Saturday, April 26, 2008
Fiction
Third post today, innit?
So, this is just a kinda project I embarked on, so imma post both here and on site of origin.
Chapter 5The solitary orb on the ground shone. The sole producer of light in the whole room cast dim shadows on the walls of the gigantic training area, made entirely of parquet. The lights were off, curtains draped; I could barely see the old man standing beside me. "I have chosen to train you first because magic is not a strong aspect in Alexis as much was melee combat is; therefore, she can train Reika in basic weapon fights first. As your trainer, I must remind you that the regime is strict, and you must achieve good progress. If you can assure that, then we begin now." Considering my future paths, I nodded, and looked at what I could see of the silhouetted figure. "Pick up the orb, and try to dim the light to the point where you can't see anything." The small orb looked powerless, and yet I knew that this was capable of casting the strongest magic, magic that could lay a city flat within three seconds. The small crystal felt cold, even from a few centimeters away; when I touched it, I felt energy and something else flood into me; for a moment, colors flushed before my eyes, disconnected images flying around, as if they belonged to the walls of a subterranean vault I was zooming through. I could feel every heartbeat, notice every detail; it was as if my sight had become clearer. By instinct, I looked at the old man who was my tutor; there was a name scribbled, as if hastily, above him. The word read "Alcaster".
Standing up, I held the orb tightly and concentrated on it. I seemed to delve into my mind, reading through every memory as if it were a movie without sound; I could see the small island which I'd last seen life, the immense wall of water crashing down into nowhere. I could see the world tree, the fantastical, legendary creatures living in everyone. That was three months before we'd all died of an explosion, caused by the fountain in the center of the island. There was no heaven or hell; only nothingness awaited after death, and yet I was lucky enough to escape from that prison of eternal darkness. The girl I'd loved had managed to run from death as well, and there was a high possibility that the others could as well; my only regret was that I had been unable to stop the Bishop who'd destroyed the rest of the world. Looking straight at the old mage I used to see standing in the snowy land of El Nath, I sensed a familiarity, a travel back to the past. This wasn't the past anymore; I was now unable to wield even a sword, less to say a spear forged by pure dark magic.
Concentrating, I felt my eyes pound for a moment. The mana around me became visible trails, whirling around, dancing in auroras; the spirit threads surrounding the headmaster were blue in color; mine was jet black, barely visible in the darkness, but I was sure Arthur, or Alcaster, could see it. He appeared unfazed by it; perhaps he'd already knew who I'd been. Forcing the mana into my arms, I concentrated them in a ball around the orb. It glowed blue for a moment, and then, it was suddenly engulfed by the pure darkness of the mana; the room fell black. For a moment, I let go of the orb, and I felt strangely blank; then, when I laid hands on it just before it could shatter on the ground, I felt the flooding occur again. The burden is mine to bear alone. The voice rang out loud within my mind, before everything went black.
When I woke up, I was lying in the hospital wing of the school, apparently meant to be recuperating. The headmaster was sitting beside me, and his expression was solemn. I looked around uncertainly. "The training..." Arthur sighed, and said, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have made you do such advanced stuff yet." I was flabbergasted. Such a simple task, and I couldn't achieve it... I felt a something withdrawing from my mind, and I looked up at him; he added, "Do not worry; it was not your fault. In fact, you'd managed to get the task completed before you passed out. Something had gone wrong with the orb I let you train with yesterday. Rest assured, it will not happen again. If you are ready, then let us proceed to the next phase - manipulating mana in darkness."
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Pulling back on the already tense bowstring, I sensed a force overcoming the bonds holding the string together, before it snapped uselessly in my hands. Furiously, I strung the bow again and sheathed another arrow; I was about to fire it when I felt a strong spell binding my movement. The headmaster of the school walked towards me and released the spell, querying, "Where's Alexis?" Upon hearing that she was gone, he looked irritatedly at the building next door, before saying, "This... you have the problem of pulling arrows, I assume? Your force is too strong for the bowstring to hold, and therefore, I'm going to teach you a method whereby you form a bow from your mana and soul, a bow which is essentially, to all intents and purposes, part of yourself. Beware; I am merely a clone of myself, who is currently coaching Alex due to him having uh... passed out. Don't tell him I told you, though. So, if you shoot me, I won't be able to teach you anything more." Putting a hand in his cloak, he retrieved a small crystal that looked like a tiny double-bladed dagger. It was about as big as my palm, and the diamond core and majority of the tip were violet in color; the remaining little parts were black.
