Chapter 1: Sword and Stone
Kaerius stood just outside the entrance of the cave, his back to the opening with his arms crossed, as he took his last glimpses of the field around him. The man had been draped in a dark copper robe, with a brown line around the edges of the sleeves, neck, and the bottom near his feet. His jet-black hair protruded slightly from under his hood, which he kept up for the moment to keep the sun out of his jade eyes. A slash mark could be seen vertically across his eye, when his hood had been taken down, a true sign of his warrior-hood. He let out a sigh, wondering where the rest of his party was. His leader had helped create a capable party for the dungeon quest, but due to certain circumstances only five people could arrive.
The man let out another sigh, and uncrossed his arms as he turned to the group who had assembled behind him. The group of five stood in the field, without one of their three “Tank” players. The team which had been assembled to be balanced, with three heavy hitter classes and three light hitters with strong magical skills. Kaerius, the Blademaster and leader of the group. He worked hard to get through the ranks of his Guild, to make it to where he was today. The Heavy Blade, recently deceased, could not make it and there hadn’t been enough time to find another of equal strength. And finally, there stood the Heavy Axeman, Cuviro. He stood six foot five, and seemed to be about three hundred pounds of muscle. The strong silent type, he didn’t speak much other then the occasional grunt.
As far as magic uses went, the group had one person. A rather young girl, Altia, had risen up the ranks of the guild seemingly over night. A gifted Wavemistriss, she would speak her mind, frequently, whether or not anyone asked her to. Estia, the brunette Archer of the group, had been in the guild for seemingly ages. She had made the switch to the class when it first became available, as she loved long range weapons. She eagerly awaited the day when CC Corp releases a “gunner” or “shotgun” type class. And lastly, Zhalius the Long Arm. With sapphire hair that would make ice jealous, he had become known as the most vain person in the group.
Kaerius inspected the group, shook his head in disagreement, and spoke, “At least some of us decided to get out of bed for this. Our mission is simple, as you should know. We are to secure the weapon known as the ‘Areia’s Blade,’ from the Gott of the dungeon. It won’t be easy, that is for certain. I have faith in our group. Any questions before we head out, people?” Kaerius scanned the group, wondering if anyone would speak up. He shook his head once more in disagreement as he noticed Zhalius examining his hair in the blade of his spear.
“It’s a shame that one boy died, it would be nice to have a balanced party. Oh well, can’t be helped I suppose…” Zhalius said, combing his hair with his fingers as he continued to gaze in to the spear. Kaerius let out a grunt and proceeded through the group, not acknowledging the man. “A bit of remorse and compassion go a long way, y’know,” the boy muttered, lowering his spear and following behind the leader.
The group entered, ever careful of setting off any little trap that might cause unnecessary harm. Kaerius stopped dead in his tracks, and lowered his hood to soak in what had happened in the second room of the dungeon. Normally, a group would be treated to a monster fight by breaking the seal of a monster portal, but this hadn’t been the case. He surveyed the room, cocking his head back to see if his party saw what he did, and then turned his head forward once more.
Spires of earth had been wrought from the ground below, bloodied and broken. Whoever had passed through this area meant business. “Less work for us!” Estia called out, moving forward. Kaerius shook his head as he pressed onwards, the group following behind. The cracking of the earth under the feet of the warriors echoed as they made their way through the cave dungeon.
Once more, Kaerius came to a halt in the next room to survey the scene, ever cautious about his surroundings. A narrow pathway greeted the group, but something seemed off about the room. Zhalius, however, continued on leaving the group behind. He stopped in the middle of the room, and turned around. “Why are you so cautious? It’s a normal dungeon! You old people are all the same,” he called out, before turning around and continuing. Kaerius looked down and around the room, leaving no mental or physical stone unchecked in the room. He gave a peculiar look down at the ground once more, and shrugged. He began to follow behind the boy who had chosen to continue on. “What the-…” and then silence.
Before Zhalius had even said the statement, Kaerius had thrown up his arms to halt the rest of the group, for he had noticed a discoloring in the earth. The floor had rocketed upwards in to the ceiling, crushing Zhalius against the roof. “I never liked that boy anyway. We move on,” Kaerius told the group, pressing forward and waiting for the floor to lower once more. He inspected the floor when it had lowered, and knelt down and inspected it in wonder.
It’s pressure sensitive… There must be around it…
Kaerius stood, inspecting the room once more. He noticed something new about the ground. It had been elevated to the side, so someone would be able hug the wall and walk to the other side of the room. And so Kaerius did just that, and followed the wall to the other side of the room, with the others following close behind. The group soon entered the next room, which was vastly larger then the last. The room stretched left to right about fifty feet, and stretched forwards to the point of being unable to see the exit.
New room, new puzzle…
“So it’s true…” Altia had spoken, which had become a rarity among the group. “They say only the crafty find the field, and only the smart make it to the next room… Zhalius had never been the brightest bulb… Next, they say only the agile live to advance…” Her dreamy voice echoed in the new room, which was rather spacey. From what Kaerius could tell, even the most clumsy of bulls would be able to make it through this room alive, but he knew better then to act on this.
“Guess all of you are dead, and I get to go to the next room!” Estia spoke, letting out a giggle. The starry-eyed Wavemistriss looked over to Estia, whose giggle had transformed in to a full out laugh. The reverberations bounced throughout the room, creating enough sound to wake the dead.
“And only the strong live to see Areia’s Blade,” Altia spoke, then added, “So you won’t live past this room, you fool.” Estia’s eyes shot open, and her mouth shut from the woman’s sharp tongue. “So, ye of faith,” the Wavemistriss shot up her orb like wand towards Estia, “travel first and guide us through the room.” A smile crossed her lips, and her dreamy eyes opened slightly.
Kaerius shook his head in disapproval at how poorly the team had become to be at this point, but they had traveled too far in search of the sword, for it all to end by petty squabbles and the death of the vain one. Kaerius raised his hand, ready to speak, but before anything came out, Estia stepped forward, bow in hand.
It would seem as if someone had something to prove, today. Let’s just hope we don’t lose a capable member of the team so early.
The woman stood statuesque, just staring off in to space ahead of the group. After a moment, her shoulders had risen, and the echoes of her exhaling echoed through the room as she took off sprinting. The group had been taken back by her rashness, but followed anyway. The sounds of their footsteps echoed through the seemingly endless room, with no puzzles or doorways in sight. “Estia!” The Wavemistriss shouted the name, raising her wand towards an oncoming obstacle. An earthen wheel rumbled from across the room, Estia in its’ line of fire.
Cuvio snapped forward first, shooting his left leg out forward, landing on the toe-balls of both feet. The earth shot upwards, encasing his feet, causing him to ride with the wave of sand. The Heavy Axeman rose up and shot forward in front of Estia, and with his fist instead of the weapon in his hand, punched the block of rock. Shards flew in every which way, with the group standing unscathed behind the massive bulk of metal and muscle. Cuvio turned around, and looked downwards to Kaerius, and simply said, “We move.”
“What the hell are you thinking!?” Kaerius pushed forward, getting inches away from Cuvio’s face. He had to get up on the tips of his toes to reach close to the man’s neck. “You know as well as I do that Earth Bending in this area’s dangerous. No telling what could happen in an unstable area like this. That Sword feeds on stupid mistakes of bending here Why-!” And before the man could continue yelling, the earth underneath began to shake and rumble.
Kaerius pulled out his sword and took the lead, not quite running but not quite walking. Rocks began to fly towards the group, insignificant pebbles at first, but they gradually began to grow in stature. The Blademaster in the lead sliced and parried the rocks which were hurled in his direction, all the time trying to decide the next move. Altia sped forward, her wand shinning brilliant copper, as she began to shoot up walls of earth to deflect the rocks. “Kaerius!” she called out, with the man unheeding.
Arrows flew past the two up at front, shattering the rocks ahead. A bow of verdant proportions made it easier to shatter the rocks with little effort. “Kaerius!” she called once more, trying to get his attention. By this time, the rocks had begun to fly from every direction, ranging from tennis balls to basketballs. “KAERIUS!” she screamed, raising her rod to the heavens, causing a substantially thick wall to surround the group, providing protection for awhile.
The man turned to the Wavemaster, his face holding no emotion. “I thought I said ‘No bending,’ earlier. Now, if I didn’t then that’s my mistake, but I could have sworn that I did. You know as well as I do that the sword feeds off the energies it takes for us to bend the earth, making it all the harder for us to get the sword later on. What is so important?” A sphere of a radius of no less then four feet crashed in to the wall, tripping over the group, at that moment. Cuvio had been grazed in the head by the blow, but no response from the man.
“THAT,” she yelled, pointing to the passing rock, “is my point. We can’t make it through this room as we are. If we were all Fist Fighters, perhaps, but we’re not. You know this hall is at least two miles long, making it at least a twenty minute walk, or fourteen long run. Plus the dodging? No way we’ll make it. The rocks get bigger, we both know this.”
“Then what,” he said with a sigh, waiting for the next rock to pummel him in the back of the head, “do you want me to do about it? Break through the floor?” He looked at the group, his eyes unwavering and full of lost hope.
“I hear you,” Cuvio said, raising his axe above his head. Copper flames engulfed the head of the axe, and with one smooth strike to the floor, the flames dispersed across the floor and along the newly created walls. The floor under them cracked and crumbled, and with a scream from all, with the exception of Cuvio, the group fell to the floor below.
Kaerius laid on the ground, spread eagle, panting viciously. His eyes as wide as can be, concentrating upon the new hole in the roof of the new floor upon which he doubted the group would ever reach just for the facts listed above in Altia’s conversation. The group gradually got to their feet, as the Blademaster continued to lay on the floor, with bits of rock chronically falling on him from the roof above. “He’s in shock,” Estia said aloud. “Pick him up, we move on.” Cuvio looked to Altia, then to Estia, and began to move towards Kaerius.
“I’m fine,” he simply said, gradually getting to his feet. He brushed the dirt and rocks off his robes, and let out a sigh. “Clever… I didn’t think anyone would feel the vibrations bouncing up from the room below, what with all the extra annoyances around. Kudos, we push on.”
Flashmail!
To: Kaerius
From: Altia
Subject: None
Do you feel it? The sword has a new master. He’s waiting, as well.
Kaerius gave a nod in her direction, and pushed forwards through the long hallway. Another room, another test. Kaerius thanked his stars for landing them in a safe room, instead of one of the “Sharp/pointy/throw-rocks-at-you, kind of rooms.” The next, and hopefully final, room had none of these. In the middle of the room, there stood Zharius. He stood with his arms crossed, and clearly translucent, and more clearly dead. “Behind me is the final room, holding the sword you seek. Oh ye travelers, blah blah blah, solve three riddles to get it, but get it wrong and you all die. Stand form for a dungeon such as this, don’t you think? First riddle!” He shouted, laughing a bit.
I never liked him, I’m glad he’s dead.
“Which weighs more: A pound of gold or a pound of feathers?” Zharius asked, a grin across his face.
“Feathers,” Altia said, stepping forward, “due to the fact that precious metals use a special weighing system called a ‘troy,’ where twelve ounces equals a pound. And seeing as how feathers are not a precious metal, they don’t use that kind of system. Therefore, feathers weigh more. Next question, lacky.” Altia smiled and waited.
With a scoff, he began his next question. “You should always keep this, no one else wants it,” Zharius said, the grin turning in to a devil of a smile. He felt confident in this one, the cocky bastard.
“Kaerius has issues with this. Your temper,” Estia said, hugging Kaerius. The man through his shoulder back, knocking the woman loose. “Next!” she called out, a little saddened by the man’s attitude.
The smile on the boy’s face disappeared, and with no emotion he said, “What can you never see, but is always in front of you?” No quick responses from the group this time. The smile returned, and the man began to polish his scythe.
“The future. The fates jest with you, boy, now move,” Cuvio said, beginning to move forward. He swiped his hand through Zharius as he moved forward. The man disappeared, and with that, the group continued on. Each member cautiously and without a sound checked their equipment and stock of items to see just how prepared they were for whatever they faced. Kaerius took the lead, and drew out his sword. On the move, he threw out his arm, and with it, the door that blocked their path. The door flew forwards in to the room ahead. A laugh could be heard from the room ahead.
“Hello!” Reinier called to the group, a broad smile on his face. He stood shirtless, with two sashes wrapped around his waist. One copper with the other underneath, black. The sashes reached inches above the ground, both of which were on his left side. His eyes had become a uniform violet with flairs of crimson around the corneas, instead of their normal right eye copper left eye green. His gauntlets, too, had changed and completely disappeared. In their place, one sterling bracelet wrapped around his right hand. Close to his wrist, the bracelet formed a “C” where the top of it curled once more, making a backwards “C” inside. The bracelet wrapped around his arm five times, and on the bottom, closer to his elbow, made the same figure, only backwards and under his arm. Most notably different, however, was the fact his wings had disappeared. And considering how much he used them, it surprised the group.
“You’re supposed to be dead, how…” Kaerius muttered, blankly staring upon a not-so-dead Reinier. He stood there, arms crossed, with most of his weight placed on his right side, causing him to lean that direction. “Did you find the sword…? How did you even know of this field? We didn’t solve the riddle of this place’s location until five minutes before departing…”
“I know things, and more importantly, people,” Reinier’s smile vanished as he uncross his arms and equalized his weight. “You all let me die. You knew that harlot entered the tournament, and yet you let her kill me. Why? Why would you let her do that?” His eyes narrowed, as he began to radiate a copper glow. He stomped upon the ground, causing a basketball sized sphere to pop up from the earth below. It hovered in front of him for mere moments before he shot out his fist, causing it to fly towards the group.
Cuvio threw himself in front of Kaerius, swinging his axe at the sphere. The sphere burst in to sand upon contact, instead of being sliced in to two pieces. The dust swirled around, before flying up in to the Axeman’s face, and in to every open orifice of his head. Before he could scream and grab his eyes from the itching pain of them being scratched by the sand, it had all vanished in to his body. He dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees, screaming violently. Before anyone could move or say anything, the screaming stopped and Cuvio fell to the ground.
Everyone turned away their heads from the sight, except Estia who continued to scream and look at the sight. Five spires had shot their way out of the back of his head, killing him almost immediately. Reinier let out a brutally chilling laugh, as he yelled, “See!? It sucks to die!” The laughing continued for awhile, before he composed himself once more. He let out a cough, and raised his open hand above his head. “For what we all came to see… Obsidian’s Kiss!” Sand rushed about and around Reinier’s body, concentrating itself in to the boy’s hand.
A prehistoric, completely earthen sword with no hilt appeared in the boy’s hand. The whole sword, made of rock, appeared to be something anyone could simply breathe on and it would shatter. Reinier lowered his sword and continued to look upon the group. “Don’t look too disappointed by the sword. Looks are deceiving, remember that old platitude? Common people. It’s a good thing the sword comes with good old Gaia’s Bracelet, huh?” Reinier lifted up his right arm, sword parallel with the earth, to show off the bracelet. He flexed, and the bracelet lit up, burning a bright copper and bringing the sword to life.
Copper flames flooded the room, doing no damage to anyone in the room, most likely due to their affiliation with the element. The door became sealed by shadowy earth, and seemed almost as if the door had never existed in the first place. The group shaded their eyes from the glowing intensity of Reinier’s glow, and within minutes, it all suddenly vanished. There stood Reinier, middle of the round room, with a seemingly new sword in his hand. He seemed almost God-like now, probably to his liking, with the glow encasing his body in an almost flame like manner. The sword seemed normal enough, albeit the menacing copperish violet gem, the colors waltzing and swimming around each other, in the middle of a diamond hilt on the sword. “It’s too gloomy down here. Let’s fight outside…” Reinier said to himself.
Three spires corkscrewed up and around the people in the room, with the exception of the recently deceased, and a storm of sand rushed up through the middle of said spires. In a blink of the eye, the sand fell to the ground, the players vanished. Above the dungeon, multiple spires appeared, and with a rush of sand, as did players. Reinier through his sword over his shoulders, and rolled up his arms over it as if it were a stick with two pails of water at either end. “Anytime now…” Reinier muttered, annoyance in his voice.
Kaerius raced forward, blade shown, his feet gliding across the sands. He swung viciously at Reinier, who simply dodged. Same position, just taking steps backwards, shifting his body down and around every which way to avoid the blade. The others followed suit, and began their long-ranged assault. Arrows of verdant grace soared through the air, narrowly missing the two men. Spires and sphere also soared through the air, and also narrowly missed their ally and foe.
Kaerius shifted his leg in the sand, causing three spires to shoot up towards the boy, one from his left, one from the center, and one from behind. Reinier shifted to the right, just as necessary for Kaerius to attack. He rushed in low, his sword in both hands and below his belt. He thrust the sword upwards toward Reinier’s chest, but received an unexpected surprise. The Blademaster flew backwards, landing on his back, after receiving a torrent of petrified feathers to the face. Or what felt like petrified feathers, at least.
Reinier’s arms were now at his sides, with the wing on his right side fully extended outwards to his side. The cracked rock on his chest revealed parts of the other wing, still folded inside. He recoiled his wing, having it wrap itself over his chest and around his side. The earth recalled itself and placed itself over his body, once more concealing his more avian side. Reinier knelt down to one knee, and outstretched his left arm. The tip of the bitter blade slid smoothly against his skin, from the fulcrum of his elbow to the edge of his wrist. The crimson rain poured from the wound, draining itself against the earth as Reinier flexed his hand in to a fist and out many times to get the blood flowing.
Looks of nausea flooded over the girls as they watched this, not knowing what was happening. Kaerius, however, did know this ritual. “Zharius, rise. Be stronger then before, now…” Reinier muttered, hobbling backwards to his feet. He leaned down on his sword, summoning up the earth to patch his wound. Kaerius shook his head in disbelief and disgust at the sight. Reinier began to fish around in his pockets, searching for a special item used for just his occasion.
“Why would you use such a spell against us? Waking someone from the Eternal Slumber is a heinous crime, and you know it!” Kaerius yelled, but Reinier continued to dig through his pockets as if this were a game. Well, as a figure of speaking of course. A yell of joy came from Reinier’s direction, as he held up a gemstone of sorts. Not terribly large by any means, no bigger then your thumb, with a certain sparkle that only a ruby could give. “What in the hell…?” Kaerius mumbled, watching Reinier toss the stone to the ground. Upon impact with the pool of his own blood, the stone began shaking violently, which in turn, caused the earth to shake as well.
In mere moments, the gem, as well as the blood, soaked deep in to the earth. Spikes of sapphire began to poke out of the ground, gradually inching their way out of the ground. Soon, Zharius had his head out of the ground, a hand fully out, and part of his spear out in his other hand. The boy managed to get both hands out of the earth, and ripped the rest of his body out of the ground. He cracked his neck to both sides, and gave a smile as he looked up to the sky. By this point, Reinier had closed his eyes, bringing the handle of his sword near his face, inches away with his curled fingers facing his nose. A perfect circle of concentrated energy swirled about the boy, flairs of the energy crackling and dancing around, not reaching higher then three inches from the ground. It swirled and twisted in a clockwise fashion, at bay for now at least.
Kaerius flew from his spot, the sands under his feet guiding him to his target. Sword drawn, he hoped to simply take down Reinier without casualty, and take Areia’s Blade. Unfortunately for Kaerius, things never go that smoothly. Kaerius could feel chains begin to wrap around his left leg, and almost simultaneously he felt his whole body jerk downwards, then upwards. From an upside down view, he could see Zhalius with his spear raised in the air, a chain snaking from its top. The Blademaster scoffed, and with a slice of his sword, he was freed. With a summersault in the air, he landed on his feet, a few yards away from the spear wielding fiend.
Almost on cue, arrows flew in to the Long Arms’ back, yet he seemed to feel nothing from the blows. He didn’t, as a matter of fact, due to them flying straight through his body. The arrows landed in the ground, holes still apparent in the Long Arms’ body. “What the…?” Zhalius muttered. “This is your idea of bringing me back? A body of mud? You stupid mother-!” Zhalius stopped mid-sentence, dropping his spear to the ground. Reinier had managed to stab through Zhalius without moving an inch. The sword had extended straight through Zhalius, knocking loose the ruby within his body.
“Good guinea pig. No more use for you, good-bye,” Reinier muttered, watching as Zhalius melted in to mud-water. He flicked his wrist, and the sword shot backwards in to its’ handle. “Doesn’t it remind you of a Chinese Yo-Yo? I love this thing. Anyways, Zhalius was simply to test out the usability of the Berserker Stones. Immune to physical harm, making the puppets valuable weapons. Now, where did we leave off… Oh right, killing ya’ll…” Reinier took one last look at his weapon, a cruel smile upon his face.
A single bladed sword, unlike the rest of the swords Reinier used, with teeth like blades hanging downwards from the sword’s blade. Each tooth gradually got larger as the sword progressed, with the last tooth being the longest and being sharpened on the outside as well. Up close, you would be able to see where the sword separates and is able to extend. Reinier flung the sword outwards with the target being Kaerius. The Blademaster did a back flip to avoid the blow, only to watch the sword curve outwards and still hit him, midair. The sword wrapped around the man, with luck what wrapped around him wasn’t the blade, and threw him down in to the ground.
Reinier jerked the sword backwards, causing the blade to retract, and with the blade came Kaerius. Arrows and rocks flew at the sword, trying to break it and free Kaerius, but the sword weaved in and out to dodge the girls’ attacks. When the Blademaster had reached a few inches away from Reinier, the boy shot his arm up and whipped the Blademaster with it. He threw his arm downwards, smashing Kaerius in to the ground while breaking some gravel. Reinier continued this process for quite some time, while he waited for the two girls to run over to try and save the man.
When the two finally got close enough, Reinier lazily lashed Kaerius in their direction, having the sword let go of the man. With a barrel roll in the air, Kaerius landed on the ground and rolled in front of the two girls. Estia laid down a suppressive fire of arrows upon Reinier, who simply raised a wall of rock to block the barrage, while Altia began to heal Kaerius. The Blademaster began to rise, and Estia finished off her assault. The arrows simply sunk in to the rock, and an instant later, shot outwards towards the group. Kaerius and Altia shot up walls just in time to block the attack, but Estia had never been the quickest draw in the west.
Five arrows flew through her chest, two through her neck, and one in her left cheek. She stumbled back before collapsing to the ground, landing on her back. The battle continued, even though the group lost another member. The two remaining people shot the wall forward, and to their surprise, Reinier appeared above them atop a swirling vortex of broken up rock. The wall simply broke apart and became apart of the vortex of rocks, as Reinier rode forward. An array of bullet sized rocks jettisoned from the dome towards the two, who began to duck and dodge away while making a retreat.
Lashes from Reiniers’ sword soon followed the barrage of rocks, his aim at this point: to take out the Wavemaster. The two had broken their formation, with Kaerius running around to Reiniers’ back, to try and get an attack or two in. Altia, in her attempts to block the attacks, held her wand high as she walked backwards, conjuring wall after wall to block the whip attacks and flying rocks.
