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 Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:19 am
The rest nodded and proceeded to go back to their classrooms.
Diana sling her bag again with her "boyish" pose and went near her redhead classmate "Wanna go and fetch Miki and the rest?". Receiving a small and silent nod, they both walked to the junior's floor.
Miki was rather nervous about what might be happening. Usually in the books she read, protagonists might be sent off to do a task. But she may never believe those kinds of things. Her shaky shoulders were reassured when a black-haired chinese boy gave a small. Feeling reassured, she looked outside to see the 2 upperclassmen and wait for her Oniichan and Rei to walk outside
Diana went on ahead to waited at the gate. She hated waiting but it was best to be early. Now knowing what happened, it can help to try and not waste anytime.
Max managed to come by after Diana did. He was still shaken by the revelation of the group with their stones. It only meant there might be more. But how many exactly?
Tala was with Miki, leaning against the wall of the gates, near the tree. He remembered how his classroom suddenly went cold without him realizing and then this power surge. Then he saw outside a gust of wind. Did those events happen in pure coincidence? But seeing that shadow thing, he wasn't so sure anymore.
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:47 am
Aelian saw five of the ten young people she'd encountered earlier approach what had to be the group's meeting place - the one she'd called "Mistress of Dark" was among them, as was the girl who'd been standing near the Flameweaver earlier. There was a teen with almost feline features and long black hair, a blond - most people from Krield had hair as sunny as his; Is he the Lightning Ward, then? the elfin wondered - and last but not the least, a teen with hair like dark flames and eyes as pale as the sky. The Frost Master... or at least he will be once he harnesses his powers...
She could feel which of the Elements had gathered, but could not tell as yet which of the three she had yet to identify - water, lightning, and light - were there.
She turned her gaze slightly upward, to the path that connected this... 'campus' with that of the Earth Warden and Scroll Mage. They must have been younger than their companions to have been placed in a separate school, much like the House of Learning Aelian herself had left when she'd recieved sufficient training. She could see the other two Chosen approaching, something like relief breaking over both their faces when they saw the others.
And, though she did not turn to confirm her feelings, she knew the Flameweaver and Wind-bringer were approaching as well.
--------------------
Daichi's face brightened when he saw five familiar forms by the main gate, and he quickened his pace. "Looks like you were right, Chief," the green-eyed teen commented. "There they are!"
The bespectacled teen, too, looked somewhat relieved; he needed to get that thing with shadow-thing out in the open, as did Daichi... as well as that whole story of somehow acquiring a strange dark green stone with an even stranger symbol. "Yeah, I see 'em. And it looks like they're waiting for Takao, Kai, and Yuriko."
Sure enough, moments later, the junior and two freshmen approached the other five, and for some reason, all looked pretty sombre. Had something happened here, too?
--------------------
"Well, looks like we're all here," Yuriko said, glancing about.
"'cept for Daichi and Chief," Takao added. "We didn't have time to grab 'em, and the dismissal bell rang ages ago; they could have already left."
"Oh, yeah?" Kai arched an eyebrow, a small question, then his eyes flickered over to the path that connected Shinsengumi High with its junior high counterpart. The teens in question were just several paces away.
"Check your surroundings better before claiming anything, Kinomiya," the slate-haired teen admonished.
Takao blinked in surprise. It had been a while since Kai called him only by his last name, something the dark blue-haired teen wasn't used to. Did he find all these events so serious a matter that he'd revert to his old habits, his old ways? Takao hoped not.
"Thank goodness we caught up to you guys before you left," Kyouju said by way of greeting, a small smile on his face. "We need to tell you something - rather, Daichi has to." This part he said with a meaningful glance at the redhead.
"I do?" For a moment, the overly active teen stood bewildered, until realization hit and he dug into his pants pocket. "Oh, yeah, I do!" He brought out the stone, showed it to the others. It didn't have the effect he'd been expecting, however.
"So you found one, too?" Takao asked, leaning closer to study the open-ended polygonal symbol. So there were eight stones. And all had been found by him or his friends. How weird.
"And so you have all gathered."
Kai turned to see the elf-woman from earlier standing a ways back from the group, leaning slightly against the gingko tree nearest the gate. "And you came back, just as you said," he replied evenly. He didn't like being kept in the dark about things, nor did he like being used. Strangely, he didn't feel like he was being used by this woman, but he may very well have been. So he wanted an explanation, as did his friends, he was sure.
"You have questions, Flameweaver, and you would ask them of me. As would all of you, Chosen." Aelian said, simply. She traced an ovoid shape in the tree behind her, carefully drew the runes of transport. "You will get your answers, if you would please follow me,"
With that, she stepped through the newly-opened portal, seemingly disappearing into the trunk.