I took the small crystal and felt my head swim. The pain was nearly unbearable, and yet I gritted my teeth, trying my best not to faint, scream or even utter the slightest sound. I saw lights everywhere, screams, shouts; strange growling noises and the flapping of gigantic wings. The memories rushed to me, and I let go of the crystal. Gently, it headed towards the ground, and hit it with a loud shattering sound; with that shatter, the headache was over. Arthur looked at me with a calculative expression, and said, "Pardon me." He waved his hand in a complex movement; for the second time in my life, I fell to the ground, unconscious. In the blackness, I saw nothing but the face of the boy that had pulled me into this adventure, who I'd helped, admired and liked so much. The face seemed to swim away, and the background turned from white to black. Disconcerted by this sudden darkness, I let myself get accustomed to the low amount of light. The back of a person was visible, in the distance; he had two wings, and when he turned his head slightly, I saw the side profile of Alex. He took three steps, and the left half of his clothes and the left wing turned black. Shocked, I looked on at the person who looked so much like Janus now; before I could make a single noise, the visions were gone.
Some time later, I emerged from the blackness, my forehead feeling really warm. The pillow beneath me was soaked in what I assumed to be my perspiration; my hair clung to my face. Brushing it aside, I pushed myself up, and saw that I was still wearing the same clothes as when I fainted. On a bed beside me, Alex was asleep, a small orb glistening on his bedside table. The room felt strangely cooling, and when I stepped on the marble floor, I felt as if ice was spiking my leg, but there was no pain; only a strange, calm, numbness. Turning back, I sat on my bed and looked out through the window; two sentinels were guarding the city gates, the stars shining behind them; I could see the full moon, halfway up the sky, illuminating the way for any travelers that might be wandering around outside. Sighing, I got up from the bed and saw that a small book had been put there, in addition to the crystal. Opening the book, I saw a few tabs, and the first one said "Crystals". Right at the very top was the one that I'd been holding, a Crude Crystal, according to the book. Quickly flipping across this section, I saw different kinds of crystals, and beside each of them was a picture of a bow, all of them intricate, all of them beautiful.
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I walked down that infinitely long, but narrow path. What waited at the end, why I was walking, I didn't know; the faculty called instinct brought me on, spurring me to find the end of this road. To the sides, trees stretched, planted in no particular order, disallowing anybody to stray in more than three steps. The leaves that fell to the ground were orange in color, weathered, the trees preparing to set into winter. The autumn wind blew, causing the dead leaves to rustle and the living ones to flow along; I felt my hair being ruffled by the sudden gust, and stopped for a moment. I could see the sun, covered by sparse amounts of clouds; it shone down on the path, barely illuminating the way ahead. The path didn't wind, or curve; it stretched on, disappearing into a point right at the horizon; the same sight awaited me behind. All of a sudden, there were loud chirping noises, and birds took flight, casting shadows over the ground. There was an opening in the trees, at last, and I could see, beyond the small trail, four people dueling in pairs. Walking up, I saw a pair of twelve year olds and a pair comprising a twenty-year-old and a twelve year old, whose eyes were shut tight. One of the first pair charged an energy ball and fired it at the twenty-year-old; the energy that danced out crackled, jumping quickly but jerkily. He parried it with a hand, and cast something at him. The magic wasn't immediately evident, but an aurora spread over the battlefield, butterflies fluttering around the curtain. Maple leaves whirled around the couple, and the adult said a string of words in Japanese; there was screaming, and...
I woke up on my bed. The sunlight was shining in, and I found myself in the room I'd woken up in my first day in Atlantis. Uncertainly, I turned and looked at the small crystal orb, undisturbed throughout the night; this was the first time I'd come close to feeling how air-condition was like.
Walking on the streets, I gasped as pain spiked my stomach. This was the third day I'd gone without food, and my abdomen was burning with the acid produced by the digestive system. Groping the walls, I staggered for three steps before collapsing on the ground. On both ends of the alley, people walked, the human traffic never-ending; none of them even paid the slightest attention to this alley, who even noticed me lying on the ground. There was still work to be done, to ensure my survival. I wondered whether anyone had suffered this pain before. There was a whirring sound beside me, and a bunch of people walked out; the gangsters kicked me out of the way, and I instinctively leapt up. They had no time to react before they were kicked unconscious by me. Their pockets held a grand total of three hundred dollars; that'd last me quite some time. Shaking, I tried to shut those memories of scavenging for food out. Orphaned at three, I stepped into the world without anybody guiding me; in this advanced world, nobody had time to spare for an orphan; I had to fend for survival, nothing that anyone else in my school had ever done. I resented that fact, and yet... I still fell in love with a girl who was born into a world with material comforts; I didn't understand how, or why, and yet...
Posted by Denunciator at 1:50 PM