Kaerius flew through the air, surfing upon a wave of sand, towards Reinier. The Heavy Blade lashed both arms out, and instantly the vortex of rocks stopped, and caved in. Reinier fell in to the dome of rocks, with Kaerius flying straight over the boy. The top of the dome closed over Reinier, much to the surprise of the two fighters. Kaerius stumbled over to Altia, and began to think of a next move. Time was short on this matter, of course, because within seconds Reinier shot out of the dome in a corkscrew fashion, and hovered above the two.
His sword had split in half and now resembled the bone structure of wings, only now with blades. The sand and rocks twisted and conversed around his body like a more solid string of lava in a lava lamp. Reinier shot down to the ground, with the sand and rocks shooting outwards, creating a crater around his body. He landed in a kneeling fashion, with his hands outstretched in an upside down V, his hands barely touching the ground. He leaped to his feet, shifting his arms in a circular motion to make two fists near his belt line. As he stood, the sand converged upon his body, creating armor which now covered his entire body, including his face.
The armor completely conformed to his body, adding no new details with the exception of his mask. The mask covered his entire face, showing only his eyes which now glowed a vibrant violet. Two horns now sleeked backwards from where the middle of the two lobes of his brain were. Reinier did a back flip from where he stood, crouching down a bit when he landed, and shot out his hands once more. With his arms in the same upside V shape, claws shot out from his finger tips, he shot his body forward towards Altia. He simply glided across the ground, almost as if he flew across the sands, his eyes set upon the Wavemistress.
He pulled his entire body back, ready to shoot his claws forward in to her neck. As he attack, a wall formed in front of him, his hand flew through the wall. His arm completely entered the wall, all the way up to the elbow, before he came to an abrupt halt of smashing in to the wall. Reinier cocked his head to the side, a smile forming under his mask at the sight.
There stood Leucosia, sword drawn and aimed towards the boy. He ripped out his arm, and without second notice, threw his body out towards the woman. Reinier threw his right claw through her heart, and upon contact, she burst in to sand. Reiniers’ eyes shot to the left, and there she stood once more. With a single bound, and a single swipe, he lunged at the woman once more. And once again, she burst in to sand. “I could smell your power three servers away, Reinier. There’s a Berserker Stone in you, isn’t there?” Reinier roared and stomped upon the ground, causing a boulder to shoot up from the earth. He threw his claw into the center of the rock, spun once in a three-sixty degree fashion, and threw the rock at the woman.
With a single swing of her sword, Leucosia split the rock in two, the rock fell to the ground on both sides of her. Reinier leaned forward, ready to attempt an attack once more, only to be met by Leucosia right in front of him. A gasp escaped his lips, just before her fist met his face. Reinier flew backwards, shards of his former mask flying forwards as he flew backwards, and landed on the ground with a thud. The impact of his land caused him to do a back flip, which he caught his bearings and landed on his feet. He sunk his right hand deep in to the ground, to come to a screeching halt.
Blood poured over the top of his face, trickling from his forehead down the right side of his face. His breathing had become labored, most likely due to the fact of the new weapon and the ill effects of the Berserker’s Stone taking effect now. By this time, Kaerius and Altia and rejoined the battle, and stood on either side of Leucosia. Reinier shook his head, causing what was left of his helmet to fall to the ground, and looked towards the group. He extended is arms out away from his body, creating a ninety-degree angle from his chest, closed his eyes, and tilted his head back.
A rush of energy, straight and pure from the earth itself, shot upwards, and began to radiate from Reiniers’ fists. The earth blackened around the boy, as the energy spilled upwards from the earth in to his hands. Reinier took to the sky, flying towards Altia once more. Leucosia met him mid air, sword aimed towards his jugular. Reinier dodged to the side, kicking her in the ribs. Using the force from his kick, he flew downwards towards the woman. Kaerius threw himself in to Altia, pushing her to the side, as he drew out his sword. He raised it above his head, ready to slash down upon Reinier, but instead received the blunt blow of his attack.
With a clang, a sword fell to the ground as Kaerius stood there with his mouth open and stuttering in pain. Words couldn’t escape his mouth, as he looked down to see Reiniers’ hand in his chest, gripped around his heart. From his chest, outwards, energy flowed through Kaerius, as he gradually turned more and more statuesque. Within seconds, the man had turned in to a statue from head to toe. Reinier lowered his hand, no longer glowing, as he looked over to two horrified women.
Reinier fell to one knee, grasping his side with his blackened right hand, as he gasped for breath. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but could barely even do that at this point. He looked up to see Leucosia standing over him, glaring downwards. A smile formed across his face, knowing full well he could do nothing at this point. He tried anyway, as he attempted to throw his left hand upwards at her face, an orb formed in his hands. He shot the orb, as he collapsed to his side. He lay there on his right side, thoughts of his past flowing in to his head.
Leucosia knelt down, her sword in one hand, the orb of energy in the other. “Be purified by Terra,” she muttered, forcing the orb of energy in to her sword. She threw the blade in to Reiniers’ side, waited a moment, then pulled out a bloodied sword. The blood, however, resembled tar more then anything else. Reinier began to cough, sand and rocks escaping his mouth, as he began to smile.
“I found the sword… it’s pretty… nifty…” He continued to cough, but attempted to chuckle at the same time. With one last groan, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Leucosia let out a gasp, as she reached down and applied pressure against the side of his neck, with two fingers. Her fingers pierced his skin, only to cut through crumbling rock. A gentle wind began to blow, with Reiniers’ remnants fluttering in to the wind.
Four items lay where the boy used to: The Berserker’s Stone, the Light Keystone, Areia’s Blade, and Taimat’s Dagger.
Moderator: Nighthand
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Chapter Two: What Happened in the Gate?
Reinier rubbed his eyes as he wobbled away from Senna, and found a seat on the stairwell. All of a sudden, he felt as if he had been smacked in the face with a ton of bricks. He began to cough vigorously, with no end in sight. He covered his mouth with both hands, forming a cup around his mouth and nose. He closed his eyes as he hunched over and continuously coughed. He managed to stop, and when he opened his eyes and parted his hands, he was a bit shocked at what he managed to find.
Sand piled itself in his hands, which was now on the floor from him jumping up a bit from shock. Reinier stumbled to his feet, rocking back and forth the way a drunk person would, and began to lean against the wall. By this time, the group had already begun to leave to the room. A few more coughs, with sand flying out of his mouth and running down the side of his cheek, Reinier decided to send off Flashmail to Zan.
To: Zan
From: Reinier
Subject: Sick…
Dude, I don't know what's up, but I'm feeling really sick... I think it's something to do with the Blessing, but I don't quite.. know.. I'm heading back to the hideout... Sorry man, but good luck... If it gets messy, I'll try and make it back to where ya'll are, but nothing's set in stone...
... get it, stone? Me? Powers? I'm a fucking riot.
Reinier chuckled gently to himself, and collapsed to the floor. At this point Taimat made his appearance from Reiniers’ sword, and looked down upon Reinier. He clutched the boy in his mouth by his collar, and with a few flaps of the wings, he took to the sky up through the stairwell. Reinier simply coughed and laughed as he was dragged up the stairs, and decided to send a Flashmail to Nighthand as well.
To: Nighthand
From: Reinier
Subject: Sick
Hey, I'm not doing so hot, so I'm back at the hideout... how are ya'll holding up over in your area? We're managing, but I'm thinking we shouldn't have split up now... I'm coughing up all sorts of crap, so I'll just talk to you later.
And it was at around that point that Reinier passed out from the unusual sensation of pain and bliss.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
“How are you feeling Garrett?” It was Andrea. She sat down at the foot of Garrett’s bed, leaning inwards with her legs crossed and her hands on her ankles. She blinked innocently and smiled as she looked upon the gloomy Garrett.
“It feels like God beat me down with a ton of bricks. Then, he grabbed one of those bricks, opened my mouth, and shoved it down my throat. Other then that? Yeah, I’m all puppies and sunshine over here,” Garrett said, coughing. He pulled the covers over his mouth, leaving his fists clenched around the edges of the blanket. “Did you bring me a root beer?” He asked gently.
“You’re such a baby,” Andrea muttered, pointing to the dresser next to Garrett’s head. “You’re lucky I love you so much, you baby.” Garrett muttered obscenities to himself and grabbed the can, sitting up and leaning against the wall. He popped the tab down, opening up the can. He began to chug the soda gleefully, wondering what his sister really wanted right now. “Do you miss Dad at all?” She delicately asked.
Garrett snorted, feeling some of the soda start to come out of his nose. He took a breath in from his nose, and gulped down the rest of the soda. He let out a sigh, crushed the can, and set it down on the dresser. “He was a drunkard and a hick, you know that. Of course I don’t miss him. He was such a jerk to us. Even the dog didn’t like’m, and you know that dog would lick a burglar who’s breakin’ in to the house’s hand,” Garrett let out a sigh, and rolled back down under his covers to lay down once more.
“Yeah… I guess that’s true… But the extra income was nice!… Got me more stuff. And I like stuff,” Andrea said with a smile. Garrett shook his head, and looked up to his sister. He couldn’t help but smile a bit at how she acts at times.
“Yeah, stuff is nice, I guess…” Garrett reached out to his dresser, and turned on his music player. One of his favorite songs began to play, just as he began to fall asleep. Andrea took the cue, and hopped off his bed and left the room. He let out a sigh, as he began to fall asleep.
You can’t, always get, whatchu want… You can’t, always get, whatchu want… You can’t, always get, whatchu want… But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get whatchu need!…
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Reinier awoke screaming, his hands clenched tightly to the blankets around his body. He looked around the room, and felt like he was in that one classic movie, Star Wars. He felt like he had woke up on the dust planet the main character was from, but he couldn’t recall names at the moment. At that moment, Reinier got to see a woman he hadn’t seen in awhile.
Leucosia ran in through the door, but came to a halt and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Reinier was fine. “I see you’ve finally woken up. I’m glad to see that you are alright. Your pet dragon managed to bring you to the Negative Frame, and when we detected it, we sent someone over to investigate. They brought you here, and we treated you. Funny how things work, huh? You had an over abundance of iron in your system, most likely a side effect of the Blessing. Easy treatment, really, because we just had to drain you of a unit of blood,” She nervously smiled when she said the “blood” part.
Reinier let out a groan and sat up in his bed. “Right, yeah, whatever. I need to get back to the group… they might need me…” Reinier muttered, twisting his body around and setting his feet down on to the ground. He took in a deep breath, and gradually came to his feet. He let out a sigh of relief when he stood on his own two feet in front of the bed. An obscenity flew out of his mouth as his knees buckled, however, and he fell back in to the bed.
“It’s a lot of power you absorbed. Your body is still adjusting to it. I’m sorry to say this, but you are of little use to your friends in your current state. Stay, rest, train and hone your powers in a bit… after some training, perhaps then you can go back to your friends…” Leucosia said to the boy, obviously disheartened by the fact she had to give this news to Reinier.
“You can quit your shit, now. I’m plenty useful to the group,” Reinier muttered, self doubt evident in his voice. He once more wobbled up to his feet, and once more his knees buckled. This time, however, he flew forwards in to the wall. With another obscenity, he landed against the wall, and slid down to the ground. He rolled over on to his back, his eyes closed, and let out a sigh. “A few days rest will do my body good, I would suppose. What kind of training would you put me through, anyway?” Reinier asked, noticing that Leucosia had shifted to sit down on the bed. She let out a giggle as she looked down upon the boy.
“That’s my little secret. Now just get some rest, it begins tomorrow morning. You’ll have a long day ahead of you,” She said, rising to her feet. She lifted her hand, causing the ground to rise under Reinier. It flipped him around, and rolled him back on to the bed. She threw the blankets over the boy, and exited the room. It was at this point, Reinier felt the most like killing himself. He had never felt more useless then at this moment, when he couldn’t even will his body to stand and walk out of the room.
With a deep sigh, Reinier gradually began to fall back asleep. The words of the wise man, Mick Jagger, began to flow in to his head once more. It would seem that he would have to try this time, to get what he needs.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“It’s funny how things work, huh?” There sat Taimat, on Garrett’s bed, in his human form. He was tossing an ancient stuffed penguin that Garrett kept on his dresser back and forth between his hands. “There’s times when I’m almost positive I know more about what’s going on with you and your body then you do. For one, look at your hair. It’s starting to get lighter. It’s goin’ copperish on ya’,” Taimat said, snickering.
Reinier took a piece of his hair and pulled it down over his eyes so he could see the color. “Point? I kind of like it like that, perhaps. Ever think of that? Why can’t you simply let me dream? At least in my dreams I get some morbid joy of the outside world…” Reinier trailed off, crossing his arms and leaning against his door.
“Betcha didn’t notice that your eye’s changed colors too. Your right eye is copper with a nice line of gold around the edges of you cornea. Lefty’s still green, though, so you’re good. But you already knew that, of course, and is why you don’t need me around,” Taimat said with a grin.
Reinier rushed to the mirror to inspect his eyes, wondering how only one eye could change colors while the other remained the same. “Whatever, so I don’t notice change very well. I tend not to concentrate on that, I focus on the future. Problem where?” The boys’ fuse with the dragon like warrior had begun to wear thin.
“Oh, no problem at all… Listen, the path you’re walking upon is a thin line of right and wrong, good and evil. You’re going to be tempted with power along the way, just call it a hunch. It’s a feeling I can’t shake, and it’s not going to be worth it if you take it. Power’s not everything, Reinier. I hope you know this. I can feel this dark aura forming around you, and I don’t know if it’s just the Wryneck seal inside of you or what, but it’s not good…” Taimat trailed off, letting out a sigh.
“So power’s not everything? Yeah, right, okay. Tell that to the Elite. Tell that to Flau. They seem pretty well off, if you ask me. At this point, I need to get stronger. I’ll do what I need to, even if Leu’s little training session tomorrow is the most sadistic thing I’ve ever seen before. I will master this Gift I’ve received, I will find stronger weapons, and I will become one of the strongest people out there. I promise you this, Tai,” Reinier finished his speech, turned around from Taimat, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Reinier walked down the wall, and down the stairs towards the refrigerator. “It’s a dream, Garrett. You can’t slip out that easy,” Taimat called from the couch as he flipped channels on the television. Reinier paid him no mind as he pulled out a Barq’s from the refrigerator. He walked out of the kitchen and sat down on the one seat couch in the room, leaning back in the chair and opening up his root beer.
“I know, but I can try. ‘Sides, I wanted a root beer,” and with that said, the boy began to drink his soda. “And you? What will you do if I become ‘corrupt?’ Will you stay by my side, or up and leave?” Reinier continued to drink his soda, and looked over to Taimat. They sat there for quite awhile, the only sounds in the room being that from the TV. Finally, one word escaped Taimat’s lips:
“Yes.”
Reinier rubbed his eyes as he wobbled away from Senna, and found a seat on the stairwell. All of a sudden, he felt as if he had been smacked in the face with a ton of bricks. He began to cough vigorously, with no end in sight. He covered his mouth with both hands, forming a cup around his mouth and nose. He closed his eyes as he hunched over and continuously coughed. He managed to stop, and when he opened his eyes and parted his hands, he was a bit shocked at what he managed to find.
Sand piled itself in his hands, which was now on the floor from him jumping up a bit from shock. Reinier stumbled to his feet, rocking back and forth the way a drunk person would, and began to lean against the wall. By this time, the group had already begun to leave to the room. A few more coughs, with sand flying out of his mouth and running down the side of his cheek, Reinier decided to send off Flashmail to Zan.
To: Zan
From: Reinier
Subject: Sick…
Dude, I don't know what's up, but I'm feeling really sick... I think it's something to do with the Blessing, but I don't quite.. know.. I'm heading back to the hideout... Sorry man, but good luck... If it gets messy, I'll try and make it back to where ya'll are, but nothing's set in stone...
... get it, stone? Me? Powers? I'm a fucking riot.
Reinier chuckled gently to himself, and collapsed to the floor. At this point Taimat made his appearance from Reiniers’ sword, and looked down upon Reinier. He clutched the boy in his mouth by his collar, and with a few flaps of the wings, he took to the sky up through the stairwell. Reinier simply coughed and laughed as he was dragged up the stairs, and decided to send a Flashmail to Nighthand as well.
To: Nighthand
From: Reinier
Subject: Sick
Hey, I'm not doing so hot, so I'm back at the hideout... how are ya'll holding up over in your area? We're managing, but I'm thinking we shouldn't have split up now... I'm coughing up all sorts of crap, so I'll just talk to you later.
And it was at around that point that Reinier passed out from the unusual sensation of pain and bliss.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
“How are you feeling Garrett?” It was Andrea. She sat down at the foot of Garrett’s bed, leaning inwards with her legs crossed and her hands on her ankles. She blinked innocently and smiled as she looked upon the gloomy Garrett.
“It feels like God beat me down with a ton of bricks. Then, he grabbed one of those bricks, opened my mouth, and shoved it down my throat. Other then that? Yeah, I’m all puppies and sunshine over here,” Garrett said, coughing. He pulled the covers over his mouth, leaving his fists clenched around the edges of the blanket. “Did you bring me a root beer?” He asked gently.
“You’re such a baby,” Andrea muttered, pointing to the dresser next to Garrett’s head. “You’re lucky I love you so much, you baby.” Garrett muttered obscenities to himself and grabbed the can, sitting up and leaning against the wall. He popped the tab down, opening up the can. He began to chug the soda gleefully, wondering what his sister really wanted right now. “Do you miss Dad at all?” She delicately asked.
Garrett snorted, feeling some of the soda start to come out of his nose. He took a breath in from his nose, and gulped down the rest of the soda. He let out a sigh, crushed the can, and set it down on the dresser. “He was a drunkard and a hick, you know that. Of course I don’t miss him. He was such a jerk to us. Even the dog didn’t like’m, and you know that dog would lick a burglar who’s breakin’ in to the house’s hand,” Garrett let out a sigh, and rolled back down under his covers to lay down once more.
“Yeah… I guess that’s true… But the extra income was nice!… Got me more stuff. And I like stuff,” Andrea said with a smile. Garrett shook his head, and looked up to his sister. He couldn’t help but smile a bit at how she acts at times.
“Yeah, stuff is nice, I guess…” Garrett reached out to his dresser, and turned on his music player. One of his favorite songs began to play, just as he began to fall asleep. Andrea took the cue, and hopped off his bed and left the room. He let out a sigh, as he began to fall asleep.
You can’t, always get, whatchu want… You can’t, always get, whatchu want… You can’t, always get, whatchu want… But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get whatchu need!…
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Reinier awoke screaming, his hands clenched tightly to the blankets around his body. He looked around the room, and felt like he was in that one classic movie, Star Wars. He felt like he had woke up on the dust planet the main character was from, but he couldn’t recall names at the moment. At that moment, Reinier got to see a woman he hadn’t seen in awhile.
Leucosia ran in through the door, but came to a halt and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Reinier was fine. “I see you’ve finally woken up. I’m glad to see that you are alright. Your pet dragon managed to bring you to the Negative Frame, and when we detected it, we sent someone over to investigate. They brought you here, and we treated you. Funny how things work, huh? You had an over abundance of iron in your system, most likely a side effect of the Blessing. Easy treatment, really, because we just had to drain you of a unit of blood,” She nervously smiled when she said the “blood” part.
Reinier let out a groan and sat up in his bed. “Right, yeah, whatever. I need to get back to the group… they might need me…” Reinier muttered, twisting his body around and setting his feet down on to the ground. He took in a deep breath, and gradually came to his feet. He let out a sigh of relief when he stood on his own two feet in front of the bed. An obscenity flew out of his mouth as his knees buckled, however, and he fell back in to the bed.
“It’s a lot of power you absorbed. Your body is still adjusting to it. I’m sorry to say this, but you are of little use to your friends in your current state. Stay, rest, train and hone your powers in a bit… after some training, perhaps then you can go back to your friends…” Leucosia said to the boy, obviously disheartened by the fact she had to give this news to Reinier.
“You can quit your shit, now. I’m plenty useful to the group,” Reinier muttered, self doubt evident in his voice. He once more wobbled up to his feet, and once more his knees buckled. This time, however, he flew forwards in to the wall. With another obscenity, he landed against the wall, and slid down to the ground. He rolled over on to his back, his eyes closed, and let out a sigh. “A few days rest will do my body good, I would suppose. What kind of training would you put me through, anyway?” Reinier asked, noticing that Leucosia had shifted to sit down on the bed. She let out a giggle as she looked down upon the boy.
“That’s my little secret. Now just get some rest, it begins tomorrow morning. You’ll have a long day ahead of you,” She said, rising to her feet. She lifted her hand, causing the ground to rise under Reinier. It flipped him around, and rolled him back on to the bed. She threw the blankets over the boy, and exited the room. It was at this point, Reinier felt the most like killing himself. He had never felt more useless then at this moment, when he couldn’t even will his body to stand and walk out of the room.
With a deep sigh, Reinier gradually began to fall back asleep. The words of the wise man, Mick Jagger, began to flow in to his head once more. It would seem that he would have to try this time, to get what he needs.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“It’s funny how things work, huh?” There sat Taimat, on Garrett’s bed, in his human form. He was tossing an ancient stuffed penguin that Garrett kept on his dresser back and forth between his hands. “There’s times when I’m almost positive I know more about what’s going on with you and your body then you do. For one, look at your hair. It’s starting to get lighter. It’s goin’ copperish on ya’,” Taimat said, snickering.
Reinier took a piece of his hair and pulled it down over his eyes so he could see the color. “Point? I kind of like it like that, perhaps. Ever think of that? Why can’t you simply let me dream? At least in my dreams I get some morbid joy of the outside world…” Reinier trailed off, crossing his arms and leaning against his door.
“Betcha didn’t notice that your eye’s changed colors too. Your right eye is copper with a nice line of gold around the edges of you cornea. Lefty’s still green, though, so you’re good. But you already knew that, of course, and is why you don’t need me around,” Taimat said with a grin.
Reinier rushed to the mirror to inspect his eyes, wondering how only one eye could change colors while the other remained the same. “Whatever, so I don’t notice change very well. I tend not to concentrate on that, I focus on the future. Problem where?” The boys’ fuse with the dragon like warrior had begun to wear thin.
“Oh, no problem at all… Listen, the path you’re walking upon is a thin line of right and wrong, good and evil. You’re going to be tempted with power along the way, just call it a hunch. It’s a feeling I can’t shake, and it’s not going to be worth it if you take it. Power’s not everything, Reinier. I hope you know this. I can feel this dark aura forming around you, and I don’t know if it’s just the Wryneck seal inside of you or what, but it’s not good…” Taimat trailed off, letting out a sigh.
“So power’s not everything? Yeah, right, okay. Tell that to the Elite. Tell that to Flau. They seem pretty well off, if you ask me. At this point, I need to get stronger. I’ll do what I need to, even if Leu’s little training session tomorrow is the most sadistic thing I’ve ever seen before. I will master this Gift I’ve received, I will find stronger weapons, and I will become one of the strongest people out there. I promise you this, Tai,” Reinier finished his speech, turned around from Taimat, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Reinier walked down the wall, and down the stairs towards the refrigerator. “It’s a dream, Garrett. You can’t slip out that easy,” Taimat called from the couch as he flipped channels on the television. Reinier paid him no mind as he pulled out a Barq’s from the refrigerator. He walked out of the kitchen and sat down on the one seat couch in the room, leaning back in the chair and opening up his root beer.
