This is my story. Read away. Caution, its long XP

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Chapter I - A Discovery

Today marks the third anniversary of the Time Wars end. People have begun preparing for festivals all throughout the Lands. In one of the many capital cities known as Valia, the festival has already covered the largest majority of the city. Its neighboring city of Acalia has also joined in on Valia’s festival, bringing thousands of more people to the city for the week. Their owners wanting to spend their time celebrating as well.
Anyone walking through any of the cities in the New Lands can tell just what kind of style has been adopted for fighting. People have reverted back to the use of swords and axes as well as using the magite energies still flowing through the lands. Only a single group that works directly for the Empire continues to use the Old World weaponry and this is the Time Militia. This is an elite group of men that prefer the old method of fighting, but wish to work with the magite forces.
Right outside of town, there is a little bit of a commotion. A small group of people yelling amongst each other. Some passerby have stopped to watch while others just ignore it all and walk on. Almost as if they are used to seeing this sort of thing. As of yet, it looks as though it hasn’t intensified too far but the guards over by the gate are keeping a keen eye on the entire thing.
“Look. I don’t really care what the hell you think We do what the hell we want to do and that is all there is to say.” One of the boys yell. He looks around eighteen or nineteen, and so does everyone else in the area. On one side, there is two guys and a girl. On the other is three guys and another girl, but this girl looks as though she doesn’t want to be where she is right now.
“All I’m saying is just leave her alone. Go bug someone else.” The boy speaking right now also looks to be eighteen and there is a bow strapped onto his back.
“We’ll pass on that offer; besides,” The boy who spoke first over next to the uncomfortable girl and puts his arm around her. “she likes it over here.” He lets out a long laugh and then gives the other boy an almost evil smile. “If you have a problem with that Rao, then go take you and your little friends somewhere else instead.”
“Get your hands off of her!’ Rao takes a step forward and both of his hands tighten into fists. The first boy doesn’t move away and instead pulls the girl closer to himself. The girl shakes a little bit and tries to move away but he just holds her close. “Let her go James. This is your last warning.”
“And just what are you going to do if I don’t?” James smirks at him and sticks out his tongue. Within a couple of seconds, Rao closes in on James and punches him across the face, causing him to release the girl and drop to the ground. He wipes a small amount of blood from his lip and then gets back up off of the ground. “You asked for it now Rao.” James signals his two buddies and then walk towards Rao.
Out of nowhere, the other boy that was with Rao steps in between the group and smiles. “How about we just all calm down and go our own ways? That would make all of our lives much more simpler.”
“Move Taronako. Move before you get hurt.” Taronako moves his legs to where he is more firmly planted on the ground and moves his hand to taunt the two of them. One of them punches him and he takes the brunt of the blow, moving with it to reduce the impact. He just moves himself back forward and pushes the guy back and he stumbles to the ground. The other guy just looks at both James and his other comrade and backs off away from Taronako.
“See. I told you it would be so much easier.” Taronako laughs a little bit and then the three other boys leave. After getting so far away from the group, James turns around and glares at them all.
“Yeah yeah. Next time Rao, you won’t be so lucky.” James runs off to catch up with his comrades and all three of them run through the gates of the city.
Rao steps forward towards the girl and sighs. “Sorry for all that With. I thought he got over his childish antics.” He scratches his head a little bit and then shifts his weight onto his right leg.
“It’s all right. No harm done.”
“Well then. Shall we all get back to the festival grounds. Or do you want to go ahead and go through with our other plans.” Rao looks around at Taronako and the other girl, Koriinu.
“I think we could go ahead and try to do your other plans first. It isn’t that far so we should be able to make it back in time for the festival fireworks.” Koriinu laughs a bit at Taronako’s finishing remark. He just kind of looks at her for a moment and shakes his head.
“Well then. If we are going to do this, then you guys might want to go get ready real quick. I will meet you back here at the gate entrance in . . . forty-five minutes.” Everyone nods their head and Taronako and Koriinu go their own ways while With stays behind with Rao.
“So then. Are you actually expecting to run across something in the woods since you are wanting everyone to be equipped and ready for a fight.” With asks Rao, stepping out in front of him. As soon as she approaches him, he starts walking towards his house and With follows him. Both of them live on the same street so they walk together somewhat often.
