The Message

          The day started clear and cold, wind biting through the thick layers wrapped around their bodies. Will glances around at his friends, cheeks glowing red in the cold. Everyone was laughing, as they trampled their way back to his house. They had been planning this for weeks, a get together for Halloween. And now on the eve of the day they were starting their plans. School had let out and now they were heading back to embark on a weekend of crazy times and sugar highs.

          “Hey guys,” Jacob said over the cacophony of everyone else, “I found this story while surfing the web a bit ago. Something that had happened in the town ‘while ago, and people still don’t know what happened.”

          He pauses as everyone looks at him, Amy eventually tired of waiting. Crossing her arms in front of her with a huff, “Well, are you going to tell us, or just leave us hanging?”

          Jacob smirks, “Hey, ya know the old woods that no one ever talks about? Well apparently ‘bout 20 years ago, a group of college students entered in there and somethin’ happened, but no one ever got them to talk ‘bout it. And then in the following months strange thing started happenin’ to them. Random accidents, constant injuries, crazy happen-stance. They got some pretty weird injuries and on the receiving end of the crazy stuff.”

          “Yeah, so what?” Chester asked bluntly, “Are you going to get to the point any time soon or just ramble on about nothing like you are now?”

          “I’m getting there, I’m getting there.” Jacob said gesturing for Chester to calm down. “The thing is, only one of them is still a live right now, the rest died in an accident, no one knows the details, no one knows the circumstances. They just died. And now no one ever brings it up any more and the idea of entering the woods is like taboo. Man, wouldn’t it be awesome to go find out something of what happened?”

          “Um, no.” Clare says, shivering, “I don’t want to go do that, I’m sure that there’s a reason that people try to forget about it, let’s not stir it up.”

          The rest of the group looked around at each other, Will got a look in his eyes. He was a bit of a detective buff, and was always hooked when it came to mysteries. And now one popped up in his own town, he could only imagine what secrets that could be unfolded.

          “There’s not much point discussing this here, while freezing our fingers off,” Abe said, rubbing his arms to keep them warm, “Let’s get back to Will’s house, were we can talk in at least semi warmth?”

          Everyone agreed, and they ambled back to Will’s house. They dropped their bags in the basement. Gathering themselves around a table they look at Jacob, he looked around a little oblivious to the attention, until Amy cleared her throat, jarring him back to reality.

          “What?” Jacob asks crossing his arms in front of his chest, “I don’t have anything more, the info that I got was vague and very disorganized.”

          Will looks around at them, and asks excitedly, “Who wants to go and see what we can fine in the woods?”

          “Hell yeah man,” Jacob was the first to jump in, always up for an adventure. The rest of the group was slower to react, Amy being the next join, followed by Abe, then Clare. Eventually Chester was the only one not on board, he was very hesitant about anything new and or unknown.

          “Come on, Ches,” Will pleaded, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

          “Uh, a lot of things,” Chester started listing things off, “We could get lost in the woods, stuck in some cavern, kidnaped by-“

          “Oh, will you relax?” Will said, “It’s just the woods. And anyways nothing ever happens in our town so really what could happen? A whole lot of nothing. That’s what.”

          “Why are you so insistent on me coming? You’ve already got most of the group anyway so why do you need me?” Chester asked.

          “’Cause you’re part of the group,” Will said simply, “It wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t there. We go as a group or we don’t, that’s how we’ve always done things.”

          “I… I guess that it’ll be okay…” Chester mumbled, still skeptic of this whole idea.

          “Great!” Will said, lightly slapping Chester on the shoulder, “Now let’s get this trip rolling!”

 

          Some hours later the group found themselves at the edge of a dark and menacing forest. Will lead the rest of the group as they entered the shadowed land, the sun was setting and the dark made the forest take an air of mystery and misery.

Chester shivered as he passed into the woods, calling out, “I don’t think this was a good idea guys, let’s head back.”

“Calm down Ches,” Will called over his shoulder, “We’re here, so we might as well do something. You can stay here if you want.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t head back now.” Chester muttered under his breath, but never the less he followed Will as he trekked in to the gloom of the trees. After a while, Chester looked behind him to find Jacob.

