10-12-2007, 12:18 AM
Elemental Rune
By Lunawisper Sayles
Act 1: Krita
Chapter 1: A Strange Trinket
“Alright! Gamma Troop! Follow me!” Fergus, a high general of the Scouting Brigade commanded, he drew his silver sword and pointed at the burning city of Topazia, rumored to be once a great settlement for a kingdom. I followed my fellow soldiers and we all searched for survivors. I walked into the burning palace to search for the town leader…Crazy as it was for me to run in, but I knew I had to in order to find any survivors. I, Krita Kalhit of the Scouting Brigade had volunteered to attend the mission and liberate our allies and find out who burnt their city down.
“Excuse me?” I called out. “Is anyone there?”
As I wandered through the burning building, I found something on the floor that seemed to be calling out to me to pick it up…It was a mysterious, intricate broach…The gems were all bluish silver, and they resembled diamonds…But they weren’t. Along the outside, there were 8 arrows pointing outward, 3 tiny gems were in the point, a darker, slightly larger gem was just below the point, between each arrow there was a slightly larger version of the gems below the arrow points. The largest Gem was in the center, and it was all held in place by a bronze setting. The gem in the center flashed brightly, almost blinding me. Then a voice echoed through my mind…
“Guardian of Air…The one you seek is just down the Corridor…Her guards died in the fire…She is dying as well…”
Interesting…Who’s the Guardian of Air? Never mind. Might as well follow the advice…So I bolted down the corridor and it led me to a room with two intricately carved thrones. There were 8 dead bodies along the path, and I found a girl, about 18 years old clad in a rose-colored petticoat over a slimming black dress that clung to her curves, the sleeves were puffy and long, but split at the elbow, but went down past her hands a couple centimeters. There was a silver chain that Looped around her waist and dropped down, touching another silver decoration at where the knees would be. She had dark brown hair that was up in ponytail ringlets, while her bangs framed her face, there was a pink tiara that rested above her bangs. I picked her up and placed the broach in my pocket before heading out the Palace.
I finally made my way to the center of town and noticed Fergus gathering us all up again.
“Krita! Status report!” he commanded.
“I rescued their leader.” I told him. “There were guards in the palace, she’s the only survivor.”
“That’s Princess Vega!” called out an elderly man.
“Princess Vega, huh?” Fergus pondered, then turned to me. “Krita, I’m placing you in charge of first aid.”
“Aye aye, sir.” I said, before setting her down and performing CPR, but before I was about to give her mouth-to-mouth she revived at an instant.
“Ugh…Um…” her green eyes opened slowly and she looked somewhat freaked out. “Uh…Who are you and…What are…You doing?”
I pulled away. “Giving you first aid.”
“Oh sure…And by the way, I’m heterosexual.” the Princess responded quickly.
I blinked. “So am I, what does THAT have to do with anything?…What…You thought I was trying to kiss you? I was saving your life!”
She apologized. “Where are the others?”
“Fergus is leading them out now, the rest of our troops are putting out the fires.” I told her. “By the way…”
“What?” she asked me.
“Is this yours?” I presented the broach to her on that note.
The Princess eyed the broach with a criticizing gaze as she noted the imperfections in the diamonds. “No, That’s not mine! It’s too gaudy to be anything of mine”
Well that solved one mystery…So I gazed upon the broach myself…It seemed to glitter eerily by the light of the fire…
“Alright Troops! Time to bring the refugees back to Rune!” Fergus finally gave the command most of us had been waiting for. We all gathered our things and marched out of Rune. Though as we left…I felt a strange aura around the broach. When I got home, I set it on the table and examined the ornate piece of jewelry. The Diamonds glittered faintly in the low lighting of my bedroom. I felt another presence lingering through the room, as if somebody else was there…And yet it was completely silent, so silent that one could hear a pin drop within the room…I picked up the broach yet again without thinking, and suddenly the windows burst open letting in a tsunami of cold air…The broach sharply flashed a blinding white light that filled the room…I swear, the torrent of air was levitating me above the floor as I held the troublesome broach. I heard a voice call out to me.