“I know, but I can try. ‘Sides, I wanted a root beer,” and with that said, the boy began to drink his soda. “And you? What will you do if I become ‘corrupt?’ Will you stay by my side, or up and leave?” Reinier continued to drink his soda, and looked over to Taimat. They sat there for quite awhile, the only sounds in the room being that from the TV. Finally, one word escaped Taimat’s lips:
“Yes.”
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- Awakened Player
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Chapter 3: Can You See It?
Reinier walked through the sandy halls, and entered the main chambers of Leucosia. At the end of a massive hall filled with lofty Roman columns, there she sat upon an unusually plain throne. Making it to the end, Reinier greeted his mentor of sorts. “Good morning Reinier!” She said joyfully. “I hope you had a good slumber, as well as a wonderful breakfast.”
“Best eggs I’ve had in awhile. They just don’t feed us that well in the Freedom Fighters, y’know?” At this point, Reinier let out a tiny yawn. He cracked his neck from side to side, and began to wonder what kinds of training techniques she would choose to implement.
“Are you okay, Reinier?” Leucosia asked him in a quizzical tone. She cocked her head to the side when she looked at him, her eyes squinting to a point. “Something is just… off, about you…” She scratched her head, closed her eyes, then shook her head. “My eyes are just getting older. Anyways, you’re probably wondering how I plan on training you. Well, for one, you’ll have a personal tutor. A skilled Blademaster by the name of Kaerius. He’s a kind hearted soul who has worked past some disabilities to get where he is now, but he is by far one of our best warriors. You’ll be fine under his tutelage. First off, you’ll work on developing some muscle. Let’s face it, you’re skin and bones.” She smiled as she said this. The same awkward smile surfaced once more from when she said he was useless.
“Oh… well… I guess that’s true…” Reinier muttered, squeezing his hand around his arm. “So what, I’m going to the gym? I haven’t done that since around, eighth grade? I dunno how much it’ll help, but I guess I’m willing to do anything once. ‘Cept dying, cus that’s a bitch. The less I can die, the better.”
“Yes, well, we’ll see what we can do about the ‘dying’ situation. No, we won’t have you go to a gym. We prefer more abstract ways of training which seem to yield better results, because it tends to sharpen the mind. We call it the ‘Rocky’ method, because it is kind of like how they did it in that old movie,” She said this as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.
“Oh, okay… What movie? I’m not much of a movie buff,” Reinier asked, beginning to wonder where Taimat was at the moment. He looked around, and noticed that a man had entered the room. A rather tall man, most noted by the fact he had a vertical slash mark over his left eye. His jet black hair had been cut short in the back, but long in the front and in spikes. He dressed quite simply, only being in a copper robe with a brown trim around the edges, with leather gloves with the tips of his fingers showing. No weapon of sorts showing on his body, an unusual sight in a game such as this.
“The title of the movie slips me right now, but that’s not quite the point right now. I must leave right now, boring matters at hand, but I see your trainer is here. Do pay him a little respect, please. For me?” She gave an awkward smile to the boy, as she rose to her feet. Exiting to the right, she left the room, she left the matters to the new man in the room.
Reinier looked over to Kaerius, and frowned. He wondered how strong the guy really was, and of course there was only one way to figure that out. Reinier began to jolt forward, ripping out his Stonecrusher. Before he could fully pull out the weapon, he felt something wrap around his wrists. He peered down to see two spires of earth wrapped around his wrists and feet, and noticed his chin resting atop cold steel. He had pulled the sword out from behind his neck, the sword hidden on the inside of his robes along his spine. He stood in a fencer type pose, his hand twisted with his fingers facing the ceiling, and the sword seemingly loose in his hands. A wide stance with his legs, his free hand open and ready to punch, need be. “If you’re done testing me, we’ll go outside to start your training,” the man said bluntly. He pulled back, and sheathed his weapon. With a snap of his fingers, the earth shattered and recollected into the ground below. He turned around and began to walk outside.
Reinier scoffed, and followed the man while mumbling obscenities. The two walked mutely towards the edge of the city, with Reinier gradually realizing he had never even been in this part of the town. He noticed a massive cauldron resting atop a tripod of metal spires, but paid no heed to it. From the looks of it, it would take someone of Reinier’s size a step latter just to peer in to it. “Did you know that there’s a massive feast tonight?” Kaerius said, breaking the silence. “Don’t answer that, of course you didn’t. Well, to work this in to training, I’ve decided to give you two tasks: one, you must gather up water of the stew, and two, you have to gather up the fire wood. You are not allowed to use weapons, wings, or Taimat. Be done by five. It’s currently… seven. That leaves you with ample time. Good luck.” Kaerius began to walk off, before stopping and turning to Reinier. “I forgot to mention, the spring is at the foot of the village, down those steps. There should be two buckets and a stick, you do the math. Also, don’t cheat. I’ll know.”
Reinier shrugged, and walked forward to peer over the hill to see how far down he would have to go. He let out an obscenity as his eyes widened upon his task. He sighed, and began to start his task by jogging lightly down the steps towards the bottom. Halfway through his “light jog” he began a “fast walk,” before shifting to a “death march.” Fifty flights? Twenty? Two hundred? At this point, it didn’t matter. Scenery was the same, stairs and rocks. Lots, and lots, and lots more, of rocks and stairs.
It wasn’t the stairs so much that was bothering Reinier on his descent, as much as the angle. It felt like the Gods took a sheer cliff, clipped off the peak, and plopped a village atop it. Towards the end of his trudging, he could see the spring and the buckets. And the stick, too. A few shrubberies and a hint of verdant grass surrounded the pool of spring water, which created an insignificant stream that flowed to no man’s land, but other then that it had been a normal sight.
With a sigh at the grunt work, Reinier knelt down by the stream with the two buckets and filled them up one by one. He attached them to both ends of the stick, and rested it upon his shoulders. He let out a mild curse word as he rose up to his feet, noting the weight of the water. He turned and looked upwards to his goal of the village. A slightly less mild curse leaped from his mouth, as he looked to the towering mountain. He began his ascent up the mountain, wondering all the ways he could kill his new mentor.
Poison’s not as messy as a weapon, but it’s traceable. You can get rid of a weapon, but there’s the chance of someone walking in on you doing the deed. Always good old fashioned “Training Accidents,” but I doubt they’ll buy that. There’s probably been a lotta people who’ve tried to kill this guy. Doesn’t seem like he’d be the kinda guy with a ton of friends… a lot of enemies, but no friends…
So he’s like you, eh? Surprised you two aren’t buddy buddy then. Complaining about something as simple as gathering water won’t get you anywhere. Maybe actually listening to the guy might, though. Ever think he must be more then qualified to train you? I mean, it is you, after all.
Reinier ignored the dragon, continuing on his way. The stretching of his calves had become unbearable, but tolerable at the same time. Sweat had already begun to stream down his face, the morning sun raining down upon his back. He had reached the quarter mark, which had taken too long for his tastes.
He said not to use weapons, wings, or you, correct? Well, I don’t consider scrolls to be a weapon. They’re items, perfectly legit. He’s playing a mind game with me. Training my mind. I really hope he didn’t expect me to climb this thing more then once before I figured this out.
Or he knows you were going to do this and has something horrible in store for when you directly disobey his wishes? This isn’t smart, Reinier. You know this as well as I do. Besides, you have no scrolls.
I don’t, but maybe people in the village do. What am I saying? Of course they do. People who train as much as these people MUST have scrolls. They would stick with their natural affinity to the Earth, and just carry around a few of every scroll element for those just in case reasons. Weren’t you planning on graduating as a Summa? You’re not as smart as I would’ve imagined.
You’re a fool Reinier. You’re going to get in to a lot of trouble, and I’ll just laugh when it happens. Lord help you if he drags me in to the mix of your punishment, though. I’ll make your life a living hell beyond your wildest dreams.
Reinier snorted out loud, continuing the trek. “Like two thirds of every woman I’ve ever met hasn’t already said that to me. Good luck, Tai,” Reinier said aloud, noting that he had made it up pretty far already. It had become increasingly apparent that he needed to work out more, for he was indeed pretty lazy. His sedentary lifestyle from in the real world somehow carried over in to game. He hadn’t always been the most in shape kid in school, but as far as fit went, he was relatively here.
The eternity had passed, and with those last few excruciating steps, he staggered to the top. He tripped over the last step, however, landing on his face and dumping over a bucket. One bucket still filled, however, with one empty. Reinier let out a barrage of swear words as he climbed to his feet with one bucket in his hand. He continued on in to the village, until he reached the center where the pot had been located. He stepped up to the top of it from an ancient stepping created from worn down rock. He dumped the bucket inside, noting that it barely filled it anywhere. He scoffed, and jumped down from the stepping, tossing the bucket under the cauldron for later fire wood. He saw a passing boy, and he ran up to him. “Hey! You! Kid in the dress!”
The boy turned to Reinier’s direction, but continued to look in every direction before he looked once more at Reinier and pointed up to himself in a quizzical way. “Do you have a water scroll? Preferably a converging one,” Reinier asked, ignoring the fact that he called the boy’s garb a dress.
“Um… It’s not a dress…” The boy muttered to himself, looking at the ground. He looked up to Reinier, who seemed to not care in the very least. He let out a sigh, and reached in to his pockets and handed Reinier the scroll. “What do I get for this…?” The boy asked serenely.
Reinier simply snatched the scroll from the boy’s hands, and said, “You get to live another day, SCRAM!” Reinier screamed, scaring off the boy. He jogged back to the cauldron, and stood at its’ foot. He unclasped the twine holding it rolled up, and called out the spell, “Rue Kruz!” With that said, he tossed it in to the cauldron. The water converged upon the scroll, and fell in to the pot perfectly. Reinier skipped steps and hopped up to peak in to the pot, nodding to himself at how much faster that was.
He’s going to be so pissed off with you.
Reinier ignored the truthfulness of this statement, and began to wonder where he could get enough firewood for just such an occasion such as tonight’s. Reinier looked upon the cauldron, and nodded to himself. He knew how to make that much wood that fast, and it didn’t come in pill form. He pulled a scroll out of his pocket that he never thought he’d use, a Juk Scroll. Reinier raised it to the sky, and called out, “Juk Zot!” Shoots of limbs and leaves shoot up from the earth before a full fledged tree appeared before the boy. Reinier grinned from ear to ear at his intellect. Three words left his lips: “Suck it, McGyver.”
“You really must be a God, then, if you could make a tree appear,” A dark voice from behind called out to Reinier. Chills ran down his spine as he turned to see Kaerius inspecting the water inside the cauldron. “It’s already full, and it’s barely even lunch… you are as skilled as they say.”
“Who am I to deny such factious things? They’re all just so flattering, I can’t resist blushing! According to your schedule, I still have a good few hours of Kaerius free blow off time,” Reinier said, an obvious grin across his face. Kaerius lazily threw his hand up, and with that a ring of rock fastened around Reinier’s left ankle and hoisted him in to the air. He let out a tiny scream, as he flipped backwards in to the air and dangled by his leg. “What the hell is your problem? Just because I figured out a loop hole in your game doesn’t mean anything, Jesus.”
“Your aura flairs up like no other when you’re smart alecky, you know that? It’s relatively amusing. Now then, I suppose since you did pass, there’s need for reward. Hanging upside’s my reward? Do you know what the Festival ushers in? Don’t answer that, once again. The annual Trans-Elemental Tournament. Everyone from each of the Kingdoms gather to the host Kingdom, and we compete to see who gets the title. We’re hosting this year, and we want to win. I’ve created two teams, but we’re short a Heavy Blade. Leucosia believes you can handle this, so I’m inviting you. Questions?” Kaerius stared in to the man’s eyes, a demonic coldness present in his almost dead eyes.
“How are you captain of two teams? Shouldn’t that be illegal or something? Are the teams mixed? Is there a level cap?” Reinier reeled off the questions, temporarily forgetting the tiny fact that he was hanging by his ankle above the ground. At the moment he remembered, Kaerius snapped his fingers and the rock crumbled around his ankle. The boy fell to the ground, landing on his head. He let out a few groans as he climbed to his feet while Kaerius explained.
“I’m heading two teams, I’ll be competing in one. You’re on my team. No mixed teams, no level cap. Level doesn’t matter as much as your ability to mold your element to your whims. That’ll be a problem with how sporadic you can be, but we can worry about that later. The earlier teams will be easy, I’ve already scoped out our competition. We’ll be fighting against a little no name team from the Ani Kingdom first. This is their first tournament, they have no idea how this works. We’ll slaughter them,” the man said confidently.
Reinier rose to his feet, peering around the village. “Yeah, whatever. Let’s train, then,” Reinier said. Kaerius nodded, and grabbed Reinier by the collar. He twisted the boy around over his head in a circle, and threw him upwards. Kaerius formed a disk of thinly sliced earth, and floated up to Reinier’s level. Reinier hovered in the sky, arms crossed and glaring at Kaerius.
“Your stares can’t cut me, I hope you know,” he said in a smart tone. “Follow me.” The two surfed through the sky, gradually descending to the earth below at the foot of the mountain. After half an hour of flying, the two reached a forest leagues away from village and the mountain it rested on. The two touched down, with Kaerius turning to Reinier. “Welcome to the Petrified Forest. We’ll train here. It’s nice and far away, so we don’t have to worry about injuring anyone but ourselves. That and if I kill you I have a nice head start before people notice.”
Reinier stood emotionless at the joke, arms crossed, waiting to be taught any form of useful information. “Right, too early for the jokes. Let’s just start from the beginning. Everyone has an Aura, from their inner energies surging and flowing throughout their bodies. Some people are able to see other’s Aura’s with relative ease, even if the person is hiding it. Others, like me, have trouble seeing the Aura even when their using their powers at full. However… with you, it’s hard not to see it. It gushes out of you. Strange indeed. Another nice fact is that everyone has their own Aura color, it’s their signature. No one but you will ever have the exact same Aura as you do. Here’s a fun fact, your clothes have been giving off an Aura. It’s definitely earthen based, so I bet you could manipulate them if you wanted. Just thought that was interesting and relevant, so yeah. Questions?” He finished his speech, and crossed his arms.
Reinier jumped right in with the questions, “How do tell if you can see Aura’s easily? I can’t really see anything out of the ordinary with you… How do you know if I can manipulate my clothes, of all things? How much longer until I can halfway decently manipulate my element?” Reinier pulled a spire upwards, and kicked off its’ top so he could sit. He spread out his legs, resting his elbows on his knees, and looked up to Kaerius.
“In order: first we have to break a seal that binds you from seeing the unseen; we won’t know until we try; and it depends on how much we practice. Before you ask, I’ll just tell you. Everyone has a seal that blocks them from seeing Auras. It’s just a natural order of things. It’s just a simple matter of unblocking that little mental block that says you can’t see it. It’s relatively painless and takes no time at all,” And with that said, Kaerius pulled out a vial. He unscrewed the top, and placed it between his thumb and forefinger. He twisted it downwards to the side, then back up once more. He grabbed the vial with his other hand, and reached out with his now blackened forefinger.
Reinier couldn’t see what the man wrote, but he could feel the broad swipes of his finger against his forehead. Occasionally he would re-dab his finger in the ink, but not too often. For sure, Reinier felt the man draw a circle in the middle of his head, with two arcs that curved from the circle to the side of his head near his eye brow. The man stopped, pulled away, and crossed his arms as he stared at Reinier’s head. Reinier stood there, arms crossed and beginning to tap his foot, as he waited for something. Just as he began to ponder his mentor’s sanity, it hit him. Literally.
Reinier let out a shriek as he grabbed his head and fell backwards to the ground. “Sweetmotheroffreakingwhatthehelldidyoudotome!?” Reinier cried as he rested on the ground, clutching his head. The pain gradually subsided, and his hands fell to the ground beside him. His breathing, though sporadic at first, gradually became calm once more. He rose up, and noticed the world in an entirely new light. Everything seemed to radiate energy faintly, but noticeably there. He looked over to Kaerius, and noticed the energy pulsing out from his body. At this point, he even noticed his own hue of color and energy. “You’re color’s pretty calming. Baby blue? Good color…” Reinier said aloud.
“That’s odd, considering I’m still hiding my energy… all the way, hiding… This is unusual…” The man muttered, crossing his arms and scratching his chin with on hand. “Can you still see it?” He asked, with Reinier giving a nod. “Unusual indeed…” He muttered gently to himself.
“How do you turn it off? It’s nice seeing what color everything radiates, but it’s kind of psychedelic. I always wanted to know what it’s like doing LSD, but seriously, this is too much,” Reinier said, rubbing his eyes. Reinier began to scratch his arm, and let out a yelp. His sleeve had pulled itself down to where he had scratched, something he hadn’t readied himself to see. “Well, with this kind of progress, we can quit training for today, right?” He lifted his hand above his arm and began to pull it up and down, and with it his sleeve.
Kaerius gave a slight nod, still scratching his chin. “Yeah, I suppose we’ve made a nice amount of progress… we’ll continue tomorrow after the first match…” He spoke as if he had become irked, yet didn’t say anything. They flew off back to the village, in total silence, and prepared for the evening ahead.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
The festival began at sun down, and began with the lighting of a massive bonfire. The flames roared several feet high, keeping everyone more warm then actually needed for the night. Song and dance erupted throughout the night, with everyone enjoying food and music. After everyone had become too exhausted from too much food and dance, they gathered around the fires and listened to an elder share stories of old.
“One story comes to me in particular, tonight. That being of the old Dragon Wars. Our world, our Whole, had become utter chaos. Brother fought brother, father fought son. No one knew who to trust. Each Kingdom fought one another, thousands upon thousands dying with each battle. A sad time indeed… This sort of savage fighting was unprecedented, no one knew what to do about it. The rulers of each Kingdom were power starved warmongers, which didn’t help the situation.
“Luckily, not all in the Kingdom were warmongers. A chosen few chose to go against their Kingdoms, and gathered in a chosen field. The Shifting Negative Frame was their meeting place, and there they decided on how to put a stop to the war. They had found a way to harness the power of ancient beasts, the dragons. They merged with the beasts, reaching new levels of power. Together, they put a halt to the war and exiled the power hungry kings. It’s tough, knowing you have that kind of power and choosing between right and wrong… isn’t it, Leucosia?” The elder looked over to the woman who at that moment had been sitting next to Reinier. She blushed and nodded.
“It’s said,” he began once more, “that eventually their powers will be needed once more. Only, it shan’t be them who fight. It must be a scary thought that lingers in the back of their minds everyday… Knowing that perhaps one day their place will be taken over by another, and their powers passed down. Who knows, though? Perhaps it will be a relief. Well, I do believe that is enough ramblings of an old man for tonight. Long day ahead for quite a few of you. Sleep well, and good luck in the morning. Everyone is proud, no matter the outcome.” With that said, the old man hobbled to his feet and began the trek towards his home. Little by little, people began to disperse to their homes, and in the end, two people still sat near the fire: Reinier and Leucosia. They sat in silence, soaking in the words of the elder.
“It’s not scary. It’s terrifying…” Leucosia muttered. Reinier gave a slight nod, and patted her back. Reinier opted not to speak in this situation, due to his chronic problem of saying the wrong thing. He let out a sigh, beginning to focus his mindset in to the days ahead. Tomorrow would be a big day, afterall. Beginning of something life altering, he hoped.
Reinier walked through the sandy halls, and entered the main chambers of Leucosia. At the end of a massive hall filled with lofty Roman columns, there she sat upon an unusually plain throne. Making it to the end, Reinier greeted his mentor of sorts. “Good morning Reinier!” She said joyfully. “I hope you had a good slumber, as well as a wonderful breakfast.”
“Best eggs I’ve had in awhile. They just don’t feed us that well in the Freedom Fighters, y’know?” At this point, Reinier let out a tiny yawn. He cracked his neck from side to side, and began to wonder what kinds of training techniques she would choose to implement.
“Are you okay, Reinier?” Leucosia asked him in a quizzical tone. She cocked her head to the side when she looked at him, her eyes squinting to a point. “Something is just… off, about you…” She scratched her head, closed her eyes, then shook her head. “My eyes are just getting older. Anyways, you’re probably wondering how I plan on training you. Well, for one, you’ll have a personal tutor. A skilled Blademaster by the name of Kaerius. He’s a kind hearted soul who has worked past some disabilities to get where he is now, but he is by far one of our best warriors. You’ll be fine under his tutelage. First off, you’ll work on developing some muscle. Let’s face it, you’re skin and bones.” She smiled as she said this. The same awkward smile surfaced once more from when she said he was useless.
“Oh… well… I guess that’s true…” Reinier muttered, squeezing his hand around his arm. “So what, I’m going to the gym? I haven’t done that since around, eighth grade? I dunno how much it’ll help, but I guess I’m willing to do anything once. ‘Cept dying, cus that’s a bitch. The less I can die, the better.”
“Yes, well, we’ll see what we can do about the ‘dying’ situation. No, we won’t have you go to a gym. We prefer more abstract ways of training which seem to yield better results, because it tends to sharpen the mind. We call it the ‘Rocky’ method, because it is kind of like how they did it in that old movie,” She said this as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.
“Oh, okay… What movie? I’m not much of a movie buff,” Reinier asked, beginning to wonder where Taimat was at the moment. He looked around, and noticed that a man had entered the room. A rather tall man, most noted by the fact he had a vertical slash mark over his left eye. His jet black hair had been cut short in the back, but long in the front and in spikes. He dressed quite simply, only being in a copper robe with a brown trim around the edges, with leather gloves with the tips of his fingers showing. No weapon of sorts showing on his body, an unusual sight in a game such as this.
“The title of the movie slips me right now, but that’s not quite the point right now. I must leave right now, boring matters at hand, but I see your trainer is here. Do pay him a little respect, please. For me?” She gave an awkward smile to the boy, as she rose to her feet. Exiting to the right, she left the room, she left the matters to the new man in the room.
Reinier looked over to Kaerius, and frowned. He wondered how strong the guy really was, and of course there was only one way to figure that out. Reinier began to jolt forward, ripping out his Stonecrusher. Before he could fully pull out the weapon, he felt something wrap around his wrists. He peered down to see two spires of earth wrapped around his wrists and feet, and noticed his chin resting atop cold steel. He had pulled the sword out from behind his neck, the sword hidden on the inside of his robes along his spine. He stood in a fencer type pose, his hand twisted with his fingers facing the ceiling, and the sword seemingly loose in his hands. A wide stance with his legs, his free hand open and ready to punch, need be. “If you’re done testing me, we’ll go outside to start your training,” the man said bluntly. He pulled back, and sheathed his weapon. With a snap of his fingers, the earth shattered and recollected into the ground below. He turned around and began to walk outside.