“Hey guys?” Chester called out to Will.

“What is it now?” Will yelled sounding exasperated.

“Um, I can’t find Jacob. Or Abe for that matter.”

“What?” Amy cried out, distress wrinkled her features, “Where could they have gone?”

“What do we do now?” Clare said.

“Guys, guys, calm down,” Will said, “I’m sure they are here somewhere. Let’s pair up and look around, don’t go too far. Clare you’re with Ches, Amy you’re with me. Let’s meet back here in about 15 minutes.”

They spread out, neither going farther than 15-20 meters from the meeting point. They scoured the underbrush for their missing friends. After the 15 minutes they meet back in the small clearing having found nothing.

“Guys, what are we going to do?” Chester cried looking a Will for guidance, the girls sat together on a log holding each other, taking comfort in the others presence. Will looked around rubbing his chin, when a small sound came from the left of the clearing. It was small, hardly noticeable, like something was creeping through the forest. Will stared at that side of the clearing, the rest stopped making sounds as they glanced around the clearing fearfully.

The sound came again, a rustling of the bushes and the sound of something scraping across rock. Like when you’re sharpening a blade. Will and Chester went to stand next to the girls, as though to protect them.

“Come out, whatever you are!” Will yelled, sounding more confident than he felt. The twitching in the bushes became more violent as the thing came closer to them. Suddenly out of the bushes stepped a humanoid figure, Will couldn’t make out the details in the dark. Amy started to take great shuddering breaths as the thing came closer to them, lurching with each step. “Stay back! Don’t come any closer! What do you want from us?”

The thing stopped, cocked its head, and then took another clunky step forward. The path had changed slightly, now angled more towards Chester. Chester, to his credit, stood tall in front of the girls, though there was a slight trembling in his ridged frame. Suddenly, without any warning, the thing started to rush Chester. Will took lunged forward to help him, when something large and heavy tackled him from the back. Will went down with a thud, as the air was violently pushed out of his chest. There was nothing that he could do as he watched Chester get tackled.

The thing on Will’s back started to laugh. As did the thing holding Chester down, both of them got off of the person they were holding down. Will sat up still trying to recover his breath.

“Got’cha guys!” One of the creatures says, still laughing, the other was bent over supporting it’s self with its arms.

“Man, you shoulda seen your faces!” The Second creature said slapping its knees. Will realized now that they weren’t some supernatural thing, it was just Jacob and Abe. He stood up and slapped Abe on the back of the head.

“Do you guys realize just how badly you’ve scared us?” Will said slightly harshly.

“That was the whole point of this.” Jacob said, “I mean yeah the story was real, but this was just our idea, it was just a little bit of fun, man.”

“Yeah, well, next time, do it in such a way that we almost think we are going to be murdered by some psyco woods man.” Amy said, crossing her arms in front of her. But then she breaks out a smile, “It was funny seeing Will’s face, he was like ‘Ah my gawd! I’m gonna die!’”

Amy did a bad imitation of Will’s face, the person in question mumbled under his breath, “Was not…”

But the rest of the group started laughing, and Will soon joined in. They spent some time just sitting there in the clearing, laughing at the prank that Jacob pulled. Then out of nowhere a shrill, sound startles them. They look around confused.

“Jacob, are you done yet?” Will asks, looking at the two pranksters.

“No man, that wasn’t us I swear!” Jacob looked genuinely confused by the sudden change of events.

The fog roles silently around their feet, coiling and pooling coldly, all the laughter and mirth of the moment had past and now settling in their heart was a new since of dread, a growing pit of fear. They strain their eyes against the gloomy darkness as they listen to the night around them.

“AAAAHHH!!”

There it was again! This heart stopping sound freezes them in place, this time it sound so much closer. Amy felt Goosebumps running up her arms and covering her flesh as she grabs the hand nearest to her. The group forms a circle, back to back, looking out at all sides for any sign of something approaching them, hardly dared to breath.  All around them the world seemed to be being bleached of color, the woods turning into a monotones blob. Amy felt her heart beating, she could have sworn it was so loud that it could be heard all the way across the clearing.