“You are the reincarnation of Rune’s spirit…You have the powers of Air, so therefore, you are a guardian.”
“Guardian? What in Solaxis is THAT?!” I had not realized I said that aloud until that voice caressed my ears with a gentle piece of information.
“ Soon…Your questions will be answered…For now, please…Take care of this little girl, she is the key to awakening everyone’s powers.”
The light cleared…I was on the ground when I saw a little girl in an oversized white dress sleeping on the floor. The girl appeared to be 8 years old and had faint blonde hair…So faint it looked white, but barely tinted a light, golden tinge. The broach rested on the strap of the dress she wore, the gems were still a gleaming white. Eventually she awakened and faced me. “Oh…Miss Kalhit. I was expecting you.” her voice was meek and shy, but she had some confidence to her. “I’m Gabriel, and I was sent on an important mission.”
She carefully took the broach off of her dress and held it in her hand and held it out as if to show me it, all the gems on the broach changed from glittering diamonds, to light cyan gems…I didn’t quite know the name of the gemstone, but I was too busy boggling at the sight of the broach which had changed color on an instant. “You are the Air Guardian…A Guard of all Magic and Knowledge of the wind…And the key guardian to this very city.”
Staring in disbelief, I stuttered. There was no way this could be true, it sounded like a fairy tale, or a really bad and cliché graphic novel. “You’re mistaken…Louis Royal is the Mayor of Rune. Even my boss, Fergus Talon has more power than I will ever possess.”
She only stared at me and smiled as if an idea where concocting in her imaginative, childish brain.
“See the windows outside?” a small finger pointed to the windows that were still open from the torrent of air earlier. “Is there any breeze?”
I shook my head…Nope…And it didn’t feel like there would be any breeze any time soon.
“I want you to think hard about closing the windows…Pretend you’re moving the wind to close the windows…Use nothing but your mind and do not move.”
I thought she was very crazy, but I did what she had asked…I cut through the windows, focusing every neuron in my brain to see if I could move the air. I concentrated so hard I thought I would eventually have a stroke from the slight pain that shook my cranium. Yet then…I felt a chain of unintelligible words pass through my lips as if I were nothing more than a catalyst to the unfamiliar energy that had flew through my fingertips…I was more aware of the air around me now and I managed to close the window with nothing but my mind controlling the air around me.
Boggling in awe at the feet I just performed, I was lost for words. It was an incredible sight. A moment of silence seemed to pass through the air and I asked the little girl who was watching with a look of satisfaction painted on her face.
“So, Gabriel.” I started, searching for the words before they came once more. “What is this mission?”
The girl sat down and set the broach on the table, which returned to the state I found it in. “Many years ago…There was a great war in Loki…Ten great Mages had faced Warlord Hydra but one of the mages prevailed. Sentrum, the master of matter magic had his soul shattered into three pieces. A Servant of Loki sealed away the nine remaining souls to be reborn. It’s unclear what happened to the three soul shards. That’s why we must awaken the nine guardians. So that we can find the three shards before Hydra finds them.”
A question seemed to be burning to get out of my lips as I asked Gabriel. “Do you know where the guardians are?”
A sad expression materialized onto her innocent, young face. “I wish…But I was lucky to find you with the Guardian of Planar and Travel Magic.”
“Who?” I asked the girl, awaiting an answer in anticipation…Who was the next guardian?
“Topazia’s reincarnation. You happened to be with them when you during the fire in that town.” the girl had informed me, just barely providing enough information to answer my question. There was a knock at the door before I could ask her any more, so I stood and decided to address the vexing rapping noise at my door…As the door creaked open, two guests entered, Fergus and Princess Vega.
“Princess! Fergus! What brings you two here?” I asked, my curiosity growing with every passing moment in time.