Reinier scoffed, and followed the man while mumbling obscenities. The two walked mutely towards the edge of the city, with Reinier gradually realizing he had never even been in this part of the town. He noticed a massive cauldron resting atop a tripod of metal spires, but paid no heed to it. From the looks of it, it would take someone of Reinier’s size a step latter just to peer in to it. “Did you know that there’s a massive feast tonight?” Kaerius said, breaking the silence. “Don’t answer that, of course you didn’t. Well, to work this in to training, I’ve decided to give you two tasks: one, you must gather up water of the stew, and two, you have to gather up the fire wood. You are not allowed to use weapons, wings, or Taimat. Be done by five. It’s currently… seven. That leaves you with ample time. Good luck.” Kaerius began to walk off, before stopping and turning to Reinier. “I forgot to mention, the spring is at the foot of the village, down those steps. There should be two buckets and a stick, you do the math. Also, don’t cheat. I’ll know.”
Reinier shrugged, and walked forward to peer over the hill to see how far down he would have to go. He let out an obscenity as his eyes widened upon his task. He sighed, and began to start his task by jogging lightly down the steps towards the bottom. Halfway through his “light jog” he began a “fast walk,” before shifting to a “death march.” Fifty flights? Twenty? Two hundred? At this point, it didn’t matter. Scenery was the same, stairs and rocks. Lots, and lots, and lots more, of rocks and stairs.
It wasn’t the stairs so much that was bothering Reinier on his descent, as much as the angle. It felt like the Gods took a sheer cliff, clipped off the peak, and plopped a village atop it. Towards the end of his trudging, he could see the spring and the buckets. And the stick, too. A few shrubberies and a hint of verdant grass surrounded the pool of spring water, which created an insignificant stream that flowed to no man’s land, but other then that it had been a normal sight.
With a sigh at the grunt work, Reinier knelt down by the stream with the two buckets and filled them up one by one. He attached them to both ends of the stick, and rested it upon his shoulders. He let out a mild curse word as he rose up to his feet, noting the weight of the water. He turned and looked upwards to his goal of the village. A slightly less mild curse leaped from his mouth, as he looked to the towering mountain. He began his ascent up the mountain, wondering all the ways he could kill his new mentor.
Poison’s not as messy as a weapon, but it’s traceable. You can get rid of a weapon, but there’s the chance of someone walking in on you doing the deed. Always good old fashioned “Training Accidents,” but I doubt they’ll buy that. There’s probably been a lotta people who’ve tried to kill this guy. Doesn’t seem like he’d be the kinda guy with a ton of friends… a lot of enemies, but no friends…
So he’s like you, eh? Surprised you two aren’t buddy buddy then. Complaining about something as simple as gathering water won’t get you anywhere. Maybe actually listening to the guy might, though. Ever think he must be more then qualified to train you? I mean, it is you, after all.
Reinier ignored the dragon, continuing on his way. The stretching of his calves had become unbearable, but tolerable at the same time. Sweat had already begun to stream down his face, the morning sun raining down upon his back. He had reached the quarter mark, which had taken too long for his tastes.
He said not to use weapons, wings, or you, correct? Well, I don’t consider scrolls to be a weapon. They’re items, perfectly legit. He’s playing a mind game with me. Training my mind. I really hope he didn’t expect me to climb this thing more then once before I figured this out.
Or he knows you were going to do this and has something horrible in store for when you directly disobey his wishes? This isn’t smart, Reinier. You know this as well as I do. Besides, you have no scrolls.
I don’t, but maybe people in the village do. What am I saying? Of course they do. People who train as much as these people MUST have scrolls. They would stick with their natural affinity to the Earth, and just carry around a few of every scroll element for those just in case reasons. Weren’t you planning on graduating as a Summa? You’re not as smart as I would’ve imagined.
You’re a fool Reinier. You’re going to get in to a lot of trouble, and I’ll just laugh when it happens. Lord help you if he drags me in to the mix of your punishment, though. I’ll make your life a living hell beyond your wildest dreams.
Reinier snorted out loud, continuing the trek. “Like two thirds of every woman I’ve ever met hasn’t already said that to me. Good luck, Tai,” Reinier said aloud, noting that he had made it up pretty far already. It had become increasingly apparent that he needed to work out more, for he was indeed pretty lazy. His sedentary lifestyle from in the real world somehow carried over in to game. He hadn’t always been the most in shape kid in school, but as far as fit went, he was relatively here.
The eternity had passed, and with those last few excruciating steps, he staggered to the top. He tripped over the last step, however, landing on his face and dumping over a bucket. One bucket still filled, however, with one empty. Reinier let out a barrage of swear words as he climbed to his feet with one bucket in his hand. He continued on in to the village, until he reached the center where the pot had been located. He stepped up to the top of it from an ancient stepping created from worn down rock. He dumped the bucket inside, noting that it barely filled it anywhere. He scoffed, and jumped down from the stepping, tossing the bucket under the cauldron for later fire wood. He saw a passing boy, and he ran up to him. “Hey! You! Kid in the dress!”
The boy turned to Reinier’s direction, but continued to look in every direction before he looked once more at Reinier and pointed up to himself in a quizzical way. “Do you have a water scroll? Preferably a converging one,” Reinier asked, ignoring the fact that he called the boy’s garb a dress.
“Um… It’s not a dress…” The boy muttered to himself, looking at the ground. He looked up to Reinier, who seemed to not care in the very least. He let out a sigh, and reached in to his pockets and handed Reinier the scroll. “What do I get for this…?” The boy asked serenely.
Reinier simply snatched the scroll from the boy’s hands, and said, “You get to live another day, SCRAM!” Reinier screamed, scaring off the boy. He jogged back to the cauldron, and stood at its’ foot. He unclasped the twine holding it rolled up, and called out the spell, “Rue Kruz!” With that said, he tossed it in to the cauldron. The water converged upon the scroll, and fell in to the pot perfectly. Reinier skipped steps and hopped up to peak in to the pot, nodding to himself at how much faster that was.
He’s going to be so pissed off with you.
Reinier ignored the truthfulness of this statement, and began to wonder where he could get enough firewood for just such an occasion such as tonight’s. Reinier looked upon the cauldron, and nodded to himself. He knew how to make that much wood that fast, and it didn’t come in pill form. He pulled a scroll out of his pocket that he never thought he’d use, a Juk Scroll. Reinier raised it to the sky, and called out, “Juk Zot!” Shoots of limbs and leaves shoot up from the earth before a full fledged tree appeared before the boy. Reinier grinned from ear to ear at his intellect. Three words left his lips: “Suck it, McGyver.”
“You really must be a God, then, if you could make a tree appear,” A dark voice from behind called out to Reinier. Chills ran down his spine as he turned to see Kaerius inspecting the water inside the cauldron. “It’s already full, and it’s barely even lunch… you are as skilled as they say.”
“Who am I to deny such factious things? They’re all just so flattering, I can’t resist blushing! According to your schedule, I still have a good few hours of Kaerius free blow off time,” Reinier said, an obvious grin across his face. Kaerius lazily threw his hand up, and with that a ring of rock fastened around Reinier’s left ankle and hoisted him in to the air. He let out a tiny scream, as he flipped backwards in to the air and dangled by his leg. “What the hell is your problem? Just because I figured out a loop hole in your game doesn’t mean anything, Jesus.”
“Your aura flairs up like no other when you’re smart alecky, you know that? It’s relatively amusing. Now then, I suppose since you did pass, there’s need for reward. Hanging upside’s my reward? Do you know what the Festival ushers in? Don’t answer that, once again. The annual Trans-Elemental Tournament. Everyone from each of the Kingdoms gather to the host Kingdom, and we compete to see who gets the title. We’re hosting this year, and we want to win. I’ve created two teams, but we’re short a Heavy Blade. Leucosia believes you can handle this, so I’m inviting you. Questions?” Kaerius stared in to the man’s eyes, a demonic coldness present in his almost dead eyes.
“How are you captain of two teams? Shouldn’t that be illegal or something? Are the teams mixed? Is there a level cap?” Reinier reeled off the questions, temporarily forgetting the tiny fact that he was hanging by his ankle above the ground. At the moment he remembered, Kaerius snapped his fingers and the rock crumbled around his ankle. The boy fell to the ground, landing on his head. He let out a few groans as he climbed to his feet while Kaerius explained.
“I’m heading two teams, I’ll be competing in one. You’re on my team. No mixed teams, no level cap. Level doesn’t matter as much as your ability to mold your element to your whims. That’ll be a problem with how sporadic you can be, but we can worry about that later. The earlier teams will be easy, I’ve already scoped out our competition. We’ll be fighting against a little no name team from the Ani Kingdom first. This is their first tournament, they have no idea how this works. We’ll slaughter them,” the man said confidently.
Reinier rose to his feet, peering around the village. “Yeah, whatever. Let’s train, then,” Reinier said. Kaerius nodded, and grabbed Reinier by the collar. He twisted the boy around over his head in a circle, and threw him upwards. Kaerius formed a disk of thinly sliced earth, and floated up to Reinier’s level. Reinier hovered in the sky, arms crossed and glaring at Kaerius.
“Your stares can’t cut me, I hope you know,” he said in a smart tone. “Follow me.” The two surfed through the sky, gradually descending to the earth below at the foot of the mountain. After half an hour of flying, the two reached a forest leagues away from village and the mountain it rested on. The two touched down, with Kaerius turning to Reinier. “Welcome to the Petrified Forest. We’ll train here. It’s nice and far away, so we don’t have to worry about injuring anyone but ourselves. That and if I kill you I have a nice head start before people notice.”
Reinier stood emotionless at the joke, arms crossed, waiting to be taught any form of useful information. “Right, too early for the jokes. Let’s just start from the beginning. Everyone has an Aura, from their inner energies surging and flowing throughout their bodies. Some people are able to see other’s Aura’s with relative ease, even if the person is hiding it. Others, like me, have trouble seeing the Aura even when their using their powers at full. However… with you, it’s hard not to see it. It gushes out of you. Strange indeed. Another nice fact is that everyone has their own Aura color, it’s their signature. No one but you will ever have the exact same Aura as you do. Here’s a fun fact, your clothes have been giving off an Aura. It’s definitely earthen based, so I bet you could manipulate them if you wanted. Just thought that was interesting and relevant, so yeah. Questions?” He finished his speech, and crossed his arms.
Reinier jumped right in with the questions, “How do tell if you can see Aura’s easily? I can’t really see anything out of the ordinary with you… How do you know if I can manipulate my clothes, of all things? How much longer until I can halfway decently manipulate my element?” Reinier pulled a spire upwards, and kicked off its’ top so he could sit. He spread out his legs, resting his elbows on his knees, and looked up to Kaerius.
“In order: first we have to break a seal that binds you from seeing the unseen; we won’t know until we try; and it depends on how much we practice. Before you ask, I’ll just tell you. Everyone has a seal that blocks them from seeing Auras. It’s just a natural order of things. It’s just a simple matter of unblocking that little mental block that says you can’t see it. It’s relatively painless and takes no time at all,” And with that said, Kaerius pulled out a vial. He unscrewed the top, and placed it between his thumb and forefinger. He twisted it downwards to the side, then back up once more. He grabbed the vial with his other hand, and reached out with his now blackened forefinger.
Reinier couldn’t see what the man wrote, but he could feel the broad swipes of his finger against his forehead. Occasionally he would re-dab his finger in the ink, but not too often. For sure, Reinier felt the man draw a circle in the middle of his head, with two arcs that curved from the circle to the side of his head near his eye brow. The man stopped, pulled away, and crossed his arms as he stared at Reinier’s head. Reinier stood there, arms crossed and beginning to tap his foot, as he waited for something. Just as he began to ponder his mentor’s sanity, it hit him. Literally.
Reinier let out a shriek as he grabbed his head and fell backwards to the ground. “Sweetmotheroffreakingwhatthehelldidyoudotome!?” Reinier cried as he rested on the ground, clutching his head. The pain gradually subsided, and his hands fell to the ground beside him. His breathing, though sporadic at first, gradually became calm once more. He rose up, and noticed the world in an entirely new light. Everything seemed to radiate energy faintly, but noticeably there. He looked over to Kaerius, and noticed the energy pulsing out from his body. At this point, he even noticed his own hue of color and energy. “You’re color’s pretty calming. Baby blue? Good color…” Reinier said aloud.
“That’s odd, considering I’m still hiding my energy… all the way, hiding… This is unusual…” The man muttered, crossing his arms and scratching his chin with on hand. “Can you still see it?” He asked, with Reinier giving a nod. “Unusual indeed…” He muttered gently to himself.
“How do you turn it off? It’s nice seeing what color everything radiates, but it’s kind of psychedelic. I always wanted to know what it’s like doing LSD, but seriously, this is too much,” Reinier said, rubbing his eyes. Reinier began to scratch his arm, and let out a yelp. His sleeve had pulled itself down to where he had scratched, something he hadn’t readied himself to see. “Well, with this kind of progress, we can quit training for today, right?” He lifted his hand above his arm and began to pull it up and down, and with it his sleeve.
Kaerius gave a slight nod, still scratching his chin. “Yeah, I suppose we’ve made a nice amount of progress… we’ll continue tomorrow after the first match…” He spoke as if he had become irked, yet didn’t say anything. They flew off back to the village, in total silence, and prepared for the evening ahead.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
The festival began at sun down, and began with the lighting of a massive bonfire. The flames roared several feet high, keeping everyone more warm then actually needed for the night. Song and dance erupted throughout the night, with everyone enjoying food and music. After everyone had become too exhausted from too much food and dance, they gathered around the fires and listened to an elder share stories of old.
“One story comes to me in particular, tonight. That being of the old Dragon Wars. Our world, our Whole, had become utter chaos. Brother fought brother, father fought son. No one knew who to trust. Each Kingdom fought one another, thousands upon thousands dying with each battle. A sad time indeed… This sort of savage fighting was unprecedented, no one knew what to do about it. The rulers of each Kingdom were power starved warmongers, which didn’t help the situation.
“Luckily, not all in the Kingdom were warmongers. A chosen few chose to go against their Kingdoms, and gathered in a chosen field. The Shifting Negative Frame was their meeting place, and there they decided on how to put a stop to the war. They had found a way to harness the power of ancient beasts, the dragons. They merged with the beasts, reaching new levels of power. Together, they put a halt to the war and exiled the power hungry kings. It’s tough, knowing you have that kind of power and choosing between right and wrong… isn’t it, Leucosia?” The elder looked over to the woman who at that moment had been sitting next to Reinier. She blushed and nodded.
“It’s said,” he began once more, “that eventually their powers will be needed once more. Only, it shan’t be them who fight. It must be a scary thought that lingers in the back of their minds everyday… Knowing that perhaps one day their place will be taken over by another, and their powers passed down. Who knows, though? Perhaps it will be a relief. Well, I do believe that is enough ramblings of an old man for tonight. Long day ahead for quite a few of you. Sleep well, and good luck in the morning. Everyone is proud, no matter the outcome.” With that said, the old man hobbled to his feet and began the trek towards his home. Little by little, people began to disperse to their homes, and in the end, two people still sat near the fire: Reinier and Leucosia. They sat in silence, soaking in the words of the elder.
“It’s not scary. It’s terrifying…” Leucosia muttered. Reinier gave a slight nod, and patted her back. Reinier opted not to speak in this situation, due to his chronic problem of saying the wrong thing. He let out a sigh, beginning to focus his mindset in to the days ahead. Tomorrow would be a big day, afterall. Beginning of something life altering, he hoped.
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Chapter 4: Bloodshed! Yay!
“Goooooood morning ladies and gentlemen! You better know what time it is! It’s time for the annual Trans-Elemental Tournament!” The announcer’s voice boomed over the loud speaker, with the crowds roaring in delight. The coliseum seemed to dwarf any and all football coliseums out in the real world, and what with the need for the room for fighting. In the middle of the ring, three smaller rings had been formed for the individual fighting that this sort of event called for.
Reinier stood near the edge of one of the miniature arenas, his left arm around his ribs with his right arm propped up over his wrist, nibbling his index finger nervously. He looked over to his new teammate, a Wavemistriss by the name Altia. She gave him a reassuring smile and nod, both of which he nervously replied back to. He looked over to Kaerius, a man whom most people would envy his poker face. He closed his eyes and simply remembered the conversation that happened earlier…
~*~*~*~*~*~*
The arena held many waiting rooms for each of the teams, with six wings, a wing for each individual element. Inside the room, there sat or stood six players: a robed Blademaster with his hood up, a blue haired Long Arm admiring his face in his lance, an Archer sitting near the silent Axeman, and a winged Heavy Blade sitting, while a giggling Wavemistriss stroked his wings. “Well,” Kaerius spoke up, “this is more or less it. In a few battles it’ll all be over, thankfully, then we continue on with our mission. The higher ups have given us the quest of seeking out Areia’s Blade. It’s supposedly cursed or some nonsense like that.
“It’s a multi-layered task, because finding the field won’t be easy. Gotta visit multiple fields before we can figure out the keywords to find the Blade. But that’s all in the future. Until we make the semi-finals, which both teams will do no doubt, it’s all solo fighting. So some of us will suffer while others will do fine until later when our roles are reversed. This is probably one of the more balanced teams we’ve had before, so we should do fine…” Kaerius scanned over the group, looking over to Reinier. “You’re still a little wet behind the ears, you going to be fine?” Reinier gave a nod, just wanting to get the fighting out of the way so he could carry on with his affairs.
“Alright then, if there’s no more questions… Reinier, Altia, let’s move out. First match is against an Ani group. It shouldn’t be any trouble, because of the fact that they haven’t produced a hard hitting team this year,” Kaerius mumbled, heading for the door. Altia giggled, rubbing Reinier’s neck before heading after the leaving swordsmen. Reinier let out a sigh before standing and following suit.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Almost simultaneously, three figures floated out from a newly formed portal on the ground. They each hovered over the portal for a few moments, before it vanished in purple flames. Gently tapping down on the ground below, a shield erected around Reinier and the fighter almost immediately. So dense was the shield that they could no longer see the outside world, but they would be able to see inside.
The fighter in question was dressed quite simply. A ski mask over their head, with a gas mask over that, concealing their face quite well. Two pearl orbs shone brightly through the mask, causing chills to run down Reinier’s back. The fighter wore all black, a skin tight shirt and black leather gloves, and skin tight black pants. A tall and almost brittle looking person, Reinier didn’t know how to rate the fighter in question. Even at the current angle and position of Reinier and the fighter, he couldn’t tell if his foe was male or female.
Reinier decided the fight had started, due to the fact that the shield had risen, and decided that waiting for the opponent to make the first move would be rather stupid on his part. Reinier stomped down upon the earth with his right leg, causing two blocks of earth to shoot upwards and hover in front of him. He pushed his body forward, throwing forward his arms in the direction of his mystery fighter. The blocks shot forward, and before nearly hitting its’ target, broke in to four pieces as two saw blades flew out from the middle of the blocks. The shells of the saw blades crashed and crumbled as they hit the ground, almost at the same time as the mystery fighter’s arms.
Highly audible gasps could be heard around the stadium at this blunt taking of abuse on the warrior’s behalf. The fighter stood there, armless, still not moving an inch. Even Reinier had been taken back a bit, by this fact, but continued regardless. He shifted his weight forward once more, stomping his left foot this time, and repeated his attack. Once more the blocks flew forward, with saw blades erupting from the middle of the blocks. This time, however, when the blocks hit the ground, so did the fighter’s legs. “What the hell is wrong with you!? Jesus Christ!” Reinier screamed, horrified that he had just made his opponent a stump.
The stump, however, simply hovered and started upon Reinier. Without warning, arms and legs shot out of the fighter’s nubs, the fighter hovering in a spread eagle fashion. The foe stretched their limbs back, and then threw them forward in Reinier’s direction. Acting upon the movement, the fallen limbs shot off from the ground aimed at Reinier. The Heavy Blade ripped out his sword and attempted to bat away an arm, but it simply exploded in purple sludge before attaching itself to his arm. He gasped and felt as if his arm had been paralyzed. It took him dropping his sword before he realized it had been paralyzed.
Each limb had this point adhered to his flesh, all around his right shoulder, arm, ribs, and around the right side of his face. Like a cell would shoot out its’ tentacles around another to devour it whole is how the black sludge gradually crawled over Reinier. The boy attempted to scream, but it had taken hold of, and paralyzed, his vocal cords. He fell to one knee, unable to move at this point, as he noticed the fighter approaching. A high pitched giggle escaped the fighter, through their gas mask.
The person knelt down in front of Reinier, and removed the gas and ski masks. Blonde hair cascaded down the right side of her chest as she gazed in to Reinier’s eyes, a beautiful smile across her face. She ran her fingers down the side of his left cheek, shaking her head like he was a dog who was gnawing on slippers again. It was at that point that out of her peripheral, she could spot a golden materializing dragon behind her. The woman kicked Reinier to the ground as she stood and turned to Taimat. “How is my snuggly little lizard doing? Enjoying the tournament as much as me?”
Flames and smoke puffed out of Taimat’s nostrils. He took in a massive breath, and with an equally massive roar, released an excessive amount of flames at the woman in front of him. With an extraordinary leap, she dodged the flames and left Reinier to take the bulk of the blast. The boy bounced and smashed against the ground, until eventually smashing against the shield. Taimat’s head shot upwards, ready to fire another shot, but his eyes simply widened at what he saw. She had already ripped out her wand, and at the end of it was a trail of purple flames.
A high pitched roar, on the edge of a shriek, escaped the dragon’s jaws as its’ front paws lifted off the ground and its’ head whipped back and forth. A trail of purple flame trailed across his right shoulder, through his wing, through his left leg, and continued on the ground until it vanished at the shield. One shaken step back on his right leg, then to his left, and he was down on the ground on his right side. Labored breathing escaped his jaws as he slid his head gradually in her direction of where she landed. A purpled whip of flames had curled itself around the foot of her feet, as she giggled at the sight. “You’re… a whore… Flau…” He managed to breath out, almost inaudibly.
“You always had a poet’s tongue, ‘Cero…” She muttered before pulling the whip above her head and smashing it down upon Taimat’s neck, detaching his head from his body. Golden ashes flew off from Taimat’s body as he gradually disappeared in to nothingness. Reinier began screaming violently as he watched this, calling out his friend’s name.
With every ounce of will in his body, Reinier climbed to his feet, looking for any trace of Taimat’s aura. He continued screaming, not even realizing it in the end. The tar which encased his body had only reached to half his face, chest, and only held one arm and no leg at this point. Spastically, Reinier attempted to raise his arm forward to try and do something, anything, offensive with what little earth powers he had manifested. She simply walked up to the boy and batted away his hand, a smile beginning to form once more across her face.
She reached in to her pocket, and pulled out a ruby no bigger then Reinier’s thumb. “This is a Berserker’s Stone. It’ll make you strong, and insane, but mostly strong. Find Areia’s Blade,” the woman said to Reinier. The tar forced open a hole in his chest, exposing not organs, but his soul. Still connected to his body, but encased in a darkness seal long ago. She tapped the seal twice, which shattered and threw itself against the walls of his body. She then proceeded to put in the stone, and closed up the gateway to his soul.