And then, as suddenly as it came, the chill left. The colors slowly seeped back to the world and the mist was left to dissipate. Warmth crept back to their bones, slowly banishing the chill that tried to linger there. Will glanced around, a bubble of laughter forced its way past his lips, one bordering on hysteria.

“Well… th-that was weird…” He said, his attempt at lightening the mood fell flat with the cracking wobble in his voice. Amy dropped Chester’s hand, the one that she had grabbed in her moment of panic, as though it burned her and turned away. The rest of the group talked amongst themselves, about what had just happened while Amy walked around a little trying to see if maybe, there was a good explanation for all of this. Her foot catches on a something and she falls flat on her face. The leaves and moist dirt was shoved in her face, and rocks dug into her palms.

Amy sat up slowly brushing off some of the debris stuck to her. Looking around to see what tripped her, she freezes, her mind barely understanding what it saw, and with a trembling hand she brushes off some of the leaves.

“AAAHHH!” Ohmygod,Ohmygod,Ohmygod!

The rest of the group comes barreling through the underbrush to find out what caused the scream, Will was the first to reach her. He grabbed her shoulders, and shook her slightly.

“Amy, what’s wrong?” Will asked slightly breathless. Amy just lifted a shaking hand and pointed at the ground in front of her. There was a flat piece of rock, and written in blood, the message was slightly smeared for the blood had yet to dry.

‘YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE THAT’

“Oh god…” Will breathed, tightening his hold on Amy slightly, his face pale. The rest of the group had similar responses muttered under their breaths. After a moment Will stood, gently tugging Amy with him, “Come on guys, let’s get out of here.”

He starts walking back, firmly turning his back on the message on the ground. The rest of the group trailed along behind slowly as though they were waking from a dream. As they neared the edge of the wood, they past an old sign, it had been overgrown and covered with plants. In bold blocky letters it read ‘DO NOT ENTER. PRIVITE PROPERTY’.

“Could have used that earlier…” Chester mumbles as he shuffles past it. The others nod in agreement.

 

A few hours later, the troop reached Will’s house. They hopped over the fence and opened the basement door. Amy entered first, then Clare, followed by Chester, Abe, and Jacob. Will paused, looking around, the hair on the back of his neck was tingling, as though someone was watching. But, seeing no one, he dismissed the feeling as just left over adrenalin from the scare in the forest.

He entered the house and closed the door with a click as the lock shot home. Outside all was still, utterly silent in the darkness. The light went out as Will flicked the switch from inside the house. Just beyond the edge of the fence a dark looming, creature smiled, gathering power from the darkness as it relished its freedom once more.

 

2: Maj and Junta

Pt2 Maj and Junta

          “So, all in agreement?” Will asked, they all sat in a circle around a small table, each clutching a steaming cup on hot chocolate. “What happened in the woods, never happened.”

          Nods came from all around the table, as they all grasped their cups just a bit tighter, a chill washed over them at the thought of what happened in the dark out there. Will glanced at the clock, noticing the time for the first time in a while. It was about 3 in the morning, they had gotten back about an hour ago. Will sighed, it was going to be a long day tomorrow.

          “Hey guys, we should try to get some sleep.” The others glance at the clock, and noticing the time they finished their cups and placed them in the sink to be dealt with in the morning. They climbed in to their sleeping bags as Will went around turning out the lights. Just as he was about to turn out the last one a slightly quivering voice stops him.

          “C-can you l-leave that one on?” Clare asks from her sleeping bag, “I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep in the dark to night.”

          Will looks around, silently asking if any one objects to the lights, nobody looked like they wanted to be in the dark tonight. So Will leaves the lamp on and climbs in to his own bag, listening to the others as they fall slowly to sleep. First was Abe, soon followed by Chester and Jacob. Amy and Clare took a little longer but soon sleep took them too. Will sighed as he lays in the near silence of the room, each of his friends breath patterns had evened out. He sighs as he rolls over and pillows his head with his arm, closing his eyes. Soon his breathing evened out as sleep took him.