“We saw a strange light coming from your house and thought you were under attack” Fergus told me…Why is it now that he’s concerning over me? He’s my BOSS!
“You STILL have that gaudy broach? Here, give it to me, I’ll throw it away for you.” Vega offered, extending her hand to me. “Come on…Let me have it…”
The little girl glanced up at me with two big, hopeful eyes begging me not to do it.
“Why do you care, Vega? For all you know, these could be some rare gems…” I tried to talk her out of it. I noticed that the gems turned a dark purple around her at that point.
“…Strange…It was white before we got back, and cyan when we arrived.” Vega mused softly as she glanced at the suspicious broach. “Perhaps you may be right…It may be made of the same stuff mood rings are.”
Of course…How would SHE know what happened? The two of them would never believe me if I told them what happened.
“Who knows.” I casually threw back at the two of them, eyeing the ornate set of gems. What I also noticed was a pair of golden bracelets tightly set on Gabriel’s wrists. They didn’t cut off circulation, yet they seemed like they would never come off.
It was Vega who spoke about the two golden shackles without chains. “Hey, where did this little girl come from? And what are those bracelets?”
The girl said nothing but a slight, quiet, “They don’t come off.”
“Well I may no somebody who can.” replied Vega as she extended a hand towards the door, and the wall shook, but didn’t dismantle, then suddenly a small, white swirl formed that seemed to get larger with every passing moment…It got to a point at which it was big enough for the four of us to fit through.
“We’re going to see my old friend, Alfonso. He’s the High Mage at Magi Wielders.” Vega informed us. “He’s amazing with magical charms, and removing them.”
All Fergus and I could do was stare, with our mouths gaping wide open at the portal that formed.
“How did you DO that?!” Fergus asked the seemingly sheltered Princess.
“Oh that.” The princess scoffed. “I’ve known how to do that since I was five.”
Her expression morphed from a pompous scoff to an innocent, curious expression before she finally asked with shy courage “Though I never understood why…”
The 8 year old had been silent for a while before she started to explain the tale she told me before. Vega only boggled at the girl, before bursting out laughing. “You expect me to believe some Fairy Tale?”
“What about you? How did you open the portal without using magic words?” replied the 8 year old.
“…Touche.” the Princess had lost the battle to somebody who was but a decade younger than her and was humbled only then.
Act 1: Krita
Chapter 2: At only a Faction of the Cost
We all entered the portal and ended up in an office…It seemed normal except for the fact that drawers were being opened automatically and letting papers out to fly across the room to other spaces around the office. There was a man with blue hair which went from blue at the roots, to an icy green at the ends. His outfit was completely navy except for the white mink scarf, and it consisted of a dress shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. He was holding a book in his hand while he read from said book. He looked up at us as he interrupted his reading for a brief moment, giving Vega a warm smile. “Vega! My you look lovely this afternoon, I’m sure you’ve accepted my father’s offer?”
Vega was not pleased and sneered at the boy she stood in front of. “In your dreams, Antonio. I’d rather train on my own.”
Antonio looked somewhat offended by her refusal and retorted “Magic can only be wielded by those who pay good money. Commoners have no place here, so tell your…Visitors to go dig through a trashcan…Or something.”
“Two of these ‘commoners’ just saved my life, thank you very much, and the little girl holds a secret that your father might have some interest in.” the Princess threw back at the boy behind the desk, defending Fergus and Krita…But before this argument could go any farther, a loud explosion shook the room, as a nobleman with brown hair tied back in a ponytail came out dragging a boy and a girl out of the classroom soon occurred.
“Macleod, Garde! What was the meaning of that?! You both could have killed somebody had that potion contained stronger ingredients! That Bunsen Burner was set way to high! You should have recognized it!” scolded the instructor, before the boy spoke out, objecting to the charges.
“Please sir, it wasn’t our fault! When Merlin came to help us out, the burner just…” the boy couldn’t find the right words to tell his instructor, so the girl he got in trouble with helped him out.
