his hand. But it wouldn't move. It was as if it had become a part of his limb.

A few seconds later, he gave it up. He could see that it wasn't going to come off any time soon. He stood there for a moment, just staring at this bizarre thing that had attached itself to his hand, red gemstone and all.

What is this thing? Max wondered. What the hell is going on?

"Guess that means I don't have long left."

The stranger was awake now, watching Max. "Funny." He said. "Thought I'd have longer."

Crouching down beside him, Max wasn't sure what to say. He'd never had to comfort a dying man before. "You should probably lay still, mister," he said, "and try not to talk. You're not in good shape."

"Listen, boy." Said the man. His voice was weak. "Firstly, the name's Trakis. Second, the Device has left me and bonded with you. That means I'm going to die, simple as that."

"You're not going to die." Max tried to sound reassuring. "I'll just go get some help." He was about to leave, but Trakis grabbed his arm.

"No!" He hissed. "It's too late for me. But before I'm gone, I need to tell you. About the Device, about how you are the new Traveller."

"The new what?" Said Max.

Trakis took a moment to cough, spitting up blood. "Just shut up and listen, boy! I won't be able to explain this twice. Not even sure I'll have enough time left to say it once, but here goes."

As he went on, he tapped the thing on Max's hand. "That there is the Traveller Device. It will allow you to open dimensional holes in the fabric of time and space and travel anywhere, and I do mean anywhere, in the universe. Any place that exists, has existed, or will exist. When that gem in it starts glowing, its recharged and ready to go. But don't bother trying to control where you end up, because you can't. It's random."

"The Device chose you. I think it may have a degree of intelligence, but I'm not sure. It chose you because it senses you are suitable, in mind and body, to be the Traveller. It will only leave you when you are going to die, when it will choose another to take over from you. There have been many Travellers, each inheriting the Device as the previous Traveller died."

He coughed some more. More blood came out. "I wish I had time to explain the whole Traveller legend, but I don't. But, I must warn you about Malign. He will doubtless arrive here soon. He will try to kill you..."

Trakis suddenly coughed violently. Blood and mucus sprayed from his mouth. Once he was done, his head fell back, eyes closed.

Max instinctively knew he was dead. Standing up, he looked at the 'Traveller Device' on his hand. He didn't know what to do or think. This situation was just too bizarre.

Ordinarily, he would just dismiss this ridiculous story about travelling anywhere in the universe. But things here were far from ordinary. This Trakis had arrived through some sort of hole. He had an artificial eye that no one on Earth would be able to make. And there was the device, it had moved from Trakis to himself of is own accord and that was hardly normal.

If this wasn't real, it was one hell of a bizarre dream.

Even if Trakis' story had only a smidgen of truth to it, there was the matter of Malign. He had said this person would be coming to kill him. But...

"Who is Malign?" Max asked himself out loud.

"I am." Rumbled a voice from behind.

When Max turned and saw the monster, he realised and accepted that there was no way his life would ever be the same again.

Monster was indeed the perfect description. It wasn't human, that was for sure. It stood about seven feet tall, was humanoid with purplish skin and was massively built. It stared at Max with a pair of fiery-looking eyes set into its monstrous, animalistic face. A straggling mane of black hair hung from its head. A single, curled and bloodstained horn protruded from the left side of its skull.

Malign's primitive, haphazard clothing looked as if it had been made from a blend of various animal furs, but Max suspected those furs came from no animal on Earth. He was carrying a huge, solid axe that was as big as he was.

Max took particular note of Malign's left hand, and what looked awfully similar to his own Traveller Device.

"Okay." Said Max, carefully, starting to back away without any sudden moves. "I'm kind of sorry I asked."

The monster was looking at the dead body of Trakis. It then looked at Max. And the Traveller Device on his hand.

"You are the Traveller now." Malign's rumbling voice was even and calm. "I will kill you now."

"Um." Said Max. His mind was racing, trying to figure a way out of this. "Could we reschedule? Right now isn't a good time for me."

Malign didn't answer. He just started to raise his axe.

"Heart set on right now, eh?" Max said, diving to one side as the axe hit the ground.

"Any particular reason you want me dead?" Max was just picking himself up from where he'd landed.

"You are the Traveller." Was the monsters reply as he turned to where his target now crouched. "I am sworn to eradicate all Travellers. I will not rest until I have done so."

"Wow." Said Max, quickly glancing about for an escape route. "That must really ruin your social life."

Knowing full well that glib comments would not save his life here, Max chose that particular moment to turn and run like hell, just as Malign had begun approaching, axe raised.