More screaming… ear piercing cries for help escaping his mouth at the top of his lungs. She began to walk backwards, away from Reinier, with her wand raised to the heavens. A single orb shot out of the top of the wand, landing on top of Reinier’s head. In a massive orb of pure darkness energy, Reinier was gone, and only a crater remained. The shield lowered, as he had technically left the battle field. A mob of fighters rushed in to the area, all ready to tear the woman apart. A single golden ring flowed over the her body, the sounds of her giggle being the only evidence she was ever there.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Darkness. Pure, never ending, darkness. Reinier floated through a vast void of pure darkness, unaware of where or when he was. Shallow breathing could be heard from the boy, but nothing else, as he floated gently through the void on his back. And then there he stood: Taimat. The darkness seemed to be sucked towards him and before long, Reinier lay in familiar surroundings: his room.
Reinier sat up, to notice he lay upon his bed. There Taimat stood, draped in an obsidian robe, at the foot of his bed. Taimat had crossed his arms, and leaned against his dresser, and nodded towards the computer. Reinier’s head shot in that direction, and let out a snort at the sight. There sat Garrett, joyfully playing on his computer. Reinier looked back at Taimat, but he simply put his fore finger against his lips for silence, then pointed back at Garrett. Just as Reinier looked, he let out a scream and covered his ears at the horrible sound.
What the hell is this? A high C… two octaves above the staff? Three? God, why is that ringing in my head? AHH! GOD! STOP!
Reinier began to shake, as he looked over to see Garrett collapsed upon the floor, blood pouring out of head from hitting something on his way down. His hands still gripped the controller feverishly, as he simply lay upon the ground, beginning to drool. Reinier’s breathing became shallow as he lowered his hands, and stepped off of the bed to inspect his body. “Garrett?” A female voice called, as the caller entered the room. It was his mother. She let out a scream, and ran past the two men towards he fallen child. She ripped off Garrett’s goggles to reveal his eyes had rolled to the back of his head. She pried the controller out of his hands, and climbed to her feet with her son cradled in her arms the best she could. She ran out of the room crying relentlessly.
“Sad, isn’t it?” Taimat spoke gently. “For some reason, this is the first memory, or illusion rather, that popped in to your head when you saw me slaughtered. I’m not ‘dead,’ per se, just in pieces. I’m barely here, right now, but then again so are you. Head to the Negative Frame…” Taimat said, his mouth opened once more to speak more, but nothing came out.
Reinier fell to his knees, screaming, grasping his ears once more. Tears cascaded down the side of his face, the piercing scream of whatever noise filling his head. Taimat rushed to Reinier’s side, pulling out a dagger. He set the blade at Reinier’s side, near his normal sheath. Two words escaped his screams, however. “Good bye…” That was the last thing Reinier remembered before everything went black once more.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
How long have I been floating in this void? Why am I so filled with hate? I just want to kill everyone… anything… Power… I can smell it here. It’s strong, too strong… It’s last master feels familiar, yet… it’s not the same. A twin? Maybe, who knows… why am I shaking? I shouldn’t be, but I am… oh man, it’s strong… it’s what I’ve been looking for…
… Areia?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
No pictures passed through his eyes in to his mind, just strong emotions and feelings. He could feel the warmth of having Kaerius near, that warmth and comfort of being safe. Love? No… it wasn’t love, but more along the lines of happiness. Altia… She was cute, after all. Pain… a deep presence of pain. Cuvio? What had he lived through… Vainity, Zharius was near. Arrogance, it had to be Estia. Warmth and comfort passed over his body once more… A deep love and affection passed rained supreme. Was Leucosia near?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Reinier let out a gasp for air, as he came to his senses and clutched Leucosia’s leg vehemently. She let out a tiny groan of pain after he first grabbed her leg, but she quickly forgot about it. The world felt very real once more, what had happened? Reinier could see once more, and had a strong feeling he knew where he was. No time… Reinier muttered some words, smiled, and then passed to the next life. What would she do with Taimat’s Dagger? Why did he suddenly feel so… guilty? What had he done?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had been a week since the Tournament and Sword incident, but the damage was still rather severe. Kaerius had been taken back to the kingdom, with monks working viciously to bring him back to his normal state. Leucosia sat upon her throne, Taimat’s Dagger in her lap. She stared down upon the dagger, resting her head upon her left hand, random and incoherent thoughts flowing through her head. She let out a sigh, and grabbed the dagger. She knew what she had to do, and she knew it might not work.
Within minutes she found herself in the flowered field of the field: Shifting Negative Frame. She hurried down the field, in to the valley, and entered the dungeon. Before long, she found herself within the Chapel. Somber music played lightly in the background, as she rushed down the isle in between the pews. Upon the altar, however, she found something out of place. A massive stone, oval in shape, at least a foot long. She picked up the stone, finding it to be lighter then she would have imagined. A stairwell appeared behind the altar, however, when she picked up the stone.
Knowing where the stairs would lead, she hurried down the spiraling case, even when the lights grew dim. Ages seemed to pass in the darkness, but she continued, with hope being her torch. A luminescent glow could be seen at the bottom of the staircase, a signal of her making it to the end. She emerged, the glow from the surrounding lake splashing against her face gently. The waters rippled ever so slightly, the light reflecting upon her face in waves. Glowing sapphires hung around the room in droves, giving off the feeling of being in a meadow of crystal. A tiny path led to an object protruding from the ground, in the middle of the room and lake. A slender pole, it rose about four feet before becoming a slight bowl, no bigger then a cereal bowl.
She remembered from ancient tales that you would be able to revive a person if you used the right object, but if you didn’t, your soul in turn would be trapped forever in the object you used. She set down the massive gem near the entrance, and continued towards the middle of the room. She pulled out two items as she walked, and began to think of which would work. In her right hand, she held the Gan Keystone, and in her left, the Kou Keystone. Mental tennis began to ensue.
The Kou keystone didn’t adhere to his soul very well at all, but maybe it created a strong bond under the seal… then again, he was Blessed and didn’t die… I would imagine his connection greater to Gan… but then there’s the fact I don’t want to die… One shot…
She took in a deep breath, and threw the gem in to the middle of the bowl. Upon the gem touching the contraption, the lake water quaking ferociously. The waters twisted and churned about the room, twirling about the altar in the middle of the room. Leucosia shielded her head and eyes from what was about to come.
“Goooooood morning ladies and gentlemen! You better know what time it is! It’s time for the annual Trans-Elemental Tournament!” The announcer’s voice boomed over the loud speaker, with the crowds roaring in delight. The coliseum seemed to dwarf any and all football coliseums out in the real world, and what with the need for the room for fighting. In the middle of the ring, three smaller rings had been formed for the individual fighting that this sort of event called for.
Reinier stood near the edge of one of the miniature arenas, his left arm around his ribs with his right arm propped up over his wrist, nibbling his index finger nervously. He looked over to his new teammate, a Wavemistriss by the name Altia. She gave him a reassuring smile and nod, both of which he nervously replied back to. He looked over to Kaerius, a man whom most people would envy his poker face. He closed his eyes and simply remembered the conversation that happened earlier…
~*~*~*~*~*~*
The arena held many waiting rooms for each of the teams, with six wings, a wing for each individual element. Inside the room, there sat or stood six players: a robed Blademaster with his hood up, a blue haired Long Arm admiring his face in his lance, an Archer sitting near the silent Axeman, and a winged Heavy Blade sitting, while a giggling Wavemistriss stroked his wings. “Well,” Kaerius spoke up, “this is more or less it. In a few battles it’ll all be over, thankfully, then we continue on with our mission. The higher ups have given us the quest of seeking out Areia’s Blade. It’s supposedly cursed or some nonsense like that.
“It’s a multi-layered task, because finding the field won’t be easy. Gotta visit multiple fields before we can figure out the keywords to find the Blade. But that’s all in the future. Until we make the semi-finals, which both teams will do no doubt, it’s all solo fighting. So some of us will suffer while others will do fine until later when our roles are reversed. This is probably one of the more balanced teams we’ve had before, so we should do fine…” Kaerius scanned over the group, looking over to Reinier. “You’re still a little wet behind the ears, you going to be fine?” Reinier gave a nod, just wanting to get the fighting out of the way so he could carry on with his affairs.
“Alright then, if there’s no more questions… Reinier, Altia, let’s move out. First match is against an Ani group. It shouldn’t be any trouble, because of the fact that they haven’t produced a hard hitting team this year,” Kaerius mumbled, heading for the door. Altia giggled, rubbing Reinier’s neck before heading after the leaving swordsmen. Reinier let out a sigh before standing and following suit.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Almost simultaneously, three figures floated out from a newly formed portal on the ground. They each hovered over the portal for a few moments, before it vanished in purple flames. Gently tapping down on the ground below, a shield erected around Reinier and the fighter almost immediately. So dense was the shield that they could no longer see the outside world, but they would be able to see inside.
The fighter in question was dressed quite simply. A ski mask over their head, with a gas mask over that, concealing their face quite well. Two pearl orbs shone brightly through the mask, causing chills to run down Reinier’s back. The fighter wore all black, a skin tight shirt and black leather gloves, and skin tight black pants. A tall and almost brittle looking person, Reinier didn’t know how to rate the fighter in question. Even at the current angle and position of Reinier and the fighter, he couldn’t tell if his foe was male or female.
Reinier decided the fight had started, due to the fact that the shield had risen, and decided that waiting for the opponent to make the first move would be rather stupid on his part. Reinier stomped down upon the earth with his right leg, causing two blocks of earth to shoot upwards and hover in front of him. He pushed his body forward, throwing forward his arms in the direction of his mystery fighter. The blocks shot forward, and before nearly hitting its’ target, broke in to four pieces as two saw blades flew out from the middle of the blocks. The shells of the saw blades crashed and crumbled as they hit the ground, almost at the same time as the mystery fighter’s arms.
Highly audible gasps could be heard around the stadium at this blunt taking of abuse on the warrior’s behalf. The fighter stood there, armless, still not moving an inch. Even Reinier had been taken back a bit, by this fact, but continued regardless. He shifted his weight forward once more, stomping his left foot this time, and repeated his attack. Once more the blocks flew forward, with saw blades erupting from the middle of the blocks. This time, however, when the blocks hit the ground, so did the fighter’s legs. “What the hell is wrong with you!? Jesus Christ!” Reinier screamed, horrified that he had just made his opponent a stump.
The stump, however, simply hovered and started upon Reinier. Without warning, arms and legs shot out of the fighter’s nubs, the fighter hovering in a spread eagle fashion. The foe stretched their limbs back, and then threw them forward in Reinier’s direction. Acting upon the movement, the fallen limbs shot off from the ground aimed at Reinier. The Heavy Blade ripped out his sword and attempted to bat away an arm, but it simply exploded in purple sludge before attaching itself to his arm. He gasped and felt as if his arm had been paralyzed. It took him dropping his sword before he realized it had been paralyzed.
Each limb had this point adhered to his flesh, all around his right shoulder, arm, ribs, and around the right side of his face. Like a cell would shoot out its’ tentacles around another to devour it whole is how the black sludge gradually crawled over Reinier. The boy attempted to scream, but it had taken hold of, and paralyzed, his vocal cords. He fell to one knee, unable to move at this point, as he noticed the fighter approaching. A high pitched giggle escaped the fighter, through their gas mask.
The person knelt down in front of Reinier, and removed the gas and ski masks. Blonde hair cascaded down the right side of her chest as she gazed in to Reinier’s eyes, a beautiful smile across her face. She ran her fingers down the side of his left cheek, shaking her head like he was a dog who was gnawing on slippers again. It was at that point that out of her peripheral, she could spot a golden materializing dragon behind her. The woman kicked Reinier to the ground as she stood and turned to Taimat. “How is my snuggly little lizard doing? Enjoying the tournament as much as me?”
Flames and smoke puffed out of Taimat’s nostrils. He took in a massive breath, and with an equally massive roar, released an excessive amount of flames at the woman in front of him. With an extraordinary leap, she dodged the flames and left Reinier to take the bulk of the blast. The boy bounced and smashed against the ground, until eventually smashing against the shield. Taimat’s head shot upwards, ready to fire another shot, but his eyes simply widened at what he saw. She had already ripped out her wand, and at the end of it was a trail of purple flames.
A high pitched roar, on the edge of a shriek, escaped the dragon’s jaws as its’ front paws lifted off the ground and its’ head whipped back and forth. A trail of purple flame trailed across his right shoulder, through his wing, through his left leg, and continued on the ground until it vanished at the shield. One shaken step back on his right leg, then to his left, and he was down on the ground on his right side. Labored breathing escaped his jaws as he slid his head gradually in her direction of where she landed. A purpled whip of flames had curled itself around the foot of her feet, as she giggled at the sight. “You’re… a whore… Flau…” He managed to breath out, almost inaudibly.
“You always had a poet’s tongue, ‘Cero…” She muttered before pulling the whip above her head and smashing it down upon Taimat’s neck, detaching his head from his body. Golden ashes flew off from Taimat’s body as he gradually disappeared in to nothingness. Reinier began screaming violently as he watched this, calling out his friend’s name.
With every ounce of will in his body, Reinier climbed to his feet, looking for any trace of Taimat’s aura. He continued screaming, not even realizing it in the end. The tar which encased his body had only reached to half his face, chest, and only held one arm and no leg at this point. Spastically, Reinier attempted to raise his arm forward to try and do something, anything, offensive with what little earth powers he had manifested. She simply walked up to the boy and batted away his hand, a smile beginning to form once more across her face.
She reached in to her pocket, and pulled out a ruby no bigger then Reinier’s thumb. “This is a Berserker’s Stone. It’ll make you strong, and insane, but mostly strong. Find Areia’s Blade,” the woman said to Reinier. The tar forced open a hole in his chest, exposing not organs, but his soul. Still connected to his body, but encased in a darkness seal long ago. She tapped the seal twice, which shattered and threw itself against the walls of his body. She then proceeded to put in the stone, and closed up the gateway to his soul.
More screaming… ear piercing cries for help escaping his mouth at the top of his lungs. She began to walk backwards, away from Reinier, with her wand raised to the heavens. A single orb shot out of the top of the wand, landing on top of Reinier’s head. In a massive orb of pure darkness energy, Reinier was gone, and only a crater remained. The shield lowered, as he had technically left the battle field. A mob of fighters rushed in to the area, all ready to tear the woman apart. A single golden ring flowed over the her body, the sounds of her giggle being the only evidence she was ever there.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Darkness. Pure, never ending, darkness. Reinier floated through a vast void of pure darkness, unaware of where or when he was. Shallow breathing could be heard from the boy, but nothing else, as he floated gently through the void on his back. And then there he stood: Taimat. The darkness seemed to be sucked towards him and before long, Reinier lay in familiar surroundings: his room.
Reinier sat up, to notice he lay upon his bed. There Taimat stood, draped in an obsidian robe, at the foot of his bed. Taimat had crossed his arms, and leaned against his dresser, and nodded towards the computer. Reinier’s head shot in that direction, and let out a snort at the sight. There sat Garrett, joyfully playing on his computer. Reinier looked back at Taimat, but he simply put his fore finger against his lips for silence, then pointed back at Garrett. Just as Reinier looked, he let out a scream and covered his ears at the horrible sound.
What the hell is this? A high C… two octaves above the staff? Three? God, why is that ringing in my head? AHH! GOD! STOP!
Reinier began to shake, as he looked over to see Garrett collapsed upon the floor, blood pouring out of head from hitting something on his way down. His hands still gripped the controller feverishly, as he simply lay upon the ground, beginning to drool. Reinier’s breathing became shallow as he lowered his hands, and stepped off of the bed to inspect his body. “Garrett?” A female voice called, as the caller entered the room. It was his mother. She let out a scream, and ran past the two men towards he fallen child. She ripped off Garrett’s goggles to reveal his eyes had rolled to the back of his head. She pried the controller out of his hands, and climbed to her feet with her son cradled in her arms the best she could. She ran out of the room crying relentlessly.
“Sad, isn’t it?” Taimat spoke gently. “For some reason, this is the first memory, or illusion rather, that popped in to your head when you saw me slaughtered. I’m not ‘dead,’ per se, just in pieces. I’m barely here, right now, but then again so are you. Head to the Negative Frame…” Taimat said, his mouth opened once more to speak more, but nothing came out.
Reinier fell to his knees, screaming, grasping his ears once more. Tears cascaded down the side of his face, the piercing scream of whatever noise filling his head. Taimat rushed to Reinier’s side, pulling out a dagger. He set the blade at Reinier’s side, near his normal sheath. Two words escaped his screams, however. “Good bye…” That was the last thing Reinier remembered before everything went black once more.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
How long have I been floating in this void? Why am I so filled with hate? I just want to kill everyone… anything… Power… I can smell it here. It’s strong, too strong… It’s last master feels familiar, yet… it’s not the same. A twin? Maybe, who knows… why am I shaking? I shouldn’t be, but I am… oh man, it’s strong… it’s what I’ve been looking for…
… Areia?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
No pictures passed through his eyes in to his mind, just strong emotions and feelings. He could feel the warmth of having Kaerius near, that warmth and comfort of being safe. Love? No… it wasn’t love, but more along the lines of happiness. Altia… She was cute, after all. Pain… a deep presence of pain. Cuvio? What had he lived through… Vainity, Zharius was near. Arrogance, it had to be Estia. Warmth and comfort passed over his body once more… A deep love and affection passed rained supreme. Was Leucosia near?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Reinier let out a gasp for air, as he came to his senses and clutched Leucosia’s leg vehemently. She let out a tiny groan of pain after he first grabbed her leg, but she quickly forgot about it. The world felt very real once more, what had happened? Reinier could see once more, and had a strong feeling he knew where he was. No time… Reinier muttered some words, smiled, and then passed to the next life. What would she do with Taimat’s Dagger? Why did he suddenly feel so… guilty? What had he done?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had been a week since the Tournament and Sword incident, but the damage was still rather severe. Kaerius had been taken back to the kingdom, with monks working viciously to bring him back to his normal state. Leucosia sat upon her throne, Taimat’s Dagger in her lap. She stared down upon the dagger, resting her head upon her left hand, random and incoherent thoughts flowing through her head. She let out a sigh, and grabbed the dagger. She knew what she had to do, and she knew it might not work.
Within minutes she found herself in the flowered field of the field: Shifting Negative Frame. She hurried down the field, in to the valley, and entered the dungeon. Before long, she found herself within the Chapel. Somber music played lightly in the background, as she rushed down the isle in between the pews. Upon the altar, however, she found something out of place. A massive stone, oval in shape, at least a foot long. She picked up the stone, finding it to be lighter then she would have imagined. A stairwell appeared behind the altar, however, when she picked up the stone.
Knowing where the stairs would lead, she hurried down the spiraling case, even when the lights grew dim. Ages seemed to pass in the darkness, but she continued, with hope being her torch. A luminescent glow could be seen at the bottom of the staircase, a signal of her making it to the end. She emerged, the glow from the surrounding lake splashing against her face gently. The waters rippled ever so slightly, the light reflecting upon her face in waves. Glowing sapphires hung around the room in droves, giving off the feeling of being in a meadow of crystal. A tiny path led to an object protruding from the ground, in the middle of the room and lake. A slender pole, it rose about four feet before becoming a slight bowl, no bigger then a cereal bowl.
She remembered from ancient tales that you would be able to revive a person if you used the right object, but if you didn’t, your soul in turn would be trapped forever in the object you used. She set down the massive gem near the entrance, and continued towards the middle of the room. She pulled out two items as she walked, and began to think of which would work. In her right hand, she held the Gan Keystone, and in her left, the Kou Keystone. Mental tennis began to ensue.
The Kou keystone didn’t adhere to his soul very well at all, but maybe it created a strong bond under the seal… then again, he was Blessed and didn’t die… I would imagine his connection greater to Gan… but then there’s the fact I don’t want to die… One shot…
She took in a deep breath, and threw the gem in to the middle of the bowl. Upon the gem touching the contraption, the lake water quaking ferociously. The waters twisted and churned about the room, twirling about the altar in the middle of the room. Leucosia shielded her head and eyes from what was about to come.
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Chapter 5: Rejuvenation and Revelation
Sapphiric waves surged up past the altar, focusing in to the Gan Keystone. A pulsing cerulean orb encompassed the keystone, and all became silent for what felt like an eternity. Leucosia lowered her arms, and simply stared at the newly formed gem. She scratched her head, and began to approach the altar, wondering where she went wrong. Leucosia reached out, and just as she brushed her fingers against the stone, flew backwards. She skid against the rather narrow walkway, and eventually came to a stop near the rather copper hued gem.
The altar began to emit a blinding cobalt light, so much so that she eventually had to shield her eyes. The earth began to tremble, as the gem and altar began to shiver vehemently. The waters rushed inwards towards the altar, twisting and convulsing upwards around it like a half-ready lava lamp. Whether out of reaction, or sheer will of not wanting to die alone, Leucosia grabbed the gem and clutched it tightly in her arms, and closed her eyes to wait for death to take her away. She could hear the sounds of glass shattering, but she simply closed her eyes tighter and clutched the gem tighter.
Was it an eternity that passed, or was it two? Leucosia couldn’t tell at this point. The silence on its’ own was unbearable enough without the fact time seemed to pass at an exponentially sluggish rate. “… where are my clothes?” Chills ran down Leucosia’s spine, as she looked up to see Reinier perched on the altar in a very gargoyle-esque. His feet were in an open first, that is to say his feet were in a “V” with the heels touching each other for the ballet deprived, with his arms straight down to the altar resting in the middle of his feet. His wings were closed slightly, hovering over his body, with water dripping occasionally from the tips of his feathers. He blinked a few times and shook his head a bit to attempt to dry off.
Leucosia let out a squeak as she leaped to her feet and turned around. Her face at this point had become cherry, with her at a loss for words. “I’ll just leave your things here, and I’ll just wait for you at the Chapel! Go up the stairs when you’re done…” She managed to stammer out of her mouth. She pulled out of her inventory a wooden crate and set it down on the ground. The crate had been created by the code makers of one kingdom or another, a special tool to store items to leave for another for whatever purpose. Same technology The World used for their breakable items, just put to different use. She also left the gem on top of the crate before taking off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Come this way, please,” Altia asked politely of the assortment of apprentices. In the middle of the town, there stood Kaerius, frozen in time. The monks were off eating or resting, taking a break from the strenuous task of curse breaking. “This is Master Kaerius, as you could very well tell. The object of why we don’t use forbidden magic…” Altia trailed off, sighing. She had always cared deeply for Kaerius, and never took the time to imagine what she would do without him there to tell her the next move. One of the younger apprentices raised his hand enthusiastically. “Question?” Altia asked, attempting to hide her sorrow.
“Was Mister Kaerius using stuffs he shouldn’t? If one of us did that, we’d get yelled at so much… but why did he do it? He would be doing the yelling at us!” A light amount of hidden chuckled came from some of the children. Altia sighed, arranging her thoughts in her head on how to touch on this subject. Did she want to admit Reinier had been the cause? He was dead, after all, but still… Altia had never been one to slander another’s name, especially post-mortem.