“Sir, there may have been a malfunction, I know I set the burner at the right setting.” she pleaded.
“Miss Garde, I assure you that there’s nothing wrong with our burners, now I may have to separate you and Mister Macleod and give you both proper partners.” The instructor lectured the two students before another man with spiky, hair that was a light teal came out to confess.
“Sir, listen, these two did nothing wrong. I was the one who caused the burner to overheat that potion. I don’t know what happened, but when I went to help them, I touched the beaker, and suddenly I felt a charge of electricity flow through my fingertips and then the Bunsen Burner reacted…And I don’t know what else happened.”
“Is this true, you two?” asked the instructor, quirking an eyebrow towards the students at his mercy.
“Yes sir…” muttered Mister Macleod, somewhat fearful that Stones was lying and that the three of them would be punished if he wasn’t telling the truth.
The professor noticed Vega and his expression softened. “Well then…You three are free to go…But no lollygagging.”
Mister Macleod and Miss Garde quickly retreated back into the classroom after being set free, but Mister Stones glared at Antonio.
“Ramirez.” he stated, the aura around the two felt as heavy as the air before a lightning storm…
“Stones.” replied Antonio, his aura felt like the atmosphere on a chilling, winter night.
I had never seen such cold looks in my life…It seemed like the two were at a crossfire…
“Stones. Back to class. Same with you, Antonio.” the man commanded.
The two exchanged one more glare before parting ways and heading into different classrooms.
“Ah, Vega…Good to see you!…You also brought guests! Come, have a seat and tell me what brings you four here.” the instructor seemed very jubilant to meet us all, he seemed to know Vega for a reason as well. Which stirred curiosity in all of us like a typhoon emerging.
“Master Alfonso, I implore you, High Mage. But we’ve come here for you to analyze this young girl’s bracelets, and this.” Vega presented Alfonso with the trinket that I discovered much earlier as Alfonso scanned it critically.
“…Yes…I see…This really doesn’t look like an unusual broach…I suggest you take it to a jeweler and…” he stopped, noticing a strange symbol forming in the center gem. A look of alarm materialized on his face as he realized what it was, he held it close to each of us and marveled at the changes, noting them and acknowledging them with various “I see!”s and “Ah huh…”s, before he finally ceased and said “I’ve never seen anything like this! It seems to change the symbol in the center whenever it gets close to either the little girl, you Vega, or the redhead with the white hair clips! But there isn’t a reaction towards me though, nor the blonde man in the blue shirt.”
“Apparently, Krita’s a Guardian.” Fergus blurted out, informing the mage, which resulted in a quick elbow to his gut.
After Vega had elbowed him, she quickly added “But it’s nothing more than a fairy tale…”
“You’re just jealous that Krita has powers!” Fergus teased in retaliation to the blow he suffered.
“Knock it off, you pig-headed...donkey-minded…Son of a…” Vega hissed at my boss.
“Excuse me?!” Interrupted the man as he rose from his chair at an instant, and so did the Princess, both were glaring at each other. “At least I’m not a spoiled brat!”
After he shot that retort back, the air around Fergus and Vega was thick with a fog of discord and rage…I instantly knew that teeth and nails would fly if I didn’t put a stop to it as quick as I could.
“Guys…” I tried, knowing it was futile to try to stop them.
“Well I never! Do you not realize that I have powers too? I could throw you into a portal leading to an active volcano! I could send you to some jungle filled with flesh-eating trolls!” Vega threatened, her voice was laced with a thick venom. Both their eyes were cold, yet piercing. If looks could kill, both would be on the ground right now, lifeless. As they glared, Fergus through out another retort, which only fanned the flames further…
“I’d like to see you try!”
Vega was not amused at my boss’s snide remark.
“Want to bet that I can’t?” challenged Vega, readying a stance to do so.