“Well. There have been rumors of lots of people getting attacked by bandits in the woods, so I’m just making sure that we are going to be prepared in case any of that happens to us. For the next couple of moments, its only silence between the two of them. They walk through town square and they look around a little bit.
All of the stalls, booths, and other little stands and decorations make the entire area look even more lively than normal. Some people have already began selling little items from their stands ranging from beautiful arts and crafts, to expertly designed weapons. The range and variety of the things in the town square is just magnificent and dazzling. When they finally reach the other side of the town square and their street, the two of them give each other a friendly hug and walk their own separate ways.

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It’s been forty-five minutes since everyone went their own ways from the main gate and now everyone is back and ready to go. With a slight shift of the bag on his back, Rao smiles and signals everyone to follow. Their destination is the Acalia woods, a large forest area in between Valia and Acalia that is known for its massive weeping willow trees.
Rao had stumbled across some information that their was a magite hot spot deep in the woods. Magite hot spots often are home to several magite crystals that not only enhance elemental powers, but also sell for a pretty penny. He was hoping to collect some of them and try to sell them, but one of his number one worries right now is whether or not they are the first to be there.
“So Rao.” Taronako calls, walking up beside him. “Do you really think that we are going to get lucky enough to find some magite crystals there. I would love to have a small one for myself.” Taronako laughs a bit.
“Well. I’m hoping that we will. If we don’t find any, it will be a major let down.” Rao thinks of all the possibilities that could come true if they did happen to find some crystals. Even just a couple would be such a wonderful find.
When they finally reach the edge of the woods, a slight amount of grief comes across both of the girls. Not only is the Acalia woods known for its weeping willows, but it is also known for its thorn bushes. Though its not spoken about much. They begin their way through the woods, keeping close to the trail while keeping their eyes peeled for anything described by the man.
“He said that the crystals were located near a small pond with a large rock next to it. The crystals were supposed to be in the bottom of the pond. The guy would’ve retrieved them himself but he didn’t have the tools necessary to get them.”
“So now we are coming to, in a fashion, steal away his crystals.” Taronako laughs at the thought and rubs his head. When everything was twisted around in his head to where it sounded like they were stealing, he wasn’t really sure if they should be doing something like this.
“Yeah. Well. Let’s just not think of it that way so that we don’t end up feeling guilty.” As soon as he finished that sentence, a little bit of guilt overcame him but he quickly dismissed it. As soon as he regained his composure, he noticed a pond off in the distance, a massive rock right next to it. “Hey. There it is.” He runs towards it and the other three take a couple seconds before they run to catch up with him.
Rao stops by the edge of the pond and looks into it. The water only appears about two to three feet deep, but the water is so clear, the crystals in the bottom of it are clearly visible. He kneels down next to the pond and sets his bag on the ground. He rummages through it for several moments before he finally pulls out a pair of gloves that are made out of some sort of thread.
He stands back up and walks a little ways into the pond and the feeling of the water stings slightly on his skin, being so thickly energized with magite by the crystals. When he finally gets within arm’s length of one of the crystals, he reaches down and gently picks it up out of the water.
“Wow. It looks beautiful.” With says, staring at the blue crystal. The gloves protect Rao’s hands from the pure energies of the crystal. Touching it with bare hands will result in magite burns. He holds it up in front of his face and everyone just stares at it. A very light bluish glow pulsates off of the crystal.
“It is indeed.” Taronako pulls a pair of gloves out of his back pocket that looks just like Rao’s. He takes the crystal from him and wraps it in fabric. Once again, the fabric is just like the gloves. When he finishes wrapping it, he hands it to Koriinu who gently places it into her bag which was empty.
With looks at all of them handle the crystals so gently and in a perfect functioning production line. She smiles a little bit and then looks into the pond herself. After looking into it for several seconds, she notices something very strange. In the middle of the pond underneath some other crystals is another crystal that stands out.
She pulls out a pair of gloves herself and reaches down into the pond. She grabs the crystal and pulls it out and after a couple moments, it begins to sting even through the gloves. She quickly sets the crystal down on the ground and taps Rao on the shoulder. “Look at this Rao. Doesn’t this one look very familiar.”