“It was me,” Reinier called, touching down on the earth near the group. He folded in his wings as he walked closer to the group who had begun to create a dull roar of deliberation. “I did this to Kaerius. I crave power, everyone does. You do, and you, and you, even him.” Reinier pointed to a few individuals, and ended by pointing to Kaerius. “Everyone’s soul is sewn with sin. How deeply those evil seeds have been tilled is up to you and your actions. I would do anything for power, and Flau gave it to me. She attached this,” Reinier held up the Berserker’s Stone, “to my soul.”
Reinier took in a deep breath as he inspected Kaerius’ state. “This stone, it does things to you. Evil things,” Reinier looked back to the crowd, all silent. Reinier screamed, throwing up his arms and stomping a foot towards the crowd. Everyone let out a yelp and backed away from him. Reinier let out a laugh and began to smile before continuing on. “Seriously, though, it’s not good what it does. It becomes the embodiment of all your hate, your rage, your lust… it then clouds the rest of your senses. Basically, it’s a bad LSD trip that makes you strong as an ox and makes you wanna kill your friends. However! I do believe I know how to save Kaerius,” Reinier said, smiling to Altia. “I need you all to leave,” Reinier said in a more grave tone of voice. His smile disappeared instantly as he screamed and jolted to the group, yelling, “LEAVE!” The group scattered like a group of children who just hit the baseball through the window.
Leucosia crossed her arms and shook her head as she approached, “I don’t think this will work…” she muttered as she watched Reinier approach Kaerius. Before doing anything, he looked over to Leucosia and smiled. He then turned around, and jabbed the Berserker’s Stone in to Kaerius’ left arm. Rocks shattered and flew in every direction, as Kaerius screamed and stretched out his arms towards the sky. Reinier took a few steps, glad his sand shield managed to pop up in time to block the rocks. Kaerius stood hunched over, breathing deeply with his breath eventually becoming inaudible. The only new distinguishing feature of the man was the fact that his eyes were now violet with flairs of nearly blood red around the corneas. He gradually stood tall once more, looked around, and set his eyes upon Reinier.
A massive, and very nervous, smile was plastered on Reinier’s face as he gave a slight wave. Almost instantly a wave of earth collected under Kaerius as he flew forward at Reinier. He screamed as he ripped out his sword from the hidden sheath in his back. With a flick of his thumb, he caused the sword to split in half, and soon wielded two swords. At the tip of the earthen wave, he rode, and began to stab viciously at Reinier. The boy took to the sky, flying backwards as he twisted and parried the slashes from his master.
Reinier at this point had out his sword and began to deflect the blows, albeit he did it sloppily. “No no no, don’t help me! I can handle this!!” Reinier screamed sarcastically at Leucosia and Altia. Reinier did a back flip in the air and landed on the ground. He collapsed to the ground and came to a stop by digging his hand in to the earth. Throwing his sword behind him, he took in a gulp, and leaped upwards in to Kaerius. Reinier dug his shoulder deep in to Kaerius’ stomach, wrapping his arms and linking his hands around his back, knocking the man off the wave and to the ground.
Reinier’s right hand moved through the earth as if it were water, and when he pulled it up, it had been encased in a rather large rock. He began to relentlessly punch Kaerius, wondering how long he could keep this up before the inevitable happened. Five punches in to it, Kaerius shot a blunt spire up from the earth in to Reinier’s neck. The boy flew backwards, skidding on his back across the ground as Kaerius rose to his feet. Kaerius spit out some blood, his face already beginning to heal from the blows, and began to advance upon Reinier.
The boy lay upon the ground, clutching his neck and attempting to breath. Two vine-like pieces of earth shot up from the ground and wrapped up Kaerius. His eyes shot to Altia, her wand raised and pointed at the man. He began to flex and attempted to break free, but she tightened the grip of the vines and stood her ground. From the Blademaster’s blind spot, in rushed Leucosia. With a bash from a shield the vines were shattered and he flew away from Reinier. Leucosia touched down on the ground, and pulled out the sword from the top of the shield.
The shield resembled a kite which seemed to cover most of her body, with ancient runes running down the edges of it, made of unknown medals and encased in gold. The shield, while thin around the edges, grew thicker as it got towards the middle so that at middle where each point led, the thickness was about four inches. Behind the shield, a sheath lay hidden where a short sword could be drawn in times of need. Leucosia scratched the edge of the shield with her sword, and as the blade left the shield, a line of golden energy followed the blade. She twisted the tip of the blade around in the air in a circle, the energy following. She poked the tip of the blade in the middle of the ring, and slashed downwards at Kaerius. The ring flew over and ensnared Kaerius, and Leucosia began an advance upon the man.
Kaerius twisted his arms outwards as he rose to his feet, and began to push outwards. At first, the ring did not budge, but after awhile the strain caused it to begin to loosen. Reinier and Altia let out a low gasp, but Leucosia continued her advance. She lifted her shield to the side, and backhanded him with the shield, causing him to corkscrew in the air before landing on his back. A deep groan escaped his mouth as Leucosia stepped on his arm, and with her sword, cut the Berserker’s Stone out from his muscles.
Kaerius became very still at that moment, having closed his eyes and stopping all movement. Leucosia removed her foot from his arm, cut off his bonds, and sheathed her blade. She picked up the Berserker’s Stone, and began to walk towards the main building of the village. Altia and Reinier rushed towards Kaerius, anxious to try and help the man. Reinier could still see his Aura, with the exception of the fact it had become subtle and almost insignificantly dull. Altia muttered an “Ol Repth,” and the two waited for any result. Kaerius rolled his head over, and gradually opened his eyes at the two people hovering over him. He smiled, and muttered, “You’re not as strong as you boast, Reinier…” and with those words, he passed out in to a slumber. The two chuckled as Reinier picked up the man and began walking towards the main building behind Leucosia.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
A few days passed, with Kaerius making an exceptionally speedy recovery, and all seem to be well and good. Reinier went everywhere with his new massive gem for reasons unknown to all including himself. Altia continued her duties of teaching basics to the apprentices, and Leucosia kept up with her research on the Berserker’s Stone and communicating the information to the other kingdoms. Not much training happened with Reinier and Kaerius, which made him rather upset. He felt content about this, and continued to polish and love his new gem, all the while knowing he would have to go back to the Hideout soon.
The group met in Leucosia’s room for a meeting five days after Kaerius had become less solid. “Well, I’ve traced some of the stones to an area in the Delta server. It’s a level one area, so it should be no problem for you three to navigate through and investigate. The keywords are: Δ Secretive Oblivious Twins.” The group gave a nod, and filed out of the room. Reinier hurried to his own room, having forgot Taimat’s Dagger. He kept the blade around him for safe keeping and as a good luck charm, but forgot to put it around his belt in the morning for that day.
He rushed in to his room, gem in hand, and grabbed the dagger. Something unusual happened, however, when he grabbed the blade. It began to vibrate and glow when it had neared the gem in Reinier’s hands. The gem, too, reacted in quite the same way. He set the two items down on his bed, and scratched his head in confusion at what to do. He picked up the dagger, and began to shake it around in his hand as he sat down next to the gem. He sighed, took in a deep breath, and pondered about what he was about to do. He closed his eyes, and with a swipe of the dagger, smashed the gem. “Squaaaawk!” Reinier screamed, dropping the dagger, and rushed against the wall.
A long, scaly dragon’s head popped out from the cracks of where the dagger had struck. It waddled its’ head side to side, before it rolled over on to the ground, and the shell of the gem shattered. “It was… an egg…?” Reinier muttered as he looked at the tiny baby dragon. A puff of black smoke flew out of his nostrils as it seemed to sneeze. “Taimat…” Reinier muttered to himself as he picked up the dragon, like you would a cat, and cradled it sort of like a baby. The dragon shook its’ head in a “No” fashion at the mention of the name. “No? Not Taimat…? Okay…” Reinier muttered, inspecting the dragon.
It was true, though. Not Taimat by a long shot. Instead of crimson scales, this dragon had copper scales. Two horn stubs had begun to grow from the back of his head, both of which were mere nubs at this point and not very sharp. The dragon seemed to already have a full set of teeth, and the same went for his claws. And this one was definitely more friendly. “I’ve always liked Abraxas. Do you like it?” Reinier asked with a smile. The dragon puffed more smoke and let out a shrill chirp of approval. Reinier wiped the soot off his face, and smiled. “Okay then, Abraxas… we better head out, then…” The dragon clawed its’ way up on to Reinier’s shoulder, and wrapped its’ tail around his neck. Reinier let out a laugh as he left his room to go meet up with Kaerius and Altia.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
At the Chaos Gate…
“No,” Kaerius said simply, looking at the dragon. “We are not taking that lizard with us.” Altia had already given in to the fact that it was a baby and was holding it. According to all girls in this certain area, since it was a baby, it was instantly cute. She giggled as she pet the baby behind its’ ears, while it would seemingly purr in approval.
“Aw, common, it’s fine! Look at how quiet he is. He can’t even breathe fire yet… at least, I think he’s a fire elemental…” Reinier muttered, looking at the dragon. Abraxas looked to Reinier and simply shook its’ head, and went back to being content with being petted by Altia. “And see? He’s smart, too! That’s the second time he’s corrected me and he’s been in existence for like, five minutes!” Reinier began to plead, at this point, “Pleeeeaaasseee can we bring him!? I’ll be real careful with’em, I promise!” Reinier asked, gripping his hands together in a prayer.
Kaerius let out a sigh, looking over to Abraxas, who seemed to give him a dirty look. The dragon snorted soot, and went back to Altia. Kaerius’ eye twitched, and he let out a sigh. “… Fine…” he mumbled. Altia and Reinier let out a cheer, and they both hugged Kaerius. The man let out a low growl, and shook the two off him. He turned and called out, “Secretive Oblivious Twins!” And with three golden rings, the group soon found themselves in yet another earthen field.
Sapphiric waves surged up past the altar, focusing in to the Gan Keystone. A pulsing cerulean orb encompassed the keystone, and all became silent for what felt like an eternity. Leucosia lowered her arms, and simply stared at the newly formed gem. She scratched her head, and began to approach the altar, wondering where she went wrong. Leucosia reached out, and just as she brushed her fingers against the stone, flew backwards. She skid against the rather narrow walkway, and eventually came to a stop near the rather copper hued gem.
The altar began to emit a blinding cobalt light, so much so that she eventually had to shield her eyes. The earth began to tremble, as the gem and altar began to shiver vehemently. The waters rushed inwards towards the altar, twisting and convulsing upwards around it like a half-ready lava lamp. Whether out of reaction, or sheer will of not wanting to die alone, Leucosia grabbed the gem and clutched it tightly in her arms, and closed her eyes to wait for death to take her away. She could hear the sounds of glass shattering, but she simply closed her eyes tighter and clutched the gem tighter.
Was it an eternity that passed, or was it two? Leucosia couldn’t tell at this point. The silence on its’ own was unbearable enough without the fact time seemed to pass at an exponentially sluggish rate. “… where are my clothes?” Chills ran down Leucosia’s spine, as she looked up to see Reinier perched on the altar in a very gargoyle-esque. His feet were in an open first, that is to say his feet were in a “V” with the heels touching each other for the ballet deprived, with his arms straight down to the altar resting in the middle of his feet. His wings were closed slightly, hovering over his body, with water dripping occasionally from the tips of his feathers. He blinked a few times and shook his head a bit to attempt to dry off.
Leucosia let out a squeak as she leaped to her feet and turned around. Her face at this point had become cherry, with her at a loss for words. “I’ll just leave your things here, and I’ll just wait for you at the Chapel! Go up the stairs when you’re done…” She managed to stammer out of her mouth. She pulled out of her inventory a wooden crate and set it down on the ground. The crate had been created by the code makers of one kingdom or another, a special tool to store items to leave for another for whatever purpose. Same technology The World used for their breakable items, just put to different use. She also left the gem on top of the crate before taking off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Come this way, please,” Altia asked politely of the assortment of apprentices. In the middle of the town, there stood Kaerius, frozen in time. The monks were off eating or resting, taking a break from the strenuous task of curse breaking. “This is Master Kaerius, as you could very well tell. The object of why we don’t use forbidden magic…” Altia trailed off, sighing. She had always cared deeply for Kaerius, and never took the time to imagine what she would do without him there to tell her the next move. One of the younger apprentices raised his hand enthusiastically. “Question?” Altia asked, attempting to hide her sorrow.
“Was Mister Kaerius using stuffs he shouldn’t? If one of us did that, we’d get yelled at so much… but why did he do it? He would be doing the yelling at us!” A light amount of hidden chuckled came from some of the children. Altia sighed, arranging her thoughts in her head on how to touch on this subject. Did she want to admit Reinier had been the cause? He was dead, after all, but still… Altia had never been one to slander another’s name, especially post-mortem.
“It was me,” Reinier called, touching down on the earth near the group. He folded in his wings as he walked closer to the group who had begun to create a dull roar of deliberation. “I did this to Kaerius. I crave power, everyone does. You do, and you, and you, even him.” Reinier pointed to a few individuals, and ended by pointing to Kaerius. “Everyone’s soul is sewn with sin. How deeply those evil seeds have been tilled is up to you and your actions. I would do anything for power, and Flau gave it to me. She attached this,” Reinier held up the Berserker’s Stone, “to my soul.”
Reinier took in a deep breath as he inspected Kaerius’ state. “This stone, it does things to you. Evil things,” Reinier looked back to the crowd, all silent. Reinier screamed, throwing up his arms and stomping a foot towards the crowd. Everyone let out a yelp and backed away from him. Reinier let out a laugh and began to smile before continuing on. “Seriously, though, it’s not good what it does. It becomes the embodiment of all your hate, your rage, your lust… it then clouds the rest of your senses. Basically, it’s a bad LSD trip that makes you strong as an ox and makes you wanna kill your friends. However! I do believe I know how to save Kaerius,” Reinier said, smiling to Altia. “I need you all to leave,” Reinier said in a more grave tone of voice. His smile disappeared instantly as he screamed and jolted to the group, yelling, “LEAVE!” The group scattered like a group of children who just hit the baseball through the window.
Leucosia crossed her arms and shook her head as she approached, “I don’t think this will work…” she muttered as she watched Reinier approach Kaerius. Before doing anything, he looked over to Leucosia and smiled. He then turned around, and jabbed the Berserker’s Stone in to Kaerius’ left arm. Rocks shattered and flew in every direction, as Kaerius screamed and stretched out his arms towards the sky. Reinier took a few steps, glad his sand shield managed to pop up in time to block the rocks. Kaerius stood hunched over, breathing deeply with his breath eventually becoming inaudible. The only new distinguishing feature of the man was the fact that his eyes were now violet with flairs of nearly blood red around the corneas. He gradually stood tall once more, looked around, and set his eyes upon Reinier.
A massive, and very nervous, smile was plastered on Reinier’s face as he gave a slight wave. Almost instantly a wave of earth collected under Kaerius as he flew forward at Reinier. He screamed as he ripped out his sword from the hidden sheath in his back. With a flick of his thumb, he caused the sword to split in half, and soon wielded two swords. At the tip of the earthen wave, he rode, and began to stab viciously at Reinier. The boy took to the sky, flying backwards as he twisted and parried the slashes from his master.
Reinier at this point had out his sword and began to deflect the blows, albeit he did it sloppily. “No no no, don’t help me! I can handle this!!” Reinier screamed sarcastically at Leucosia and Altia. Reinier did a back flip in the air and landed on the ground. He collapsed to the ground and came to a stop by digging his hand in to the earth. Throwing his sword behind him, he took in a gulp, and leaped upwards in to Kaerius. Reinier dug his shoulder deep in to Kaerius’ stomach, wrapping his arms and linking his hands around his back, knocking the man off the wave and to the ground.
Reinier’s right hand moved through the earth as if it were water, and when he pulled it up, it had been encased in a rather large rock. He began to relentlessly punch Kaerius, wondering how long he could keep this up before the inevitable happened. Five punches in to it, Kaerius shot a blunt spire up from the earth in to Reinier’s neck. The boy flew backwards, skidding on his back across the ground as Kaerius rose to his feet. Kaerius spit out some blood, his face already beginning to heal from the blows, and began to advance upon Reinier.
The boy lay upon the ground, clutching his neck and attempting to breath. Two vine-like pieces of earth shot up from the ground and wrapped up Kaerius. His eyes shot to Altia, her wand raised and pointed at the man. He began to flex and attempted to break free, but she tightened the grip of the vines and stood her ground. From the Blademaster’s blind spot, in rushed Leucosia. With a bash from a shield the vines were shattered and he flew away from Reinier. Leucosia touched down on the ground, and pulled out the sword from the top of the shield.
The shield resembled a kite which seemed to cover most of her body, with ancient runes running down the edges of it, made of unknown medals and encased in gold. The shield, while thin around the edges, grew thicker as it got towards the middle so that at middle where each point led, the thickness was about four inches. Behind the shield, a sheath lay hidden where a short sword could be drawn in times of need. Leucosia scratched the edge of the shield with her sword, and as the blade left the shield, a line of golden energy followed the blade. She twisted the tip of the blade around in the air in a circle, the energy following. She poked the tip of the blade in the middle of the ring, and slashed downwards at Kaerius. The ring flew over and ensnared Kaerius, and Leucosia began an advance upon the man.
Kaerius twisted his arms outwards as he rose to his feet, and began to push outwards. At first, the ring did not budge, but after awhile the strain caused it to begin to loosen. Reinier and Altia let out a low gasp, but Leucosia continued her advance. She lifted her shield to the side, and backhanded him with the shield, causing him to corkscrew in the air before landing on his back. A deep groan escaped his mouth as Leucosia stepped on his arm, and with her sword, cut the Berserker’s Stone out from his muscles.
Kaerius became very still at that moment, having closed his eyes and stopping all movement. Leucosia removed her foot from his arm, cut off his bonds, and sheathed her blade. She picked up the Berserker’s Stone, and began to walk towards the main building of the village. Altia and Reinier rushed towards Kaerius, anxious to try and help the man. Reinier could still see his Aura, with the exception of the fact it had become subtle and almost insignificantly dull. Altia muttered an “Ol Repth,” and the two waited for any result. Kaerius rolled his head over, and gradually opened his eyes at the two people hovering over him. He smiled, and muttered, “You’re not as strong as you boast, Reinier…” and with those words, he passed out in to a slumber. The two chuckled as Reinier picked up the man and began walking towards the main building behind Leucosia.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
A few days passed, with Kaerius making an exceptionally speedy recovery, and all seem to be well and good. Reinier went everywhere with his new massive gem for reasons unknown to all including himself. Altia continued her duties of teaching basics to the apprentices, and Leucosia kept up with her research on the Berserker’s Stone and communicating the information to the other kingdoms. Not much training happened with Reinier and Kaerius, which made him rather upset. He felt content about this, and continued to polish and love his new gem, all the while knowing he would have to go back to the Hideout soon.
The group met in Leucosia’s room for a meeting five days after Kaerius had become less solid. “Well, I’ve traced some of the stones to an area in the Delta server. It’s a level one area, so it should be no problem for you three to navigate through and investigate. The keywords are: Δ Secretive Oblivious Twins.” The group gave a nod, and filed out of the room. Reinier hurried to his own room, having forgot Taimat’s Dagger. He kept the blade around him for safe keeping and as a good luck charm, but forgot to put it around his belt in the morning for that day.
He rushed in to his room, gem in hand, and grabbed the dagger. Something unusual happened, however, when he grabbed the blade. It began to vibrate and glow when it had neared the gem in Reinier’s hands. The gem, too, reacted in quite the same way. He set the two items down on his bed, and scratched his head in confusion at what to do. He picked up the dagger, and began to shake it around in his hand as he sat down next to the gem. He sighed, took in a deep breath, and pondered about what he was about to do. He closed his eyes, and with a swipe of the dagger, smashed the gem. “Squaaaawk!” Reinier screamed, dropping the dagger, and rushed against the wall.
A long, scaly dragon’s head popped out from the cracks of where the dagger had struck. It waddled its’ head side to side, before it rolled over on to the ground, and the shell of the gem shattered. “It was… an egg…?” Reinier muttered as he looked at the tiny baby dragon. A puff of black smoke flew out of his nostrils as it seemed to sneeze. “Taimat…” Reinier muttered to himself as he picked up the dragon, like you would a cat, and cradled it sort of like a baby. The dragon shook its’ head in a “No” fashion at the mention of the name. “No? Not Taimat…? Okay…” Reinier muttered, inspecting the dragon.
It was true, though. Not Taimat by a long shot. Instead of crimson scales, this dragon had copper scales. Two horn stubs had begun to grow from the back of his head, both of which were mere nubs at this point and not very sharp. The dragon seemed to already have a full set of teeth, and the same went for his claws. And this one was definitely more friendly. “I’ve always liked Abraxas. Do you like it?” Reinier asked with a smile. The dragon puffed more smoke and let out a shrill chirp of approval. Reinier wiped the soot off his face, and smiled. “Okay then, Abraxas… we better head out, then…” The dragon clawed its’ way up on to Reinier’s shoulder, and wrapped its’ tail around his neck. Reinier let out a laugh as he left his room to go meet up with Kaerius and Altia.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
At the Chaos Gate…
“No,” Kaerius said simply, looking at the dragon. “We are not taking that lizard with us.” Altia had already given in to the fact that it was a baby and was holding it. According to all girls in this certain area, since it was a baby, it was instantly cute. She giggled as she pet the baby behind its’ ears, while it would seemingly purr in approval.
“Aw, common, it’s fine! Look at how quiet he is. He can’t even breathe fire yet… at least, I think he’s a fire elemental…” Reinier muttered, looking at the dragon. Abraxas looked to Reinier and simply shook its’ head, and went back to being content with being petted by Altia. “And see? He’s smart, too! That’s the second time he’s corrected me and he’s been in existence for like, five minutes!” Reinier began to plead, at this point, “Pleeeeaaasseee can we bring him!? I’ll be real careful with’em, I promise!” Reinier asked, gripping his hands together in a prayer.
Kaerius let out a sigh, looking over to Abraxas, who seemed to give him a dirty look. The dragon snorted soot, and went back to Altia. Kaerius’ eye twitched, and he let out a sigh. “… Fine…” he mumbled. Altia and Reinier let out a cheer, and they both hugged Kaerius. The man let out a low growl, and shook the two off him. He turned and called out, “Secretive Oblivious Twins!” And with three golden rings, the group soon found themselves in yet another earthen field.
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Chapter 6: Berserker’s Paradise
Abraxas circled around the group as they proceeded through the field rather energetically for a new born. Altia giggled as she watched the dragon jump up in the air in attempts to stay airborne for more then a few seconds. She let out another giggle and picked up the baby dragon, saying, “But your little wings just can’t hold you yet! You just need to wait until you’re big and strong before you worry about flying!” She then cried out, “You’re just so cute!!” and gave the dragon a massive hug.