Another disappearing trick, and this time she expects us to do the same... Kai thought, nearing the tree and examining the shining runes there, though he understood not a one. Without a second thought, without a backward glance, the slate-haired teen, too, stepped through the portal, disappearing as Aelian had.
Takao all but gaped at this occurence. He'd read of magic and sorcery enough in the fantasy books he borrowed from the public library, but never had he thought that he'd witness the like in his lifetime. There was no logical explanation for first the elfin, and then his friend stepping into a solid tree and not coming out the other side. Where they'd gone, however, he wanted to find out; he was that curious.
"Well, here goes nothing..." The young Kinomiya rushed headlong at the tree, unsure if the spell, whatever it had been, had worn off or not, but prepared for the latter. Unfortunately, the spell was still in effect, and perhaps he'd rushed into another tree wherever he exited.
Yuriko glanced at the others, inclining her head slightly as though to say "Go on, your turn to use that portal thing..." She knew she was not supposed to follow, she had not been 'Touched', to use the auburn-haired elfin's words. She supposed she could only wait and watch until her friends returned.
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:14 am
Tala gently gripped the younger girl's hand beside him, with a quick reassuring glance of their eyes, they both stepped inside without any question.
Miki held Tala's hand tightly, trying to block off her fear. She was very nervous about going inside that portal thing. But seeing as everyone needs to go, she gave a look to the taller redhead who gave her a reassuring look...and went inside.
He still wasn't sure about trusting the woman, but Rei wanted to find the answers to the stones and went inside.
Same goes for the blonde junior. Max wanted to find out what is exactly happening and went inside with no further question. But without a step of hesitance which was brushed off eventually.
Diana looked back at the school and then at the stone she held at her palm. Was this going to take a while? Will they stay for a long time and come back after a year or so like those in the books? It may be like that. But right now, she didn't really care.
Once a member of her family was assigned, she or he must learn to take care of his or herself. Diana had been living with her family for quite a while, doing training to make new skills and learn how to surpass them and overcome their weaknesses. Taking a deep breath, she went inside.
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:11 am
Kyouju gulped nervously. He wasn't that much of a fan of magic, and what he saw happening definitely fell under that category. "Well, Daichi?" he began, after a pregnant silence. "This elfin woman is obviously looking for you guys - the ones who found stones. Takao and the others are probably waiting already..."
The green-eyed teen looked at his friend dubiously. "Hey, she called you 'Scroll Magician' or something like that; that probably means you have to go in, too."
Yuriko shook her head good-naturedly, walked over to the tree, on which runic symbols still glowed. "Come on, you two. Go in; I'll find some way to cover for all of you." When neither junior high student moved, she sighed, made to put a hand through the portal, even though she felt nothing would happen, really. "Look, it's safe. You guys aren't going to walk into a tree, literally. It's just... a... portal...?"
The moment she put her hand through where she'd seen the others go, her hand seemingly disappeared into the trunk. Hazel eyes widened. That wasn't supposed to happen!
Suddenly, she felt someone grab hold of her wrist and pull. Barely she had time to let out a cry of surprise when she fell through the portal, leaving a bewildered Kyouju and Daichi staring at where their friend had last stood.
The redhead looked sidelong at his companion, his eyes questioning. "Well? We going or not?"
Steeling himself, the bespectacled teen nodded. "We can't just stand here and do nothing, can we?" he returned, a rhetorical question.
One after the other, the junior high school students also entered the portal. Ten teens seemingly vanished from the campus, without having even left. Both couldn't help wondering how long it would take before someone noticed the disappearance, or if it would be noticed at all.
--------------------
Whatever Kai had been expecting when he entered the portal, he was unprepared for what he saw. Everywhere he turned, blackened columns rose to the sky, like the singed ribs of some giant. Twisted steel rods stuck up here and there, often at odd angles. Loose stones and other building implements littered the grounds, as did a few discolored scraps of cloth, torn books, and the like.
It was clear to the slate-haired teen that this had once been a thriving city - or cities. This charred, ruined landscape stretched as far as the horizon, so vast he had no way of approximating its area.
Beside him, Takao was helping Yuriko to his feet, in some parody of what had taken place earlier when the shadow-creatures attacked.
"Sorry 'bout that, Yuriko," the steel blue-eyed teen was saying. "I thought your hand was Chief's or Daichi's and I decided to pull a li'l prank..." Here he grinned, both sheepish and apologetic at once.
"Pun intended or no, it's okay," the ebony-haired girl replied, adjusting her sweater vest. "At least there was no actual falling involved or anything." It was true, although when her friend had first pulled her through, Yuriko had felt like she was falling in slow motion. And then her feet had touched solid ground, and she'd walked out into the middle of this... ruin. A giant ruin, to be exact. Of what, she couldn't be sure.