Everyone goes over to the area around the crystal and look at it, trying to see if they can remember where they have seen it and if they have even seen it. It takes a little while before Taronako finally remembers. “In our class books. I can’t believe it. If this is what I think it is, then this is one of the Pure Crystals.” Everyone looks at him with a look of astonishment and confusion.
“But how is that possible. I mean, weren’t the Pure Crystals locked away. How could we find one now.” Rao picks up the crystal but when he feels the stinging, he sets it back down.
“They ‘were’ locked away. But if you remember from class, the crystals were taken out and they were used to end the war. No one knew what happened to them afterwards.” Rao stands silent for a little whiles then laughs a little bit.
“Yeah. Well. History class has never been my strong point.” Rao scratches his head and looks to the side a little bit. Taronako places some of the fabric in his hands and reaches down to pick up the crystal. With the extra fabric over his hands, the crystal doesn’t sting him though he can feel the energy coming off of it.
“If this really is one of the six Pure Crystals, then we just made a discovery of a lifetime. Imagine just how many legends say that the crystals were locked away, destroyed, or gone into space. And come to find out that all of those are wrong. The crystals are right here with us on Earth.” Taronako sets the crystal down again and pulls off his gloves, handing them over to Koriinu. “Here. Put these on. I want to test something out.”
With a slight bit of hesitation, Koriinu slips the gloves onto her hands and then picks up the crystal. Almost immediately, there is a burst of magite energy pulsing through her body. It makes her feel slightly tingly and she giggles a little bit. “It tickles.”
“Just as I thought. The crystal is magnifying her powers just like any other crystal would. But I’m betting it is on a much larger scale than all the littler crystals we are all used too.”
“I see. That is interesting. But how in the world could you carry one of these things around without burning yourself?” Rao asks Taronako. Taronako thinks for a little bit, trying to figure out an answer for that question. After a couple moments of thought, he in fact does come up with something.
“Its our bodies. Think about it. I am a wind element, and you are an ice element. Our bodies aren’t accustomed to water magite so they can’t absorb such an overflow like that. If that was a wind crystal, I’d almost bet you that it would be stinging her hands right now.” Rao ponders that solution for a little bit and then nods his head in agreement.
“And we will be taking that there crystal off of your hands.” Slowly, both Rao and Taronako turn around while the two girls stand motionless. When they finish turning around they see three Old World rifleman and a single Old World sergeant. “A crystal like that would most likely get us a promotion with the higher ups.”
Taronako grits his teeth a little. He didn’t expect anything like that and he is pretty sure that neither did Rao. He looks over the area and takes note of the rifleman’s location. Each of them is using part of the terrain as cover. “And just why would we give this crystal to you?”
“Well. Let’s put it this way. You either give us the crystal and live, or we kill you and take the crystal. It is as simple as that.” The commander places his hand on his sidearm, ready for anything. The look on his face is stern and prepared.
“Even if we did give you the crystal. I’m betting that you would still kill us. You guys are violating the treaty between our lands. You’ve entered our land.” The commander takes a step back. Taronako had hit right on the money about what was going on.
“Well. It seems you are smarter than you look boy. But even with that knowledge, you aren’t going to be able to do anything. Now give us the crystal and let us finish this quickly.” The commander pulls out his sidearm and hears a slight clink like noise. Taronako is gone from in front of him.
“I believe you will all be dead yourself unless you leave now.” Taronako’s blade is out of its sheath and down beside him. As he slowly stands up straight and sheathes his blade, all three of the rifles and the commander’s pistol falls apart, each cut in half. The rifleman look at their weapons in surprise and turn tail and run. The commander looks around for a moment and then lets out a mumbled cursing at Taronako before retreating with his men. “It seems we best be making our way back to town. It seems the Old World may be trying to make a move on us.”
Everyone nods at the statement and begin heading back towards Valia. Taronako takes the large bag of crystals from Koriinu and slings it over his back. Koriinu just stares at the Pure Crystal in her hands. Gazing at its brilliant shine and beauty. The sun shimmers off of it occasionally through the trees and makes it sparkle inside. Every now and then, Koriinu would giggle again, the crystal still sending its tingling sensation through her body.
“You really like that crystal, don’t you?” With asks Koriinu, walking up beside her. She smiles slightly and looks at the crystal, also smiling at its brilliance.