“Quit babying the thing,” Kaerius muttered, looking at his map religiously. He seemed on edge at the moment, and rightfully so. A strange field, and no monsters had shown themselves yet. The man let out a sigh and came to a stop, before smashing his foot in to the ground and sky rocketing himself in to the air on atop a spire. From a few stories in the air, he spied throughout the field for any sign of monsters, monster portals, or the dungeon. “No, I don’t see anything, newbie,” Kaerius said, still surveying the field.
“Newbie?” Reinier asked, cocking his head to the right. He crossed his arms, still hovering effortlessly. The boy made two spires shoot out to the side of the platform, and then gracelessly landed upon them. He jolted forward, waving his arms around in circles before grabbing Kaerius to get his footing. The boy noticed something to his right, as he was nearly falling, and when he had a steady footing he began to focus on that area. Reinier leaped to the right, grasping to Kaerius by the shoulder, and placed his hand over his eyes in a visor fashion. He squinted his eyes and spied something most curious indeed. “What’s purple, red, and to the right?” Reinier pushed off the platform, flipping in the air, and twisted towards Kaerius. A smile crossed his face, and he said, “I’ll give you a hint. It rhymes with ‘Dour Mestination.’”
And with that, Reinier had his head start to the dungeon. The two followed relatively close behind, until they all reached the dungeon. Reinier looked around, still looking for signs of monsters. The dusty savanna of a field bore no monsters or portals, an abnormality considering most level one fields at least had some form of monsters. Grey, dead trees littered the field, with the occasional tumble weed here and there, being the only “life” on the field. Reinier peered in to the dungeon, rubbed his eyes, and then looked once more. “That’s a scary amount of power…” Reinier muttered, peering in to a void of purple and red mist.
“What do you mean, rookie?” Kaerius inquired, looking in to the dungeon. “I don’t see a thing. Just a normal dungeon… Dying must have killed off some brain cells.” The man walked past Reinier, beginning to enter the cave, and then turned around to him. “Brain cells don’t come back, better cherish the ones you still have,” he said, before entering the dungeon. Altia stepped up in front of Reinier, still cuddling Abraxas.
The woman continued staring in to the dungeon, then turned to Reinier. “I don’t see anything either. Are you sure everything’s okay? If you need to back out of the quest, it’s understandable. You were dead, after all.” Her intentions were pure, but Reinier cringed from what he felt as a copious amount of pity coming from her. The boy let out a sigh and continued forward, still sure of his abilities but now with a hint of doubt.
“Does anyone have a Sprite Ocarina?” Reinier asked, the group now assembled in the first room of the dungeon. Kaerius, facing the next room, waved his hand upwards and gave an, “I do.” Reinier nodded to himself and continued forward with the group in to the next room.
Gasps of horror and disgust left the group as a monster appeared from seemingly nowhere in the next room. A goblin, altered horribly, staggered around the room. It stood a staggering eight feet tall, hunched from the weight of its’ upper body. Hundreds of pounds of muscle were packed on to its’ grotesque body, which was supported by rather tiny legs. The proportions of the unfortunate beast seemed to be that of a chicken, rather than a man or goblin. Snorts and growls of pain emitted from its’ football sized head, while it began to stagger towards the group. Everyone shot for their weapons, but then a curious thing indeed happened. The goblin keeled over, and died.
The earth shook violently as the beast fell to the ground, simply dying without a fight. The group stood their ground, still gripping their weapons, unsure of what to do next. The corpse decided the next move, and simply combusted. Violet flames soared throughout the room, until eventually subsiding around a rather massive skeleton. The group cautiously inspected the corpse, finding no ill effects on the monster. Kaerius knelt down near its’ stomach, and found a black rock the size of a volleyball. He scratched his head, and tossed the rock down to the ground, and rose back up to his feet. “I guess we just move on…”
“Wait,” Reinier said, inspecting the room. “The mist isn’t apparent in this room at all, but it still was in the other room. Doesn’t that strike anyone as odd?” Reinier asked, looking back and forth to his friends with hope. Kaerius let out a sigh, shaking his head, and Altia muttered a few words to herself. Abraxas shook his head up and down passionately. Kaerius looked up to Reinier, and stared deep in to the strange hue of his eyes. The man closed his eyes, placed his hands at his side, and shook his head. Without raising his head, he motioned with his right hand to head back in to the other room.
Reinier gave a nod, turned around, and began to walk towards the room humbly. When his back was all the two behind would see, he rose his fist towards his chest and jolted it downwards a bit, muttering a “fuck yes!” to himself in victory. The group stood in the room while Reinier surveyed. “Are you done yet, newbie?” Kaerius asked. “Are you happy yet? We’ve found nothing, and will find-” and before he could finish his sentence, Reinier shifted his body weight to the left, and threw both his hands in that direction.
A solid column, being about the size of your standard dungeon doorway, flew from the middle of the wall and collapsed a few yards away. The top section that was divided by the column collapsed upon the bottom, until a pile of ruble stood in its’ wake. Kaerius and Altia stood dumbstruck, mouths open and eyes wide, that Reinier could possibly be correct and logical at the same time. A smirk crossed his face as he looked at them, and slapped his hands together as if dusting them off in a job well done, and began to approach the new doorway.
Kaerius grumbled, and pushed away the rubble before continuing forward, with Altia following behind. Abraxas had fallen asleep at this point, resting head against the Wavemistriss’ left shoulder. Reinier let out tiny gasps at the sights around him as he trudged behind Kaerius in the rather narrow pathway. Crimson jewels hung over head in their most raw form. The gems seemed to emit their own light, their own energy, and seemed to press this energy in to the earth around. The ground and walls seemed to be blood soaked, and even to the point of being filled with hate itself.
The passed out of the archway in to a massive circular room filled with large crystals protruding out of the ground around the edges of the wall. The room itself felt like a dome, with the larger and brighter crystals at the top, and the petty and less significant crystals on the ground. The tint of blood washed upon everyone’s face rather brightly, to the point of having to shield their eyes and wait for adjustments before moving on. One figure stood at the back of the room, a stone in his hand: Demetrious.
“Amazing little rocks, aren’t they? These… Berserker’s Stones, they’ll make the take over that much easier. The pieces are falling in to place, one by one by one… Added strength and even healing properties… Perfect, right? One setback. You might have noticed this, but there’s no longer monsters in the field. They’ve all died from overexposure to the stone’s unbelievable power. Stay in contact too long with the rocks, and you tend to die. It’s sad, isn’t it? Such… power… but the cost… too great…” Demetrious trailed off, letting out a sigh as he tossed the stone to the ground. He looked up to the group with lamenting eyes, but smiled none the less. “Why Kaerius, how long it’s been… How is Leucosia and her sister? They were-” And Kaerius screamed.
The man drove forward, drawing out his swords as he ran, and began to slice viciously at the man in the snow white robes. The blades twisted and twirled like helicopter blades at Demetrious, who simply ducked and dodged the blows. Kaerius swung sideways with his left arm, then jabbed towards the man’s chest with his right. The blade stuck in wall of the crystalline mine, and stuck rather well. Reinier attempted to shoot spires, but the floor and walls of the dungeon were just too thick and lined too well with crystals for much effectiveness. Altia began her barrage with spells, but it wasn’t looking all too well at this point.
Each Gan Zot spell she cast missed the target, all five, and Kaerius still couldn’t pull his sword out of the wall. Fire and ice erupted from Demetrious’ arms at this point, having called upon his elemental dragon duo. The two pure elemental beings, the fire dragon Galeru and the ice dragon Aurora. The entities of fire and ice hissed and snapped as they slithered around Demetrious gradually. Reinier charged from the skies, sword over head, just barely brushing against his back. With a roar, Kaerius ripped out his sword and charged for Demetrious’ back. At the last moment possible, Demetrious charged for to Altia, leaving Reinier and Kaerius behind.
With a loud crack, Reinier smashed Kaerius in the skull, causing him to fall back with a scream. Reinier scoffed, twisted around, and charged for Demetrious once more. The flaming dragon shot backwards, aiming towards Reinier. The dragon crashed in to the earth, just as Reinier leaped over its’ attack. Attack number two worked slightly better, as he made contact with the man. Demetrious flew forward from the hit, ramming directly in to Altia. He jammed his hand in to her face, palming her head like a basketball, and shot the ice dragon directly in to her.
He ripped his steaming hand away from her head, with Altia now plastered against the wall by ice, and turned to Reinier. He flew forward, wand in hand now, and came to a stop inches away from the boy. He jabbed his wand in to Reinier’s gut, and smiled while he said, “You make this easy.” Reinier’s mouth dropped as he looked down upon the wand and tried to escape. He could feel something hit his shoulders, but not his stomach. Unusual, but not uncommon, Reinier decided.
Demetrious let out a scream as he pushed Reinier away and scurried off to the side. He stared at the two people while he took a knee, his breathing heavily labored. As he knelt, two swords protruded very visibly from his back. Reinier rose to his feet, and turned to Kaerius. The two smirked, and pounded fists before turning back to Demetrious. The man rose to his feet, ripping out the swords, and tossed them to the side. He staggered to the side and seemed very dazed.
He twisted his right hand around, and then shot it outwards at the two. The dragon leaped from the palm of his hand, but at rather sluggish rate compared to the other times. Reinier and Kaerius shot off in opposite directions, watching the blast melt the ice which encased Altia. She fell to her knees, gasping for breath. Demetrious let out a scream, and began to jump around in circles. Reinier began to laugh as he watched Abraxas grasp on to the man’s leg with his jaws. Kaerius threw his hand forward, and called, “Gan Zot!” Abraxas let go at that point, and scurried off to a hiding place once more.
The shards of earth shot up from the ground, and due to the fact Demetrious was near the ground grabbing his wounds, he was shot through the chest. Reinier threw his hands up, causing the main spike, the one that hit Demetrious, to fly up towards the ceiling with the man still attached. Silence stood in the room for quite some time, only interrupted by the sound of the spike falling from the ceiling and shattering on the ground. The three let out a sigh of relief, and turned to each other. “Let’s go,” he said. “We’ve gotten the data we need… we’ll let the others worry about destroying the field.”
And with a crash Demetrious landed, a massive spire protruding from his stomach. Flames of violet wisped violently around the man, his head seeming to be in spastic seizures as he stared at the three fighters. His body did not grow, but the three could feel the way his energies changed. They backed away, watching as he reached to the skies with his right hand. His eyes seemed vacant now, with no sign of thought.
A baby version of Galeru flew from the palm of his hand, and then Aurora, and then one for each corresponding element. The dragons fluttered around the room gallantly, spitting elemental breaths of their element. Abraxas curled around Altia’s leg in fear, but she didn’t notice due to the fact she had gone numb with fear. Demetrious raised his other hand, and together it looked like he was attempting to hold a bowl of some kind.
The dragons fluttered towards the middle of his hands, and one by one began to merge. Waves of concentrated energy flowed outwards, searing the man’s hands, arms, and face but being healed ever hastily by the stone. The energies convulsed and fluctuated, never quite taking on a shape or form. Reinier gulped began to inch towards the exit as quickly as possible. Reinier’s eyes shot to the group, still standing in fear, and he shouted, “Move!”
The two snapped out of it, and began sprinting for the exit. Kaerius leaped forward and grabbed his swords before continuing on. His back was seared in the process however, but he still managed. Halfway through, the man realized he still had a Sprite Ocarina. He sheathed his weapons and rose it to the sky. Golden rings flowed over the three characters as they were taken to the starting point of the field.
They all took deep breaths as they recuperated from the shock of seeing the man as he was. Reinier plopped on the ground, as did Altia, as they stared to the horizon. A dull roar erupted before anyone was able to say anything, as they looked towards where it originated. A tower of multi-florescence beamed to the heavens, and felt almost as everything was being forcefully dragged inwards to it. Without warning, the three were gated out of the area and found themselves in the Root Town, Mac Anu.
Kaerius collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. “That was too much for me, I wanted to gate out sooner, but I just froze…” He muttered, staring at the ground. Altia knelt down next to the man, and began to rub his back in hopes of calming him down.
“Happens to the best of us. It looks like we don’t have to worry ‘bout that field anymore, which is nice… I need to get back to the hideout, though. They might be worried or somethin’ of the sort. Doubtful, but y’never know…” The two gave nods, and everyone was off to their own adventures.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Golden rings fell over Reinier, as he entered the hideout. Baby Abraxas lay atop the boy’s head, its’ tail gently wrapped around his neck. Sheena, the more annoying and less pretty version of Raine, appeared seemingly out of nowhere to Reinier. He jolted back, as she yelled, “You’ve changed! What happened!?”
Reinier blinked at the abruptness of the question, and attempted to process it all at once. Had he changed that much? Would everyone notice? Reinier didn't really think that changed that much, but decided to ask anyways. “What do you mean I've changed? I feel the same…”
“Not yooouuuuu. Him!” Sheena called out, beginning to pet the baby Abraxas. He seemed to purr and wiggle his shoulders around as she pet him. A puff of black smoke came out from his nostrils lovingly as she continued to pet him.
Reinier let out a sigh, knowing he should have known she was talking about Abraxas. He took the dragon off his head, and gave it to Sheena. “You can take him for now, he needs a little TLC from someone other then a guy. Any word from Nights or Nall? I had to leave rather abruptly…” He was even more curious at how much time he had elapsed since he entered the Earth Kingdom. Spending too much time in that tear of time and space must have been having a negative effect on Reinier.
Sheena continued petting the dragon joyfully as she began to speak. “Nighthand and his group decided to pull back and join the other one, since they met stuff they could barely handle! The merged group is currently on the second to last of those elemental rooms, too! No direct word to me from them of course, those lousy men! Oh well, at least they’re getting close to being done so they can come back and I can clobber them myself!” Reinier gulped at the mention of a clobbering.
Reinier chuckled, and said, “Oh wow, something big bad Nighty can’t handle? That in itself is scary. I suppose when they get back, and after the necessary clobberings occur, we'll head off to that field or the other? And I'm sorry that they don’t contact you, they're probably very busy without me. I'll make sure to keep in touch with you during our travels from now on, just so you have some idea that we’re ‘safe,’ m‘kay?” Reinier chuckled to himself as he looked at his baby dragon.
I miss Taimat…
“‘Kay! I’ll hold you to that, you know! You should probably get some rest though, get prepared so you don’t forget anything!” The woman said energetically. It was refreshing to see a person not drowning in sorrow, for once.
“Yeah, you’re probably right... I am a little worn out. Can you do me a favor, though? Take care of Abraxas for a little while. He's probably hungry cus he’s about... half an hour old? Pretty sure he’ll eat anything meaty, so if you could get a Grunty or something... I’m sure he’ll love it.” Reinier gave a nervous smile, realizing girls liked anything young, with baby Grunties being no exception.
Sheena gave a sly wink to Reinier, and replied, “I’m sure we can find something! Though Zan might not like where his food goes!” Reinier gave her a nod and his thanks, and proceeded to the room with all the beds. The man took off his coat, and hung it upon the bed post. He leaned his sword against the post as well, and then ripped his shirt off and tossed it on the top of his sword handle. The boy kicked off his shoes, tossing his gloves next to them, and curled up in to the bed. He threw the blankets over his body, and began to drift in to a slumber. At the last minute, Reinier decided to Flashmail his friends before taking his leave for rest.
To: Nighthand
From: Reinier
Subject: Poke
Hey homeslice, just wanted to pop in to say that I’m okay. Turns out I wasn’t that sick, just having a bad reaction to my new powers. Funny huh? Allergic to what’s supposed to help me out later on. I’ve gotten a little stronger, and hopefully I won’t be as useless as when I first joined the group. Pretty funny how things change, huh? Still terrified of Xeno, though… that spear… ugh… ‘Though, I found a sword that would make that spear run for its’ money. If only I still had that thing… oh well. But yeah, Sheena is miffed that you don’t Flashmail her. You should do that. And the mighty Nights couldn’t handle a few monsters in that one field? Kinda sad… Well, I’m going to bed. Talk to you later.
~Reinier
He gave a slight nod, and sent the message away to the Blademage. He pulled up another window, and began another message.
To: Zan
From: Reinier
Subject: Yo!
How goes it, WereZan? Sad news… Tai’s dead. I wish it were a joke, but he’s gone man. I’m bummed, but I’ve found an egg with a baby inside! I’ve named him Abraxas. He’s not a fire breather yet, and not even Fire Elemental. Go figure. He’s pretty cute, you’ll have to see him when you get back. Sorry I had to bail, but I was sick. It’s funny cus I was having a nasty reaction to my powers! Oh me. Yeah, I heard ya’ll were fighting some nasty things, and that even Night’s little group had to pull out and go to ya’ll’s field. Good luck in the upcoming elemental rooms, give’m hell!
~Reinier
P.S. I didn’t raid your food.
Just as he finished his message to Zan, a ding ringed in his ear. A high Gb, or something of the sort, Reinier guessed. Nighthand had replied.
Flashmail!
To: Reinier
From: Nighthand
RE: Poke
It happens. And hey, those monsters were pretty nasty. What would YOU do against a horde of caterpillars? I didn't think so. Anyways, right now I'm kind of trapped in the mouth of a giant lizard. Oh how things change, huh? Can't get out, under a pool of magma. Nall too. So really, I don't much know what's going on, nor does he I imagine. Woah! This thing started to move, and fast. I'll see ya later.
Reinier chuckled to himself, and decided not to reply. He was curious about what kind of lizard they were fighting, and what magma had to do with anything. Could they be fighting an eight headed hydra? No, that was silly and could never happen. At that point, another incoming Flashmail was sent towards Reinier.
Flashmail!
To: Reinier
From: Zan
Subject: Re: Yo!
I wish I had more time and more concentration for this, but my condolences amigo. I'd ask for details, but I'm sure you'll give those to me once we meet up again. It's going to be tough without Taimat's humor to make dealing with all this Freedom Fighter shit easier. Now we'll just have people who think they're funny. Like Jinx. God help us all...
Safe journey back to us,
Zan
Reinier let off a chuckle as he read through the mail, before closing the window and placing his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes, thoughts of the past and future flooding in to his head. He drifted off in to his sleep, a tear or two cascading out from his eyes in memory of Taimat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Back in his room again, the beginning of all his problems. And there stood Taimat, now in more verdant colored robes. “Well, looks like you’ve saved The World once more kid. Nah, just kidding, you haven’t saved shit yet. It’s all just starting,” the man said solemnly. Reinier screamed, leaping up to his feet and grabbing the first logical weapon he could find: his pillow. “Slow down there Tex, it’s just me. Good ol’ Taimat. Or Abraxas. Where did you think of that name anyway? It’s kind of random…” The man scratched his chin in wonder as he stared at Reinier.
The boy dropped his pillow as he blinked and gaped at the man in front of him. “But… you’re dead. I watched it happen! Fire! Purple fire! And lots of it! You screamed all dramatically, too! By normal standards of gaming, you’re long dead and out of the story! You’re the loveable character we kill for that feeling of sadness in the reader!” Reinier screamed, still wondering how his friend was in front of him.
“Don’t sound too disappointed there Tex. It’s simple, really. How are you alive right now? You died as well, did you not? You were simply brought back to life through weird means. As was I. You forget that the audience was watching. Someone was able to cast a spell on me that was able to keep me alive. Sure, I have to start out all over as a baby… but that’s besides the point. I’m still alive. My element was changed to match my savior’s, too. I’m a wood elemental now. It’ll be a bit before I’m useful, but I guess I sorta am already. I did give that bastard a mean bite on the leg, after all,” Abraxas gave a smirk as he said the last part.
Reinier sat down on the bed, crossing his legs Indian Style as he sat, a whirl of thoughts flowing through his head. “You’re from Texas too… why do I have to be Tex…?” Reinier muttered down to the bed. Reinier lifted his head up to Abraxas, smiling. His face had turned read, and tears were flowing rather swiftly now. “I missed you, bud. I… didn’t know… what to do…” Reinier closed his eyes, and began wiping his tears on his sleeve. He sucked up the snot as he feverously wiped his face in his arm.
“Cry later, just get rest. That Berserker’s Stone crap is still in your system. It’s burnin’ stuff you don’t have. Just sleep it off, man,” Abraxas said, walking over to the computer to sit. Reinier gave a few nods, and curled up in his bed. He gradually fell asleep in to the bottomless depths of darkness only a dream world is able to grant. Reinier passed out in no time, thoughts restlessly spinning around through his head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Flau screamed as flames of violet flowed from her staff and smashed against the ground. Trees, rocks, overhead birds, nothing was save at this point. She had lost one of her more important mines, setting back her operations for Lord knows how long. Demetrious was out of commission as well, and with no signs of improvements. How could things have taken such a drastic turn for the worst? She remembered the sensations of past days, knowing she could launch an attack at any moment. The sounds of golden rings falling behind echoed throughout the field. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Without moving, she asked, “This better be good news.”
“It is. Altia’s Blade is mine. It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” The female voice asked. Flau twisted around and peered in to Leucosia’s eyes. Her frown still very apparent, she let out a sigh. She reached out and grasped the sword. She grasped the handle, and pulled out the sword slightly just to be able to peer upon the blade.
“It is a beautifully crafted blade. It’s a shame they didn’t think you strong enough to yield it. Then again, that is why you killed your sister, isn’t it?” A sly smirk crossed her face as she looked in to Leucosia, obviously miffed over this statement. “Kills you that you can’t do anything, doesn’t it? Well, it happens. I’ll put this sword to use that you can’t,” Flau let out her giggle, a smile finally appearing over her face once more.
The winds blew gently over the field, as Flau sheathed the sword and wrapped it around her belt. She turned her back to Leucosia and gave a lazy wave, before gating out of the field. Leucosia looked down to the ground and exhaled ever so inaudibly. A single tear touched down upon the ground, as the golden rings passed over Leucosia in sorrow.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Does hope truly get us through the day? When it is all over, what hope can be left for those so in need of help they throw it all away? For those who crave power, what bounds will you leap? Would you give it all away, even if it meant your soul? What would your friends do, in the end? Would they save you, betray you, or stick with you? Power is a truly dangerous mistress, and as fickle as Lady Luck. One day she is yours, the next she is blowing on another guy’s dice.
What do you seek Reinier? What limits are you willing to push to get your way? Friendships already build upon shaky foundations? Will they no longer mean anything to you? And Leucosia, why have you given away such an heirloom? Beware the repercussions…
In the end, I suppose, all one can truly do is hope…
Abraxas circled around the group as they proceeded through the field rather energetically for a new born. Altia giggled as she watched the dragon jump up in the air in attempts to stay airborne for more then a few seconds. She let out another giggle and picked up the baby dragon, saying, “But your little wings just can’t hold you yet! You just need to wait until you’re big and strong before you worry about flying!” She then cried out, “You’re just so cute!!” and gave the dragon a massive hug.