Aelian, meanwhile, gazed evenly at the group, hiding her disbelief that the hazel-eyed Earth child had made it through the portal. She'd incorporated a Warding spell in the runes she'd drawn, such that anyone not Chosen could not enter Arkanna. How strange... the auburn-haired half-elf thought, her gaze now fixed on the younger girl, if only for a moment.
"What... what is this place?" Kyouju wondered aloud, approaching a stone column and trying to rid it of some of the black soot. He succeeded in rubbing off a little, but it was enough only to reveal a few runes and other symbols worked into the stone. One of the symbols surprised him, for it was the symbol on Daichi's stone. "And what is this writing for?"
The elfin opened her mouth to speak, gesturing at the ruins with a sweep of one arm. "This, Scroll Mage, is the Outer Kingdom of Krield..." here her eyes darkened, flashing angrily. "Or at least it was the Kingdom of Krield, until the Shadow rose and began its bid to conquer all of Arkanna."
"'Arkanna'?" Yuriko arched an eyebrow. "Sounds like the Latin word for 'ancient' or 'old'."
"Indeed, Earth child, for this world is as old as yours, travelling the same time plane yet harboring different realities. I brought all of you here - save for you... 'Yuriko', for I'd not intended for you to see this - so you could see the destruction wrought by the He of Shadows, in his desire for power, the control of the Eight Kingdoms."
Kai folded his arms across his chest, the stance he took in disbelief or when questioning someone and waiting answers. It was both of those reasons now. "Before you go on, lady, I think you'd better explain what these stones are for and what they represent."
"Yeah!" Takao nodded quickly, stepping forward. "And those names you called Kai, Diana, and me... do the others have names like that, too?"
Aelian smiled, a small one, but it was a smile nonetheless - quite different from her usual expression. "I was correct in surmising you had questions, Chosen. I entreat you - ask what you will. As Guide, I will try to answer them as best I can."
There, the invitation to ask and learn all she could teach them. Now she just had to wait to see whether it was accepted or not.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 5:22 am
Rei, feeling angered and sadden for some reason, stepped forward to examine the broken landscape. A sharp tightening feeling went to his chest and he bit his lower lip and clutched the pale green stone tightly. And all of a sudden, thunder and lightning started to create a storm of giant cracks of sound and bursts of light.
Diana feeling the danger placed a hand on Rei's shoulder, who in turned looked at her. Gently shaking her head, Rei breathed in deeply and the loud cracks slowly diminished. She was right. Rei did that power surge. Stepping forward, she went to the mysterious woman and spoke "You gave us titles. These stones...i have a feeling they are connected to a special kind of power. Or rather, something in nature. And of course, which is which and Takao's question of the titles you've given some of us. What are the rest?"
But Rei intervened before Diana could pop another question "And also what happened here. Give us the entire history of this place. And elaborate why we had these stones mysteriously coming in the places where we never thought they will be found by just anyone".
"And also why we are chosen. Not just anyone else". The silent redhead couldn't keep his mouth close for any longer. He wondered why. Why them of all people? And all of them happen to be friends.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:19 am
For a moment, Kai glanced skyward, with its darkening clouds, bursts of lightning and answering claps of thunder. It had begun just seconds after the dark-haired neko-jin had stepped forward, as though to examine the rolling landscape better. Lightning... did Rei cause that power surge earlier, then? the maroon-eyed teen thought, watching mutely as Diana approached the other teen, put a a hand on his shoulder as though to steady him.
Yuriko sat down on a nearby wall that had been decimated to just several layers of stone, sitting atop one another. It must have been ten, fifteen feet high - probably more - before the Shadow, whatever or whoever that was, struck. She listened as her friends voiced their feelings, mostly questions really. She had questions herself, but dared not voice them. The ebony-haired teen didn't show it, but what the woman had said earlier had hurt. Now she knew she wasn't wanted here - probably not needed; for a long moment she regretted having allowed Takao to pull her through the portal.
Aelian cocked one slim eyebrow, amused by the questions these young people posed. She addressed the older redhead, the one who'd spoken last. "Your question, Frost Master, is one I cannot answer. Nor can I answer your second query, Lightning Ward. I may be your Guide, but there are things that remain hidden from me."
She half-turned, speaking to the entire group now. "The stones you speak of, the very ones you hold, are Stones of Power. Once, they were secreted in the Mages' Tower in the Central Kingdom. Only in times of grave danger, when all of Arkanna is threatened is the High Priestess-Oracle supposed to loose the stones and send them through the barrier that separates our worlds. Once there, no being in Arkanna or in your world of Earth has any control over these stones. They choose who to appear to, who finds them. That is all I know regarding that matter. Perhaps the stones chose you because there is... a bond, friendship, that connects you, and it is a strong one."