          Everything was silent after Will drifted to sleep, for a while everything was calm. The lamp in the corner produced a steady white light for a long time, but sometime later it started flickering, the light growing dimmer with each passing moment. Then it stops and holds steady in a last ditched effort to stay bright, but soon the light faded as it slowly flickered into darkness. The shadows grew and took over as the lamp finally died.

          Somewhere out there It smiled, under the darkest shadow.

 

          Awareness came slowly to Will. It was cold, the surface he lay on, and hard and bumpy. Where am I? What’s going on? Will thought groggily as he reached up to rub his eyes. Opening them slowly he was greeted with near total darkness, light coming from only a single flickering candle. The most that he could see was the dark outlines of five other figures laying sprawled on the ground. One of the ones furthest from him started to groan as it shifted on the ground.

          “God, where am I?” The figure, Chester Will recognized, moaned lowly. Chester looked around and jumped slightly in surprise when he saw Will’s outline. “Wh-who are you?”

          “It’s me Ches,” Will said softly, as he slowly stood up, wobbling a bit as he regained his balance. He started to check the other figures on the ground, shaking their shoulders gently as he tried to wake them up.

          Chester got up to help him as well. Soon they had woken everyone up. They gathered in the center of the room sitting as close as they could to each other. They hardly dared to get to far away from each other in this unknown situation.

          “Guys, do any of you know what is going on here?” Amy asks lowly, as she looks over her shoulder at the darkness that surrounded them. None of them responded as they didn’t know how to. Suddenly light flared around them, coming out of nowhere. Will cried out as he threw his arm up over his eyes, attempting to not get blinded.

          Blinking to dispel the dots in his vision, Will looked around the room with the light illuminating the area. The room was like that out of an old medieval movie. The floor was a cobbled stone, and there wasn’t any windows. Off to one side of the room there was an old wooded book shelf. It was tall spanning from the floor to the ceiling, and all of its shelves were covered in dusty books, piles of scrolls, plant life, and alchemistic style equipment. On the wall opposite to the shelf was an oak door.

          Will got up and examined the book shelf as the others recovered from their blinding experience and investigated the room. Will looked at tiles of the books, recognizing none of them. They had titles that meant nothing to him like The Shadow Lord, History of the Meliks, Expidia of Creature-Nabius, and Lore of the Wilchites. There were other titles but they were incomprehensible and often were using symbols that weren’t even English. After about another ten or so minutes investigating the room the group meet up in the center of the room, glancing at the wooden door now and again. During the time none had approached the door.

          “I still don’t know what’s going on here man!” Jacob complained throwing his hands up in disgust.

          “I think that if we want any answers,” Will said slowly getting everyone’s attention, “we are going to have to go through there.” Will jerks his head at the door, the rest of the group looks at the door apprehensively. Anything beyond the door was unknown and most of them would rather deal with what they did know.

          “Are you sure?” Chester said his voice slightly pitched with fear, “I mean, what if there’s some kind of drop off and we fall? Or what if there is some beast? Or what-”

          “Ches! Calm down,” Will said trying to calm his friend with the over reactive imagination, “I think that there is a reason, and I doubt that it is to kill us. They had the opportunity to do so when we were all out. I don’t know about you, but I don’t fancy staying here for who knows how long. I’m going through that door, come with me or stay that’s your choice.”

          “I agree with Will,” Abe said suddenly as he stepped up next to Will, “I’ll go with him when he goes. I don’t want to be stuck here.”

          “Me too,” Amy stepped up next to Abe, then turns to Will, “That is if I’m welcome…”

          “Of course.” Will said hurriedly.

          Soon all of his friends had stepped up to follow him if he went through the door, though Chester was grumbling a bit in the back. Grasping the door handle, Will heaves but the door stubbornly stays stuck. Eventually though, the door opens with a low groan as though it was opening for the first time in ages.