“Yeah. It just . . . I don’t know. It feels so wonderful when I hold it, and it just looks beautiful. I have never seen such a sight in my life.” Koriinu smiles slightly, thinking her response is somewhat cheesy.
With laughs a little bit at the answer she received but then nods her head a little bit. “I think I can see where you are coming from on that. It makes me wonder though. Why did we find it? People come through here almost daily along this trail and I’m sure lots of them check out that pond. It’s right off of the trail.”
“It was buried under all those other crystals, so maybe that’s why. It wasn’t right out in plain view where people could see it just by walking up to the pond.”
“Yeah. You’re right.” With sighs a bit and then the rest of the trip is pretty well quiet. The air shifts its direction a little bit and a stale taste lingers on it. The taste of burning oil.
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After several more minutes of walking, the group had entered the town and walked all the way out to the town hall. It took what felt like forever to convince the guards to let them in and upon entering, the two girls went home, keeping the Pure Crystal hidden the whole time.
Finally, they enter the emperor’s main chamber and both of them take a knee. “My lord. We have news that we believe you need to hear.” The emperor of Serosia, one of the many Lands turns around slowly and then takes a seat in his chair.
“Stand children. Tell me what it is you think I must hear.” The emperor raises his hand, signaling them as well to rise. It is a great honor to be able to stand when talking with the emperor. Both Taronako and Rao take a stand and the two guards in the room leave, knowing that their orders are to leave during times like this.
“My lord. During our visit into Acalia Woods, a small group of Old World soldiers attempted to attack us. We held them off but from some of the things they said, we believe that the Old World is preparing some kind of attack against Valia.”
The emperor’s daughter walks into the room and looks around a bit before walking over to her father. She sits down at a seat next to him and then looks up at him. “So does this mean they are going to be attacking us again father?”
“No my dear. We will stop them before they get anywhere close to us.” The emperor waves over one of the guards and tells him to kneel down a bit. “Send a message by hawk to the Time Militia base up on the mountain. Tell them to ready the magite cannon for firing.” The guard nods his head and leaves the room. “Well then children. It seems you have done what you can. You may leave now.” Taronako and Rao bow again and then turn to walk out the door they came in.
It takes only about five minutes for Taronako and Rao to get back outside and then both just kind of look at each other, neither really knowing what to do now. “I guess we could go check on the girls now.” Taronako says, looking around curiously.
“Yeah. Its something.” Rao laughs a little bit and the two of them begin making their way down the street. As they walk down the street to the house, they look around at all the stands and booths that have been set up just since they left. Judging by their colors, it seems that the Acalian people have begun arriving and setting up stands of their own.
With a slight smile, both Taronako and Rao finally reach the outside of Koriinu’s where they notice she is sitting outside. Taronako slowly approaches her while looking around trying to see the crystal. “Don’t worry Taro. It’s inside.” She says with a cocky smile. “I wouldn’t risk having it out here where everyone could see it.”
“Thank god. I thought you had really gone crazy for once.” Rao says with a slight laugh. Both Taronako and Koriinu give him a glare that almost seems to pierce his soul and he changes his look to one that of apologies.
“Anyways. What are you here for now. Just came to check up on the crystal?” Taronako nods and steps closer to Koriinu. She leads both him and Rao into the house and over to a shelf above the chimney. She opens up a small wooden box and inside sit’s the crystal. It glimmers a bit as the sun light hits it and then returns to its normal shine. “See. I told you it was fine.”
“Yeah. I see that now.”
“Well. Now that we at least know that it is fine, I believe that I am going to be taking my leave. I have no reason to stay here.” Rao waves good bye to them both and walks out the door. Outside, he looks around a bit and then decides he might just be off better going home. Back in the house though, it has gained what most would call an eerie silence.
“Well. I think I should get going to.” Taronako says in order to break the silence. Koriinu nods to him and opens her arms asking for a hug without words. Taronako laughs a little bit and then grants her a hug before leaving the house. When he goes outside, Rao is already long gone.


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Comments are greatly appreciated. Anything that may or may not make my writing better. Though preferably may XP Anyways. This is my story. Please, no one do any copying of it for that will REALLY tick me off.