The sea green-eyed elf paused here, gauged the teens' reactions. "I already said that the Kingdom of Krield-" she gazed out over the black ruins, as if to emphasize her point - "was unfortunate enough to be the nearest kingdom once the Shadow rose. All this destruction happened in a single night; those who may have seen what happened have shut down that portion of their minds, so we have no concrete knowledge regarding the attack. But soon after that incident, Arkannae like myself began disappearing. Whether they were killed or kidnapped, no one knows for certain. And new races have begun to encroach the borders, races that did not exist before the Shadow. All are tied to the Shadow and he who rules them."
"I still don't get why we have these stones, or why we're here..." Daichi interrupted, playing with the green object in his palm absently. "What, are we s'posed to, like, destroy the Shadow or somethin'?"
The elfin gave a mirthless smile. "Precisely, Earth Warden. Those stones represent the forces of nature you are tied to and can now control, to some extent. There are six stones, one each for the Outer Kingdoms and extant energies; and the other two stand for the Inner Kingdoms, the two governing principals."
"'Extant energies'..." Kyouju mused. In Asian myth, there were five principal elements, plus a sixth, lesser-known one. He recited them now, slowly, as though waiting for approval from this woman who'd called herself their 'Guide'. "Fire, air, water, metal, wood, and... the Void?"
"Almost, Mage. The extant energies, those of nature, are fire, wind or air, water, earth, ice, and lightning. The two governing principals, meanwhile, are-"
"-light and darkness..." Kai finished, recalling the stone Miki had found - the last one - and what Diana had been called earlier. He glanced up from his stone, caught the elf-woman's gaze. "You say there are eight stones; why were all ten of us brought here, then?"
"Eight of you bear stones, that is true. The other two..." Aelian trailed off, unsure. "The bespectacled one... 'Kyouju'... he is your Scroll Mage. The minute he passed through the portal, he was granted Understanding, a valuable asset in travelling these lands. There may be times when you will have to communicate with a race that does not know our language, or read ancient scrolls in order to fulfill a portion of your mission. The Scroll Mage will take care of that, as well as use some defensive magick, should he choose to."
"Well, if Chief is a... 'Scroll Mage', what about Yuriko?" Takao blurted out. Had he been the only one who caught Aelian's line about not intending for the hazel-eyed teen to have come. Why, then, was she here?
"Alas, I cannot say, Wind-bringer. She made it through the portal where none other than you and your fellow Chosen should have. I don't know how or why, but perhaps this is one of those things that have been kept from me. Time will tell if her presence here is a boon or bane to your group."
None had asked about their powers, at least not explicitly. As seriously as she took her role, there was such a thing as pressing too much information on a person. Perhaps the explanation regarding their abilities - what they probably could do now, and what they had to work to attain in the future - would have to wait.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:51 am
Tala glanced at his stone "Frost Master. So my stone's power is Ice".
Rei blinked softly "Lightning Ward. So i control Lightning".
"If Takao is Wind-bringer, I might be Water. But what's my title?"
"Wait, so you're saying me and Miki are like...2 important people next to the Oracle...whatever she is herself?"
Miki glanced over to her stone and was listening carefully until she shyly asked "Does this mean...we will be going to the Kingdoms to our particular element?". She was sad if that would be the case. She didn't want to be apart from her friends. Especially her Oniichan, best friend and Tala.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 9:29 am
Aelian shook her head slowly, in response to Miki's question. "No, Light Princess, you will not be separated. Nor should you be. Your strength relies greatly on you working together. And as for you and the Mistress of Dark being 'special', in a way, you are. Any of your companions' abilities will be open to you once you've matured in your abilities. However, at the moment, both of you are among the weakest.
"Yours, Light Princess, is a power dedicated to preservation. Protective barriers, spells of Warding, and to some extent, healing - you are capable of these. Meanwhile, your counterpart can only control the shadows around her. In time, however, you will learn to manipulate light energy, transmute it into a weapon if you so wish. The Mistress of Dark will learn to do the same with shadows, and these are in addition to the abilities of your friends that you may in time learn as well."
Aelian half-whispered a few words, clenched a fist until it was surrounded with a pale blue light. Then she pushed her fist outward and away from her, as though punching someone. There was a gust of wind, and part of a stone column crumbled. "What you've just seen is a portion of what I learned while training in wind magick. You will learn to do the same with training, Wind-bringer. Now, part of your task will be learning to harness your abilities. At any time, any of the Outer Kingdoms may fall prey to the Shadowed One's bid for power. Whoever he sends to carry out his orders, you must meet them, turn them back, do whatever it takes to protect the kingdoms that yet stand."