          Behind the door was a long hallway like room. High vaulted ceilings coming down to white marble columns, each of them intricately carved with images of plants, each imitating a tree to make the effect of standing in a forest. Standing in alternating openings were torch holders with flames burring high and bright, providing ample amounts of light to see in the hall.

          At the end of the passage sat an old oak thrown, its tall back casting an air of unapproachability. As they drew near, the details became clearer. From far away the chair was very impressive, but up close it was sickening to look at. Carved on it were scenes of battle, not the glorious kind, but the gruesome and stomach churning images. There were dark stains, like some liquid had been spilt on it, or splattered, and allowed to dry turning the already dark wood even darker. The only thing that seemed unmarred in any way was at the top of the thrown, there was a thing. There were no other words that seemed fit to describe it. Shapeless, formless, but yet the creator somehow managed to make it give off this unimaginable feeling of despair, and a crushing malicious anger.

          “Ah, I see you have found the War Thrown.” An old voice came out of nowhere, behind them. It was crackly, worn with age, and had the impression of great power. They jumped, turning around to see who had spoken to them. They see an ancient man, robbed in shades of green carrying a bent and knobby walking stick. Behind him, two figures stood shrouded in shadows.

          “Who are you?” Will asked, confused. There was no other way into this passage other than the door, but they would have heard them if they came in that way.

          “I am many things,” the old man said, his lips curling slightly as he continued, “What I am called however is Maj.”

          “Great, now we have an old riddler” Abe muttered under his breath, Maj seemed to smile a little like he heard the comment. Will turned and quieted Abe with a glare, silently telling him not to upset possibly the only person who could tell them what was going on.

          Maj chuckled, “I am not trying to confuse you, you just have not learned how to ask the right question.”

          “Sir,… where are we?” Amy asked hesitantly.

          “A place without a name,” Maj said, taking a hobbled step forward, “this place slumbers when the beast slumbers, but you fools have awoken that which should have been left to its self.”

          “Why are we here?”

          “You must reap what you have sown.” Maj said, “What you have done must now be undone, before things become irreversible. The world stand on the brink of a great abyss, one wrong move and you will send the earth tumbling into eternal darkness.”

          “In short, you’ve fucked up.” A teenage boy stepped out of the shadows behind Maj. He had shaggy black hair that slipped into his eyes, his black jeans were worn and ripped in places. He also wore a black leather jacket. He sneered as he said, “And now you have to fix it.”

          “Junta! Do not speak with such hatred!” This time a girl stepped from the shadows, her hair fell in brown curls across he back, she wore a similar outfit to Junta, except there was a black sash across her chest. “Stop being so rude.”

          “Why?” Junta bit out angrily, “They were the ones who were stupid, not me. And now they think that they don’t have to deal with the consequences for their actions! Tell me, why should I, or anyone else, have to help them?”

          “Junta! That is enough!” Maj sharply cut him off. “You already know the answer. You have sworn to do your duty, now you must do it.”

          Maj turned back to Will and his friends, “As I was saying before Junta interrupted, there was a beast that was put down a long time ago, that you have brought back with your trip through the woods.”

          “What are we supposed to do?” Will asked.

          “You fix it.” Maj said simply.

          “Humph.” Junta crossed his arms in front of himself, “I doubt that they will be of much help.”

          “And why do you say that?” Will said crossly, he was a little angry at Junta’s constant condescending tone and air of superiority. Junta pushed himself off of the column that he had been leaning on, walking toward Will. Junta looks him up and down slowly, as though grading him from what he saw alone.

 Then Junta steps back and adopts a condescending tone as he says, “Do you think this will be easy? That this is some game? Great warriors of old have faced off with this beast and have failed. It whispers dark secrets in your ear, bending you, braking you until you aren’t fit to do anything. It takes many forms, and can be anywhere, you’d never know. You probably haven’t had a hard day in your life,” he leans down getting right into Will’s face, barely and inch apart, whispering angrily at him, “you don’t know the terror that you have just awoken, what you have just done. You are weak.”