Fergus pulled out a crossbow and aimed at the Princess in defense. I had had enough. This was going to far. I was unaware that the school bell had just rang and students were leaving their classrooms when, without thinking, I stood between the Princess and the Armed Man, raising my arms to my sides, palms facing both of them, as if to block them, then a torrent of wind escaped my hands, blowing the both of them backwards…A group of students crowded around me as Fergus landed into a bookcase, and Vega got thrown into a classroom. I heard whispering…Soft, cool words of shock and awe were creating a barrier between me and Gabriel, but I had a feeling she was staring too, wide eyed at the feet I had just performed. The little girl pushed through the crowd and found me at last. “Krita!”
Oh dear…What have I done?
“Uh…I need more control over my powers, don’t I?” I asked, sheepishly.
“Yeah.” she nodded at me, also answering my next question just before I could ask it as if she was psychic. “Oh, Vega and Fergus are fine.”
“Alright! Everyone break it up! There’s nothing to see here!” called the High Mage, as the crowd Dispersed. All the students quickly retreated back to their classes, whispering still lingering around the halls of the stunt I had pulled.
Fergus finally returned, and so did Vega, both were staring at me with mouths wide open as if I had grown a second head.
“So it wasn’t just a fairy tale…” Vega muttered, simply amazed at what happened.
“I’m almost jealous of that power! Vega‘s powers, I‘m more jealous of, but yours are incredible too!” Alfonso remarked, then turned to the little girl who was just standing there with Vega and Fergus. “Little girl, how can I become one of these ‘guardians’?”
Gabriel glanced down, then back up at the High Mage as she said in a small voice “I beg your pardon, Mister…But…Guardians aren’t made. They’re born.”
Alfonso sighed in obvious disappointment. “They’re always born…”
I had to agree with Alfonso at that point. But what was I supposed to do? Ask Gabriel if I could give my powers to Fergus so he didn’t feel left out?
“No big deal.” Fergus said out of nowhere. “Not like I needed fancy-shmancy powers that are probably useless.”
The air around Fergus felt like the air right before a rainstorm…It felt dreary and saddening.
“Fergus are you sure?” I asked my boss with full concern.
“Since when did you become Miss Sensitive, Krita?” my boss retorted. “I said it was no big deal. Besides, what if I got some useless element? Like light? What kind of power would that be?” he began to laugh heartily at that statement as if he had told the greatest joke in the world.
“You’re not very smart, are you?” asked Gabriel to my friend and boss. “In any case, we should start out by going to Gaia, which is past the Marshlands.”
“Oh. Couldn’t the princess just teleport us to Gaia?” Fergus asked, retrieving his crossbow which hadn’t broken from the events earlier.
Vega had opened another portal and turned to face Fergus. “Oh…Well…I can’t…”
“Why not?” Fergus asked, his voice was suspicious and yet, intrigued.
“Well…I’ve never been to Gaia…If I haven’t been there, I can’t teleport there.” replied the princess. “I can’t teleport to many places…I haven’t been outside of Topazia or Rune…Or even the Magic Academy, which I discovered on accident.”
“Then what was that all about earlier? The whole ‘I could throw you into a volcano with flesh eating trolls’ or some nonsense…” the blonde man asked to the princess.
Vega was taken back by this comment and told him “Oh…That…Well, I just wanted to get you to stop calling me spoiled. It’s kind of a stereotype if you think about it.”
She thought a while on that little blurb of speech and interrupted once more just as Fergus was about to say one more thing.
“Besides…Even if I could do it…I wouldn’t.”
Fergus finally had given up and glanced at the princess, finally with eyes that weren’t so hostile.
“Why?” he asked her. “Aren’t I worth killing?”
She thought a moment, then shook her head and simply stated “No.”
“…‘no’? Wh…”
Vega interrupted once more as Gabriel entered the portal…
“Are you coming with us to Krita’s house or not?!” she snapped…
I had already entered the portal, so I never got the chance to hear what Fergus had to say after that…
It felt like walking through a waterfall without getting wet…
But we were at my home at last…Yet it was getting too late to start our journey.
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