She turned to Max, regarding him carefully. It seemed she'd erred regarding the blond's element; he possessed the stone of Umilnae, not Krield. "You, Water Wizard, must be more alert, as should the Frost Master. Next to Krield, the kingdoms your stones represent - Umilnae for water and Fioraln for ice - are closest to Dunzuren, Realm of Shadow. Any moment now, dark forces may lay siege to either of them."
Wind-bringer, Water Wizard, Flameweaver, Lightning Ward, Earth Warden, Frost Master, Mistress of Dark, and Light Princess... Takao turned the titles over in his head. For some reason, they fit. It felt... right to be called 'Wind-bringer', for his part. He couldn't jump to conclusions about the others, now, could he? As for their 'task', as stated by the elfin...
"So... basically... we're like some elite guard for this... Arkanna and its kingdoms?" The steel blue-eyed teen wanted to know.
"And if not, what else are we here for?" Kai added. He turned his stone over in his palm, touched the engraved symbol with a finger. Fire... yes, he saw it, the symbol represented a flame.
"You and your companions are not just the elite guard, Wind-bringer; loathe as I am to appear dramatic, it must be said that you may very well be the last line of defense Arkanna has.
The young woman knelt, drew a crude map in the layer of ash that still lay upon the ground. "Yours is a twofold task. Protect those that have need of protection, lest another kingdom falls and more lives are taken." She pointed out the approximate locations of the other kingdoms. At length, her finger rested on one spot she'd marked with an 'x', at the extreme western edge of the map. "While tending to that, you must also destroy the Shadow, and the Shadow Lord. This last one, Flameweaver, is your ultimate goal, for the banishment of the Shadow - a mix of the worst of all elements - would mean that peace and order, balance will be restored.
"Overdramatic much?" Yuriko muttered under her breath, looking away. Seeing the landscape ruined thus struck a chord within her, and yet the disguised slight she'd recieved earlier still stung; it was hard to understand the sentiments of such a one as would do such a thing as the elfin had done.
The auburn-haired woman glanced up sharply. "I heard you, Earth child. What I am telling you now is a serious matter; I've no need of dramatics, and I assure you, what is happening is grave indeed. The Ancients say the Shadow struck once before... and succeeded. It was a dark time; many races all but disappeared. So now the time has come again, and our High Priestess-Oracle desires that the same does not occur once more.
"My advice to you, Yuriko, is that you find the purpose for which you were brought here, for I myself know nothing of that. I only pray that you were permitted access to Arkanna for good."
She stood, imperious once more. "Now come. Sylvane - the Forest of Silence - separates us from safe territory; we are too near the Realm of Shadow, and you have yet to begin honing your abilities."
--------------------
So they have arrived...
Keiko glanced out over the northwestern edge of Krield. The informants had told her they'd spotted the elfin woman near here, and she was with ten others who "did notlook like they belonged". It would seem the Guide had succeeded in the first part of her task: ferrying the Chosen into Arkanna.
They needed to be stopped, before both parties carried out their respective missions. And who better to stop them than the Black Rose of Dunzuren? There were
some things better off not left to lesser-ranked Daemn; this was one of them.
Now, to Track these Chosen and their Guide...
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:07 am
Miki gave a small sigh of relief. Listening quietly to the explanation of their powers, her brown eyes gave a glint of surprise. She had powers of creating barriers and healing. "Uhm, what exactly is "warding"? And what kind of light energy? Do i need a specific kind of light in order to harness it?"
"Same question for me when it implies to shadows. What, i can cast a few shadow puppet shows, big deal. Doesn't exactly explain what i can do" Diana rudely snorted. "You know, if you are suppose to be our all helpful 'guide', then how come you keep saying 'In due time, you will learn' when you can just give us a small insight of what kind of ability we all have and we can try practicing. You grabbing wind one time isn't helping Takao or Wind-bringer to exactly know what he can do. So he controls wind, big deal. But is there a specific type? Can he conjure tornadoes? Can the Lightning Ward create storms because Lightning comes from Storms? Can Water Wizard work together with Frost Master? Can Flameweaver work together with Earth Warden? What?"
Miki gently placed a hand on the charcoal-haired older girl "Diana, that's enough. I'm sure she knows what she is doing. We have to trust her". Miki gave an apologetic look to the said woman while Diana just looked away sharply to the other direction. Miki gave her ever present smile once again and asked "if it isn't too nosy. But we never really introduced ourselves to you. and you to us. I prefer to be called be Miki. Instead of Light Princess." and showing the girl beside her, she said "This is Diana".
Max wasn't exactly being all quiet but he was disturbed that 'his kingdom' was next to be targeted. He was still not sure about honing their abilities but Diana seemed to have done everything he wanted to ask. It wasn't because he was afraid but rather more unsure of what to say.