“Quit babying the thing,” Kaerius muttered, looking at his map religiously. He seemed on edge at the moment, and rightfully so. A strange field, and no monsters had shown themselves yet. The man let out a sigh and came to a stop, before smashing his foot in to the ground and sky rocketing himself in to the air on atop a spire. From a few stories in the air, he spied throughout the field for any sign of monsters, monster portals, or the dungeon. “No, I don’t see anything, newbie,” Kaerius said, still surveying the field.
“Newbie?” Reinier asked, cocking his head to the right. He crossed his arms, still hovering effortlessly. The boy made two spires shoot out to the side of the platform, and then gracelessly landed upon them. He jolted forward, waving his arms around in circles before grabbing Kaerius to get his footing. The boy noticed something to his right, as he was nearly falling, and when he had a steady footing he began to focus on that area. Reinier leaped to the right, grasping to Kaerius by the shoulder, and placed his hand over his eyes in a visor fashion. He squinted his eyes and spied something most curious indeed. “What’s purple, red, and to the right?” Reinier pushed off the platform, flipping in the air, and twisted towards Kaerius. A smile crossed his face, and he said, “I’ll give you a hint. It rhymes with ‘Dour Mestination.’”
And with that, Reinier had his head start to the dungeon. The two followed relatively close behind, until they all reached the dungeon. Reinier looked around, still looking for signs of monsters. The dusty savanna of a field bore no monsters or portals, an abnormality considering most level one fields at least had some form of monsters. Grey, dead trees littered the field, with the occasional tumble weed here and there, being the only “life” on the field. Reinier peered in to the dungeon, rubbed his eyes, and then looked once more. “That’s a scary amount of power…” Reinier muttered, peering in to a void of purple and red mist.
“What do you mean, rookie?” Kaerius inquired, looking in to the dungeon. “I don’t see a thing. Just a normal dungeon… Dying must have killed off some brain cells.” The man walked past Reinier, beginning to enter the cave, and then turned around to him. “Brain cells don’t come back, better cherish the ones you still have,” he said, before entering the dungeon. Altia stepped up in front of Reinier, still cuddling Abraxas.
The woman continued staring in to the dungeon, then turned to Reinier. “I don’t see anything either. Are you sure everything’s okay? If you need to back out of the quest, it’s understandable. You were dead, after all.” Her intentions were pure, but Reinier cringed from what he felt as a copious amount of pity coming from her. The boy let out a sigh and continued forward, still sure of his abilities but now with a hint of doubt.
“Does anyone have a Sprite Ocarina?” Reinier asked, the group now assembled in the first room of the dungeon. Kaerius, facing the next room, waved his hand upwards and gave an, “I do.” Reinier nodded to himself and continued forward with the group in to the next room.
Gasps of horror and disgust left the group as a monster appeared from seemingly nowhere in the next room. A goblin, altered horribly, staggered around the room. It stood a staggering eight feet tall, hunched from the weight of its’ upper body. Hundreds of pounds of muscle were packed on to its’ grotesque body, which was supported by rather tiny legs. The proportions of the unfortunate beast seemed to be that of a chicken, rather than a man or goblin. Snorts and growls of pain emitted from its’ football sized head, while it began to stagger towards the group. Everyone shot for their weapons, but then a curious thing indeed happened. The goblin keeled over, and died.
The earth shook violently as the beast fell to the ground, simply dying without a fight. The group stood their ground, still gripping their weapons, unsure of what to do next. The corpse decided the next move, and simply combusted. Violet flames soared throughout the room, until eventually subsiding around a rather massive skeleton. The group cautiously inspected the corpse, finding no ill effects on the monster. Kaerius knelt down near its’ stomach, and found a black rock the size of a volleyball. He scratched his head, and tossed the rock down to the ground, and rose back up to his feet. “I guess we just move on…”
“Wait,” Reinier said, inspecting the room. “The mist isn’t apparent in this room at all, but it still was in the other room. Doesn’t that strike anyone as odd?” Reinier asked, looking back and forth to his friends with hope. Kaerius let out a sigh, shaking his head, and Altia muttered a few words to herself. Abraxas shook his head up and down passionately. Kaerius looked up to Reinier, and stared deep in to the strange hue of his eyes. The man closed his eyes, placed his hands at his side, and shook his head. Without raising his head, he motioned with his right hand to head back in to the other room.
Reinier gave a nod, turned around, and began to walk towards the room humbly. When his back was all the two behind would see, he rose his fist towards his chest and jolted it downwards a bit, muttering a “fuck yes!” to himself in victory. The group stood in the room while Reinier surveyed. “Are you done yet, newbie?” Kaerius asked. “Are you happy yet? We’ve found nothing, and will find-” and before he could finish his sentence, Reinier shifted his body weight to the left, and threw both his hands in that direction.
A solid column, being about the size of your standard dungeon doorway, flew from the middle of the wall and collapsed a few yards away. The top section that was divided by the column collapsed upon the bottom, until a pile of ruble stood in its’ wake. Kaerius and Altia stood dumbstruck, mouths open and eyes wide, that Reinier could possibly be correct and logical at the same time. A smirk crossed his face as he looked at them, and slapped his hands together as if dusting them off in a job well done, and began to approach the new doorway.
Kaerius grumbled, and pushed away the rubble before continuing forward, with Altia following behind. Abraxas had fallen asleep at this point, resting head against the Wavemistriss’ left shoulder. Reinier let out tiny gasps at the sights around him as he trudged behind Kaerius in the rather narrow pathway. Crimson jewels hung over head in their most raw form. The gems seemed to emit their own light, their own energy, and seemed to press this energy in to the earth around. The ground and walls seemed to be blood soaked, and even to the point of being filled with hate itself.
The passed out of the archway in to a massive circular room filled with large crystals protruding out of the ground around the edges of the wall. The room itself felt like a dome, with the larger and brighter crystals at the top, and the petty and less significant crystals on the ground. The tint of blood washed upon everyone’s face rather brightly, to the point of having to shield their eyes and wait for adjustments before moving on. One figure stood at the back of the room, a stone in his hand: Demetrious.
“Amazing little rocks, aren’t they? These… Berserker’s Stones, they’ll make the take over that much easier. The pieces are falling in to place, one by one by one… Added strength and even healing properties… Perfect, right? One setback. You might have noticed this, but there’s no longer monsters in the field. They’ve all died from overexposure to the stone’s unbelievable power. Stay in contact too long with the rocks, and you tend to die. It’s sad, isn’t it? Such… power… but the cost… too great…” Demetrious trailed off, letting out a sigh as he tossed the stone to the ground. He looked up to the group with lamenting eyes, but smiled none the less. “Why Kaerius, how long it’s been… How is Leucosia and her sister? They were-” And Kaerius screamed.
The man drove forward, drawing out his swords as he ran, and began to slice viciously at the man in the snow white robes. The blades twisted and twirled like helicopter blades at Demetrious, who simply ducked and dodged the blows. Kaerius swung sideways with his left arm, then jabbed towards the man’s chest with his right. The blade stuck in wall of the crystalline mine, and stuck rather well. Reinier attempted to shoot spires, but the floor and walls of the dungeon were just too thick and lined too well with crystals for much effectiveness. Altia began her barrage with spells, but it wasn’t looking all too well at this point.
Each Gan Zot spell she cast missed the target, all five, and Kaerius still couldn’t pull his sword out of the wall. Fire and ice erupted from Demetrious’ arms at this point, having called upon his elemental dragon duo. The two pure elemental beings, the fire dragon Galeru and the ice dragon Aurora. The entities of fire and ice hissed and snapped as they slithered around Demetrious gradually. Reinier charged from the skies, sword over head, just barely brushing against his back. With a roar, Kaerius ripped out his sword and charged for Demetrious’ back. At the last moment possible, Demetrious charged for to Altia, leaving Reinier and Kaerius behind.
With a loud crack, Reinier smashed Kaerius in the skull, causing him to fall back with a scream. Reinier scoffed, twisted around, and charged for Demetrious once more. The flaming dragon shot backwards, aiming towards Reinier. The dragon crashed in to the earth, just as Reinier leaped over its’ attack. Attack number two worked slightly better, as he made contact with the man. Demetrious flew forward from the hit, ramming directly in to Altia. He jammed his hand in to her face, palming her head like a basketball, and shot the ice dragon directly in to her.
He ripped his steaming hand away from her head, with Altia now plastered against the wall by ice, and turned to Reinier. He flew forward, wand in hand now, and came to a stop inches away from the boy. He jabbed his wand in to Reinier’s gut, and smiled while he said, “You make this easy.” Reinier’s mouth dropped as he looked down upon the wand and tried to escape. He could feel something hit his shoulders, but not his stomach. Unusual, but not uncommon, Reinier decided.
Demetrious let out a scream as he pushed Reinier away and scurried off to the side. He stared at the two people while he took a knee, his breathing heavily labored. As he knelt, two swords protruded very visibly from his back. Reinier rose to his feet, and turned to Kaerius. The two smirked, and pounded fists before turning back to Demetrious. The man rose to his feet, ripping out the swords, and tossed them to the side. He staggered to the side and seemed very dazed.
He twisted his right hand around, and then shot it outwards at the two. The dragon leaped from the palm of his hand, but at rather sluggish rate compared to the other times. Reinier and Kaerius shot off in opposite directions, watching the blast melt the ice which encased Altia. She fell to her knees, gasping for breath. Demetrious let out a scream, and began to jump around in circles. Reinier began to laugh as he watched Abraxas grasp on to the man’s leg with his jaws. Kaerius threw his hand forward, and called, “Gan Zot!” Abraxas let go at that point, and scurried off to a hiding place once more.
The shards of earth shot up from the ground, and due to the fact Demetrious was near the ground grabbing his wounds, he was shot through the chest. Reinier threw his hands up, causing the main spike, the one that hit Demetrious, to fly up towards the ceiling with the man still attached. Silence stood in the room for quite some time, only interrupted by the sound of the spike falling from the ceiling and shattering on the ground. The three let out a sigh of relief, and turned to each other. “Let’s go,” he said. “We’ve gotten the data we need… we’ll let the others worry about destroying the field.”
And with a crash Demetrious landed, a massive spire protruding from his stomach. Flames of violet wisped violently around the man, his head seeming to be in spastic seizures as he stared at the three fighters. His body did not grow, but the three could feel the way his energies changed. They backed away, watching as he reached to the skies with his right hand. His eyes seemed vacant now, with no sign of thought.
A baby version of Galeru flew from the palm of his hand, and then Aurora, and then one for each corresponding element. The dragons fluttered around the room gallantly, spitting elemental breaths of their element. Abraxas curled around Altia’s leg in fear, but she didn’t notice due to the fact she had gone numb with fear. Demetrious raised his other hand, and together it looked like he was attempting to hold a bowl of some kind.
The dragons fluttered towards the middle of his hands, and one by one began to merge. Waves of concentrated energy flowed outwards, searing the man’s hands, arms, and face but being healed ever hastily by the stone. The energies convulsed and fluctuated, never quite taking on a shape or form. Reinier gulped began to inch towards the exit as quickly as possible. Reinier’s eyes shot to the group, still standing in fear, and he shouted, “Move!”
The two snapped out of it, and began sprinting for the exit. Kaerius leaped forward and grabbed his swords before continuing on. His back was seared in the process however, but he still managed. Halfway through, the man realized he still had a Sprite Ocarina. He sheathed his weapons and rose it to the sky. Golden rings flowed over the three characters as they were taken to the starting point of the field.
They all took deep breaths as they recuperated from the shock of seeing the man as he was. Reinier plopped on the ground, as did Altia, as they stared to the horizon. A dull roar erupted before anyone was able to say anything, as they looked towards where it originated. A tower of multi-florescence beamed to the heavens, and felt almost as everything was being forcefully dragged inwards to it. Without warning, the three were gated out of the area and found themselves in the Root Town, Mac Anu.
Kaerius collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. “That was too much for me, I wanted to gate out sooner, but I just froze…” He muttered, staring at the ground. Altia knelt down next to the man, and began to rub his back in hopes of calming him down.
“Happens to the best of us. It looks like we don’t have to worry ‘bout that field anymore, which is nice… I need to get back to the hideout, though. They might be worried or somethin’ of the sort. Doubtful, but y’never know…” The two gave nods, and everyone was off to their own adventures.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Golden rings fell over Reinier, as he entered the hideout. Baby Abraxas lay atop the boy’s head, its’ tail gently wrapped around his neck. Sheena, the more annoying and less pretty version of Raine, appeared seemingly out of nowhere to Reinier. He jolted back, as she yelled, “You’ve changed! What happened!?”
Reinier blinked at the abruptness of the question, and attempted to process it all at once. Had he changed that much? Would everyone notice? Reinier didn't really think that changed that much, but decided to ask anyways. “What do you mean I've changed? I feel the same…”
“Not yooouuuuu. Him!” Sheena called out, beginning to pet the baby Abraxas. He seemed to purr and wiggle his shoulders around as she pet him. A puff of black smoke came out from his nostrils lovingly as she continued to pet him.
Reinier let out a sigh, knowing he should have known she was talking about Abraxas. He took the dragon off his head, and gave it to Sheena. “You can take him for now, he needs a little TLC from someone other then a guy. Any word from Nights or Nall? I had to leave rather abruptly…” He was even more curious at how much time he had elapsed since he entered the Earth Kingdom. Spending too much time in that tear of time and space must have been having a negative effect on Reinier.
Sheena continued petting the dragon joyfully as she began to speak. “Nighthand and his group decided to pull back and join the other one, since they met stuff they could barely handle! The merged group is currently on the second to last of those elemental rooms, too! No direct word to me from them of course, those lousy men! Oh well, at least they’re getting close to being done so they can come back and I can clobber them myself!” Reinier gulped at the mention of a clobbering.
Reinier chuckled, and said, “Oh wow, something big bad Nighty can’t handle? That in itself is scary. I suppose when they get back, and after the necessary clobberings occur, we'll head off to that field or the other? And I'm sorry that they don’t contact you, they're probably very busy without me. I'll make sure to keep in touch with you during our travels from now on, just so you have some idea that we’re ‘safe,’ m‘kay?” Reinier chuckled to himself as he looked at his baby dragon.
I miss Taimat…
“‘Kay! I’ll hold you to that, you know! You should probably get some rest though, get prepared so you don’t forget anything!” The woman said energetically. It was refreshing to see a person not drowning in sorrow, for once.
“Yeah, you’re probably right... I am a little worn out. Can you do me a favor, though? Take care of Abraxas for a little while. He's probably hungry cus he’s about... half an hour old? Pretty sure he’ll eat anything meaty, so if you could get a Grunty or something... I’m sure he’ll love it.” Reinier gave a nervous smile, realizing girls liked anything young, with baby Grunties being no exception.
Sheena gave a sly wink to Reinier, and replied, “I’m sure we can find something! Though Zan might not like where his food goes!” Reinier gave her a nod and his thanks, and proceeded to the room with all the beds. The man took off his coat, and hung it upon the bed post. He leaned his sword against the post as well, and then ripped his shirt off and tossed it on the top of his sword handle. The boy kicked off his shoes, tossing his gloves next to them, and curled up in to the bed. He threw the blankets over his body, and began to drift in to a slumber. At the last minute, Reinier decided to Flashmail his friends before taking his leave for rest.
To: Nighthand
From: Reinier
Subject: Poke
Hey homeslice, just wanted to pop in to say that I’m okay. Turns out I wasn’t that sick, just having a bad reaction to my new powers. Funny huh? Allergic to what’s supposed to help me out later on. I’ve gotten a little stronger, and hopefully I won’t be as useless as when I first joined the group. Pretty funny how things change, huh? Still terrified of Xeno, though… that spear… ugh… ‘Though, I found a sword that would make that spear run for its’ money. If only I still had that thing… oh well. But yeah, Sheena is miffed that you don’t Flashmail her. You should do that. And the mighty Nights couldn’t handle a few monsters in that one field? Kinda sad… Well, I’m going to bed. Talk to you later.
~Reinier
He gave a slight nod, and sent the message away to the Blademage. He pulled up another window, and began another message.
To: Zan
From: Reinier
Subject: Yo!
How goes it, WereZan? Sad news… Tai’s dead. I wish it were a joke, but he’s gone man. I’m bummed, but I’ve found an egg with a baby inside! I’ve named him Abraxas. He’s not a fire breather yet, and not even Fire Elemental. Go figure. He’s pretty cute, you’ll have to see him when you get back. Sorry I had to bail, but I was sick. It’s funny cus I was having a nasty reaction to my powers! Oh me. Yeah, I heard ya’ll were fighting some nasty things, and that even Night’s little group had to pull out and go to ya’ll’s field. Good luck in the upcoming elemental rooms, give’m hell!
~Reinier
P.S. I didn’t raid your food.
Just as he finished his message to Zan, a ding ringed in his ear. A high Gb, or something of the sort, Reinier guessed. Nighthand had replied.
Flashmail!
To: Reinier
From: Nighthand
RE: Poke
It happens. And hey, those monsters were pretty nasty. What would YOU do against a horde of caterpillars? I didn't think so. Anyways, right now I'm kind of trapped in the mouth of a giant lizard. Oh how things change, huh? Can't get out, under a pool of magma. Nall too. So really, I don't much know what's going on, nor does he I imagine. Woah! This thing started to move, and fast. I'll see ya later.
Reinier chuckled to himself, and decided not to reply. He was curious about what kind of lizard they were fighting, and what magma had to do with anything. Could they be fighting an eight headed hydra? No, that was silly and could never happen. At that point, another incoming Flashmail was sent towards Reinier.
Flashmail!
To: Reinier
From: Zan
Subject: Re: Yo!
I wish I had more time and more concentration for this, but my condolences amigo. I'd ask for details, but I'm sure you'll give those to me once we meet up again. It's going to be tough without Taimat's humor to make dealing with all this Freedom Fighter shit easier. Now we'll just have people who think they're funny. Like Jinx. God help us all...
Safe journey back to us,
Zan
Reinier let off a chuckle as he read through the mail, before closing the window and placing his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes, thoughts of the past and future flooding in to his head. He drifted off in to his sleep, a tear or two cascading out from his eyes in memory of Taimat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Back in his room again, the beginning of all his problems. And there stood Taimat, now in more verdant colored robes. “Well, looks like you’ve saved The World once more kid. Nah, just kidding, you haven’t saved shit yet. It’s all just starting,” the man said solemnly. Reinier screamed, leaping up to his feet and grabbing the first logical weapon he could find: his pillow. “Slow down there Tex, it’s just me. Good ol’ Taimat. Or Abraxas. Where did you think of that name anyway? It’s kind of random…” The man scratched his chin in wonder as he stared at Reinier.
The boy dropped his pillow as he blinked and gaped at the man in front of him. “But… you’re dead. I watched it happen! Fire! Purple fire! And lots of it! You screamed all dramatically, too! By normal standards of gaming, you’re long dead and out of the story! You’re the loveable character we kill for that feeling of sadness in the reader!” Reinier screamed, still wondering how his friend was in front of him.
“Don’t sound too disappointed there Tex. It’s simple, really. How are you alive right now? You died as well, did you not? You were simply brought back to life through weird means. As was I. You forget that the audience was watching. Someone was able to cast a spell on me that was able to keep me alive. Sure, I have to start out all over as a baby… but that’s besides the point. I’m still alive. My element was changed to match my savior’s, too. I’m a wood elemental now. It’ll be a bit before I’m useful, but I guess I sorta am already. I did give that bastard a mean bite on the leg, after all,” Abraxas gave a smirk as he said the last part.
Reinier sat down on the bed, crossing his legs Indian Style as he sat, a whirl of thoughts flowing through his head. “You’re from Texas too… why do I have to be Tex…?” Reinier muttered down to the bed. Reinier lifted his head up to Abraxas, smiling. His face had turned read, and tears were flowing rather swiftly now. “I missed you, bud. I… didn’t know… what to do…” Reinier closed his eyes, and began wiping his tears on his sleeve. He sucked up the snot as he feverously wiped his face in his arm.
“Cry later, just get rest. That Berserker’s Stone crap is still in your system. It’s burnin’ stuff you don’t have. Just sleep it off, man,” Abraxas said, walking over to the computer to sit. Reinier gave a few nods, and curled up in his bed. He gradually fell asleep in to the bottomless depths of darkness only a dream world is able to grant. Reinier passed out in no time, thoughts restlessly spinning around through his head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Flau screamed as flames of violet flowed from her staff and smashed against the ground. Trees, rocks, overhead birds, nothing was save at this point. She had lost one of her more important mines, setting back her operations for Lord knows how long. Demetrious was out of commission as well, and with no signs of improvements. How could things have taken such a drastic turn for the worst? She remembered the sensations of past days, knowing she could launch an attack at any moment. The sounds of golden rings falling behind echoed throughout the field. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Without moving, she asked, “This better be good news.”
“It is. Altia’s Blade is mine. It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” The female voice asked. Flau twisted around and peered in to Leucosia’s eyes. Her frown still very apparent, she let out a sigh. She reached out and grasped the sword. She grasped the handle, and pulled out the sword slightly just to be able to peer upon the blade.
“It is a beautifully crafted blade. It’s a shame they didn’t think you strong enough to yield it. Then again, that is why you killed your sister, isn’t it?” A sly smirk crossed her face as she looked in to Leucosia, obviously miffed over this statement. “Kills you that you can’t do anything, doesn’t it? Well, it happens. I’ll put this sword to use that you can’t,” Flau let out her giggle, a smile finally appearing over her face once more.
The winds blew gently over the field, as Flau sheathed the sword and wrapped it around her belt. She turned her back to Leucosia and gave a lazy wave, before gating out of the field. Leucosia looked down to the ground and exhaled ever so inaudibly. A single tear touched down upon the ground, as the golden rings passed over Leucosia in sorrow.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Does hope truly get us through the day? When it is all over, what hope can be left for those so in need of help they throw it all away? For those who crave power, what bounds will you leap? Would you give it all away, even if it meant your soul? What would your friends do, in the end? Would they save you, betray you, or stick with you? Power is a truly dangerous mistress, and as fickle as Lady Luck. One day she is yours, the next she is blowing on another guy’s dice.
What do you seek Reinier? What limits are you willing to push to get your way? Friendships already build upon shaky foundations? Will they no longer mean anything to you? And Leucosia, why have you given away such an heirloom? Beware the repercussions…
In the end, I suppose, all one can truly do is hope…
- Nighthand
- Master of Games
- Posts: 1265
- Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
- Class: Bladesmage
- Location: ...Tracking...please wait...
Reinier -> +3 levels, + Sonic Blade, + Ex-Sphere [Lv.2 Curative]
----------> Your Golden Orb is now glowing reasonably white
----------> + Blessing of Terra: Armor Level 3
----------> - Taimat, + Abraxas
Just for reference, these rewards include your posts in the Hub assault quest.
----------> Your Golden Orb is now glowing reasonably white
----------> + Blessing of Terra: Armor Level 3
----------> - Taimat, + Abraxas
Just for reference, these rewards include your posts in the Hub assault quest.
![Image](http://static.flickr.com/48/185807763_8ac187a5da_o.jpg)
Wishlist: Any Armor or Weapons under level 50, Any Scrolls (prefer level 2+)