The streets were deserted, so there was no one for Max to ask for help from. Of course, there probably wasn't anyone in this small town capable of stopping the creature that was, even now, pursuing him. Max found himself doubting that even a thermonuclear explosion would stop that thing.

On and on and on he ran, not stopping or looking back, not generally caring where he went, just so long as he got away from Malign on his way. He wasn't sure how far behind him Malign was, but when, after about half an hour, he had to stop at a street corner to catch his breath, the monster was nowhere to be seen.

Max leaned on a lamppost, trying desperately to process everything that had just happened. Just what the hell was...

His eyes slipped to the thing on his hand, the Traveller Device. The red gemstone was glowing brightly. Trakis had said that would mean it would be ready to go. But how was he supposed to activate the damn thing?

Suddenly, he heard a release of breath behind him. Acting on instinct, he ducked. In doing so, he barely avoided the swing of Malign's axe, which sliced straight through the lamppost instead. There was a slight spark as the electrical cables inside were cut.

For such a massive creature, Malign had been able to sneak up on him surprisingly easily.

Max stumbled away from Malign, just as the top half of the broken lamppost tumbled, striking his attacker across the shoulder.

With Malign momentarily distracted, Max had only a few seconds. Surely the Device wouldn't be too difficult to turn on? He had to get away...

Without really thinking, Max swiped at the air in front of him with his right hand. The red gemstone flared and Max found himself staring at a red-rimmed opening floating in the air before him.

Max risked a glance back. Malign was coming once again, axe at the ready.

Taking a deep breath, Max dived through the rip in space, hoping it would take him somewhere safe...

* * * * * *

A feeling of cold greeted Max. Not from the journey through the hole in space. That was, as far as Max could tell, an instantaneous trip. The cold came from the fact that he'd then landed in a snowdrift.

It was a really intense, biting cold that struck Max hard, chilling him to the bone in seconds and quickly sapping his strength. What the hell was going on?

Without warning, a powerful hand gripped Max by the back of the neck and hoisted him up out of the snow. Was it Malign, about to finish him off? He didn't care now. He was too cold to fight back.

A voice spoke. "Now that was a strange sight, I must admit." It was a deep, gruff voice.

Max felt himself being set down on his feet and a large blanket being placed on his shoulders and wrapped around him, shielding him some from the cold, but not nearly enough.

"Now, how did you arrive here like that?" The voice spoke again.

"I'll let you know when I know where the hell 'here' is." He found it hard to talk and the statement came out as a croak. He turned as he asked, to see the man who had pulled him from the snow.

Except it wasn't a man. Or even human.

Standing in the snow beside Max was a huge wolf-man. It was basically humanoid, but covered in thick brown fur and had the head of a wolf. It stood just under six feet tall and was heavily muscled.

Considering how cold it was, this creature wore surprisingly little clothing. Just a pair of simple trousers, and a long cloak wrapped around his shoulders. A number of packs and bundles were strapped across his back, as well as a large sword held in a scabbard. He wore no footwear, his big, clawed feet bare. Max guessed this beings fur must protect him from most of the cold, even though such a fact was hardly important right now.

"You are currently in the middle of the Kraddeck Snowfields, just south of the Brinic glacier." The wolf creature said, in answer to Max's question.

The names meant nothing to Max. Anyway, he was too busy thinking about the wolf-man This was proof that what Trakis had told him was correct. He wasn't on Earth anymore. He could travel to other worlds! He took a moment to try and imagine the possibilities...

"We shouldn't stay out here in the open for too long." Said the wolf-man. "And you, without fur, especially."

Max forced his eyes fully open and looked at his surroundings properly for the first time. The two of them were standing in the middle of nowhere, a frozen wasteland of ice and snow stretching for as far as Max could see in every direction.

"By the way, I am Draig." The wolf-man said, pulling his cloak tighter around him. "A Wolven Knight of the Fourth Order. Do you have a name?" He wasn't really paying Max much attention, but was glancing about, trying to get his bearings.

"Max." Said the human. "Max Cutter."

Draig stopped what he was doing and looked at Max. "What kind of a name is that? And why do you look like that, so unusual? Birth defect?"

Max was shocked at this suggestion. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing to be ashamed about." said Draig, returning his gaze to the landscape. "It happens. We're lucky we're not too far from my grandfather's home. I was on my way there. Shouldn't be more than five miles. Can you walk?"

Max tried a few steps. But the cold had started to really get to him and his limbs felt too heavy.

"I'd have to say no..." Max said, as consciousness slipped away and he crashed face first into the snow.

To Be Continued...