Tala breathed deeply. Now they are going to another unknown place. He was still not sure. But Miki wants to trust the woman then he will. But it helps to not trust a complete 100% before considering the odds she can be an enemy as well.
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:52 am
Aelian too frowned, upon the Mistress of Dark's small outburst. While she could understand how she felt, somehow, the elfin still felt somewhat affronted.
"You ask of me what I cannot provide, Diana," she said at last, forcing herself to be calm, dropping the title for the time being. So far, she knew the names of only six of the group - those of the Scroll Mage, Earth Warden, Wind-bringer, Light Princess, Mistress of Dark, and Yuriko. "Your abilities and those of your friends are tied to magick, its true, but you are the first group of Chosen to be gathered thus, and so whatever restrictions or limits there are to your power are unknown. It falls to you to find them out for yourself. I can help train you, particularly Takao and Daichi, for my training is rooted in wind and earth magick. Other than that, however, you're on your own."
Kai regarded the young woman, catching her sea-green gaze briefly with his dark red one, and then breaking contact. "So, you can give us a rough estimate of our powers and nothing more?" He didn't like this, didn't like being handed bits and pieces of information and expected to work out the entire picture from them, without being told how to go on.
"And...how exactly are we supposed to train?" he went on, catching that one phrase she'd let go.
"I can teach you the basics of elemental magick, Flameweaver. Regardless of affinity they all share the same principles. In the House of Learning, magick-users are grouped as one when they start their training. It is only when they start to mature and feel an affinity for one or two elements that they are separated into smaller groups and given specific training for harnessing that element."
"Um... guys...?" Kyouju ventured hesitantly, his face turned skyward. Among the gray-tinged clouds, birds that could have been ravens were on the wing, flying in a haphazard formation towards the east.
Takao followed his friend's gaze, frowned slightly in confusion. "Okay, so there are birds, and they're flying. I don't see what's wrong, Chief."
"Listen! Can't you hear it?"
The dark blue-haired teen strained his ears, to no avail. "I don't hear anything."
Yuriko, too, had glanced upwards, noted the birds, the silence. "Neither do I, Kyouju. There's nothing to hear," she shrugged.
"Exactly!" The bespectacled teen looked a tad nervous now, and he kept gazing eastward, where the birds seemed to be heading. "There's no bird song or anything, not even the sound of wings flapping; don't you find that strange?"
Aelian's demeanor became sombre, her fists clenched tight. "I know I've yet to answer all your questions, but for now, we must move. The animals are uneasy, and this does not bode well. I'll explain all I can once we are safe." She made a small motion with her head, indicating that they should all start walking - or running, more likely - in the direction the birds flew. She would not start moving until her charges had, however, for she didn't want to leave them behind and virtually unable to fend for themselves.
Kai needed no further urging. As dubious as it was to trust this woman, who claimed to be their 'Guide' yet couldn't seem to answer the more important questions, and yet he could see that at this point, none of them had much of a choice.
Takao made to follow, then stopped and looked back. He'd heard someone call him, not by name, but by the title the elfin had given him - Wind-bringer. After a long moment of listening, and hearing nothing more, he began walking at a pace he knew he could keep up, something between speed-walking and sprinting, but not as strenuous as either.
Daichi, meanwhile, reached out and took both Yuriko's and Kyouju's hands, fairly pulling them after him. He didn't know why he did that; neither did he know why he felt uneasy, had felt as though rocks were shifting beneath him as before a strong earthquake.
For her part, Yuriko did not question why they had to move to a more 'secure' location, did not resist when Daichi began leading her by the hand, following Kai and Takao. Part of her wanted to stay, however, and see what it was that made the animals nervous. But she didn't object; she knew it was better to stick with her friends. It was probably more safe that way.
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:19 am
Miki looked at the beautiful white stone resting on the curled fingers of her right hand. Transmuting light energy. She wondered how does that work. But a familiar feeling of another hand holding hers made her snap back from her thoughts and faced the redhead male. "Let's go, Miki" Tala said and she nodded in reply, following beside him.
Diana was still rather skeptical about the woman. Sure, she was suppose to help them but now everything was rather even more confusing. She needed answers and she wanted it now. But due to Miki's request, she was forced to wait. Frustrated, she walked alone in silence.
Rei followed soon after Miki and Tala went off. He was still very hesitant to leave the Kingdom that was assigned to his power. It looked so ruined. So destroyed. So lost. But he had to move in order for this not to happen again. With a hesitant heart, he walked away, turning his back from the black ruins.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:18 am
Yuriko glanced back and saw Rei trailing behind. Somehow, even though they'd not been there an hour, Rei seemed to have formed an attachment to what was once Krield. Still, the neko-jin could ill afford to dally, sentimental attachment or no. She broke free of Daichi's grip, stood still waiting for the Chinese.
"Rei?" the ebony-haired teen called out, concerned. "Come on, I'm sure we'll come back here soon. Maybe then we can do something about... well... about what happened to that place." Here she smiled as reassuring a smile as she could muster.
--------------------
...so this is Sylvane, the forest that elf woman mentioned earlier... Kai thought, taking in the vastness of the trees that surrounded him and his friends. It was quiet, deathly still like a tomb. He did not feel secure at all here. The forest struck him as unnatural, though he knew not why.
He touched a low-hanging branch, wondered if he could set in on fire, as he was sure he had with the bush earlier that day.
"Kai! What are you doing?!"
The slate-haired teen blinked, bewildered, and turned to look at Kyouju, and then back at the branch he'd been holding. Small tongues of flame leapt and danced merrily along the length of it, not quite touching the bole of the tree but almost. Instanly he let go, not wanting to do more damage than had already been done. Perhaps he'd been so lost in thought, willing so hard for a fire to occur that he might have some sort of proof of the Guide's proclamation of 'affinity to an element' or whatever, it took the shrill panic in the younger teen's voice to alert him to what was happening.
"What is it, Scroll Mage?"
At the panicked shout, Aelian had halted her trek and turned back to her charges. What she saw both worried and thrilled her. "So you've started a fire, Flameweaver," she observed, her head cocked to one side. "What did you do?"
"...I don't know," Kai replied, looking at the burning branch as though it was something alive and would reach out and claw him at any moment. "I was just wondering if I could set fire to it... and then it did."
"I see." Quietly, the elfin surveyed the fire. Already it had spread to a thicker branch. Then she turned away, went back to blazing another [invisible] trail through the wood.
"Leave it," she called out, in answer to the unspoken question. "I may be tied to earth, and to some extent to wood, but this forest is none of my concern; I've no care whether it burns down to the ground or not." She stopped at particularly strong-looking oak and traced several runes in its bark. Then she began moving again, knowing the teens would follow.
The fact that the slate-haired teen had started a fire... it seemed a sign that it would be relatively easy to teach this group what they needed to get started.
--------------------
Keiko stopped and glanced around. Ever since the fall of Krield, the various sections of the large city - each 'kingdom' was really nothing more than an extremely large city housing an assortment of races within its borders, with some races being more prominent in one or two kingdoms than in others - had looked similar, with their protective pillars in the center of what were more often than not the town squares. Pillars that had proved inadequate, futile, during the attack. It would be almost impossible to tell where that half-elf Zurea and her charges had been and where they'd have entered Sylvane...
If the dark-haired teen had not had training in Tracking, that is. They have their stones, most likely... she thought, closing her eyes and allowing the residual energy of the place channel through her. As Krield was tied to lightning, the energy that was supposed to have protected it would be electrical in nature, and in most sections, it had been strong, even as traces.
Now however, she could detect not only a static-like energy trace, but a mix of a few others. Amethyst orbs snapped open, fire dancing behind the irises. They'd been here; this was the section Zurea had brought the Chosen to. And they'd headed east, of that Keiko was sure.
She began her eastward trek, planning for the assault should circumstances dictate she mount one. Perhaps the Shadow Lord would want a trophy or two from that battle...
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 8:38 am
Rei looked at Yuriko and gave a sad smile "It's ok. I'm fine." Looking back at the direction of the ruins, he looked back to the ground and continued walking in a faster pace, trying to avoid further conversation.
Tala looked at the blazing branch and starts to wonder too. Can he put it out? But he was too preoccupied with the thought of wanting to get over with the lessons so he can protect Miki and the others. But turning his back, he didn't realized that he did something to the burning branch.
Diana blinked and muttered but a loud "Tala, look"
Tala looked back and his blue eyes widened. The once blazing branch was now covered with a layer of ice. He didn't know what happened but it did.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:16 pm
Following closely behind Rei now, Yuriko was at the tail end of the group. She didn't mind, really. At least if something or someone came up behind them, she could shout a warning, be of some help if ever.
Just ahead, Tala, Miki, and Diana had stopped near a tree with a burning branch. For a long moment, it seemed they'd just stood there. Then the charcoal-haired upperclassman said something, causing Tala to look again at the branch. It was no longer on fire, but frozen solid.
The ebony-haired teen blinked in surprise. The redhead hadn't even seemed to try to do something about the blaze. Whoa...
Takao, too, had seen what happened. First, Kai had set fire to the branch, and then Tala had frozen it stiff. Neither had seemed to be trying very hard.
"Do you think we'll be able to do stuff like that just as easily soon?" Daichi asked in a half-whisper. The forest was deathly still, so quiet, that it seemed wrong to disturb it by talking at a normal level. True, the elfin had done it earlier, but somehow the green-eyed teen didn't feel right if he himself did it.
"Wind-bringer" shrugged, answered in the same half-whispering tone. "Dunno, Daichi. Maybe that's the thing; we might be trying too- GYAH!"
Kyouju glanced back at his friend's exclamation, and himself shouted in alarm. He'd turned in time to see a dark blur tackle Takao, pinning him to the ground with ease.
Yuriko hurried forward, appalled at how she hadn't seen this dark-haired young woman - the same one who had Takao pinned to the forest floor - come up from anywhere. Now she wanted to help.
Kai, too, stopped in his tracks, turned to see the dark blue-haired teen get tackled. He started forwards, acting on instinct as a friend might, if he hadn't been blocked by an outstretched arm.
"No, Flameweaver," Aelian said, her face a stony mask, harder than he'd seen so far. "Though you seem to have tapped into your abilities to some extent, you are not yet able to take the Black Rose, not by yourself. Let me handle her, while you help your friends and get as far away from here as possible. Keep heading east, and you'll find sanctuary."
She spoke the last few lines aloud, hoping the Frost Master, Mistress of Dark, and Light Princess had heard as well.
Kai frowned at these instructions. How was he supposed to help Takao if he wasn't to fight this... 'Black Rose' - the older teen who'd tackled his friend, perhaps? Still, he brushed lightly past Aelian and grabbed a stunned Daichi by the collar of his shirt; this was not the best time for niceties.
--------------------
She was getting closer, she could feel it. If the sudden increase in trace energy was any indication. Keiko grinned, one lengthened incisor catching what little light made it through the thick canopy of leaves.
And then, there they were, completely unaware of her approach. The halfling fox's grin grew wide, almost sadistic in appearance. This was easier than she expected.
She leapt up into a tree, eyeing the group and picking out a potential first victim. Amethyst eyes settled on a dark blue-haired teen with a blue and red cap; he stood there, the most distracted of the group at the moment as he looked at a frozen branch - likely the work of the Frost Master. Yes... he'll do.
She leapt off the branch, tackling the startled teen and pinning him easily. To her right, one of Chosen who wore outsize glasses that rested on his messy dark brown hair shouted, alarmed. Two redheads, a tall charcoal-haired girl, and two teens with the same strange dual-colored hair were there as well. A bit to her left, a hazel-eyed girl ran up, lightly brushing past a teen with feline features and amber eyes. She could sense no magical aura emanating from this girl; doing away with her would prove child's play.
Keiko turned her head only slightly, fixing Yuriko's figure in her sight. Then she muttered something, clenched her left fist. Several of the vines that had been clinging to some nearby trees shot out and wrapped themselves around the girl, trapping her. She turned her attention back to the steel blue-eyed teen she had in her grasp; she'd take care of this one, and then move on to the others. It wouldn't take more than a few seconds, she gauged.
Wind. His aura emanated ties to the wind. Perfect. Fire was strong against wind, as were most of her plant control-based techniques. Keiko smirked, dark flames dancing in her eyes even as a ball of them formed in her left hand, dark tongues leaping and dancing to taste the air. "Goodbye, Wind-bringer," she mouthed.
Struggle as he would, Takao could not get free. The amethyst-eyed woman who'd ensnared Yuriko and Rei in vine-traps - or whatever those were - and who now held him prisoner looked to be only a year or two older than Tala and Diana, but she was very strong. Dammit, he thought, trying once more to wiggle free of her grasp.
He watched through wide eyes when a ball of dark fire materialized in her hand, could only watch as she mouthed the words 'Goodbye, Wind-bringer'.
((OOC://I'm stopping here, because I don't want to take up a lot of space. Di, your characters should be given a chance to react, too, so... yeah. Just remember that everyone's abilities is still pretty unpredictable. 3nodding ))
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:47 pm
Max couldn't watch the scene anymore and just shouted "NOO!" which resulted to the ground shaking. The earth continued trembling until it stopped. And resulted to various towers of water shooting out of the soft earth. And one went straight under the mysterious brunette. At a surprising but fortunate aim, Takao wasn't hit.
Rei was trying to run until he was suddenly ensnared. Yuriko needed his help. Now looking at the brunette holding the steel-haired boy in her grasp. His golden eyes widened as the woman materialized a ball of fire on her hand, preparing to eliminate his friend. But then a tower of water suddenly shot out and one hit him sending him and Yuriko tumbling to the ground. Coughing the water caught in his throat, he panted. They were wet, yes, but free. Rushing towards the younger girl, he hoisted her to her feet "Come on, we need to run".
Diana now had to do something and run to the darkblue-haired younger boy and pulled him to his feet "Come on, don't be a dead weight. We need to go now" she muttered and went to follow the others.
Not sure if this is ok but whatever.
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