“We’re not weak!” Will says, “We are stronger than you think.”

Junta just looks at him, then stiffly turns around and disappears into the shadows. Maj sighs, leaning heavily on the walking stick.

“Please excuse Junta,” Maj said, rubbing a tired hand over his eyes, “let me explain please. As Junta said, you have awoken the Shadow Lord. We will try to help you the best we can, my assistants will be helping you on earth, I will be here to teach you the past. You have to stop the Shadow Lord from controlling the earth.”

The ground started to mist, like it was evaporating. The floor started to shift unsteady, Will cried out, “What’s happening?”

“You are waking up,” Maj said, his words speeding up with his urgency, “you must be careful now, both here and in the real world. Never assume it’s safe unless you know. You must watch what happens now, your souls are more susceptible to wander.”

Then Will was falling into a long black pit, tumbling head over heel.

 

Will sits up gasping for breath, heart pounding in his chest. He looks around at his friend and sees them in similar positions. His shoulders slump as he asks, “It wasn’t a dream, was it?”

The silence from the others was all the answer that he needed. A feeling of dread seemed to grow from a pit that just opened in each of their souls.

3: Into the Real World

Pt3 Into the Real World

          “Did any of you guys happen to catch the name of that girl that’s gonna help us?” Abe asked looking around the table at everyone gathered there. “’Cause she was hot.”

          “Abe, I don’t think that now is the best time for your hormonal teenage-ness to take over.” Clare said sighing, “They are going to be helping us with fighting, I doubt that it’ll be good for your heath if you start flirting with her.”

          It was around 10 in the morning, and this was the first mention of last night since they woke up. They sat around Will’s kitchen table in utter silence each thinking about what was happening to them.

          “Do you… do you think this is for real?” Chester questioned, staring at the table top while fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. “I mean, look at us, we’re just normal kids and nothing ever happens in this town, so what’s the chances of any of this being real?” Chester looks up hopefully at their faces, but then slumps back down in his chair at their expression.

          “As much as I don’t wish this to be real,” Will starts off, messing with his mug, “there’s too much happening to be a coincidence. The thing that happened in the woods, if we looked hard enough I’m sure that we can find some kind of reasonable explanation for it all. But the dream, the one we all had that was exactly the same? There’s no possible explanation for that, at least not as far as I can think of.”

          The others look down at their hands, a solemn air falling over the group. Their plans for the Halloween weekend seemed forgotten, after all, finding out that the fate of the world was in their, unprepared, hands tended to put a damper on everything. It just didn’t seem right to be having fun when one may have just doomed the world.

          “You know, this is all your fault.” Chester said looking directly at Will. “If you hadn’t wanted to go so badly we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

          “Really? You’re going to start this now?” Will asked sounding incredulous, “You know you could have said no, you could have turned back!”

          “Could I? Could I have really done that?” Chester asked, temper flaring. “Oh yeah, it’s so easy to go against what everyone is doing by yourself. Of course I could have gone back, walking alone. At night. Through the allies and dimly lit streets. ‘Cause that totally would be uber safe!”

          “How was I supposed to know what was in the woods!” Will exploded out of his seat, his chair falling over behind him, “Are you going to blame me for something I didn’t know about? And here I was thinking that you were smart! There was no way that I could have known what was-”

          Ding-Dong!

          Knock-Knock-Knock!

          Their argument was cut off by someone at the door. Will looks over his shoulder at the door down the hall. There were two dark outlines behind the frosted glass.

          Knock-Knock-Knock!

          Will slowly turns to entirely face the door, dragging his feet across the ground as he went to open the door. A feeling of fear started to creep up his spin as his mind raced away from him. What if it’s someone dangerous? What if it’s the Shadow Lord? What do I do? Will’s heart pumped furiously, as he approached the door. With a shaking hand he reached out and unlocked the door, slowly turning the knob and allowing the door to inch open. Standing on the step in front of his house was Junta and the girl form the dream. Junta stood impatiently by the door, arms crossed over his chest. The girl stood back a little ways, leaning against the wall of the house, looking at the sky with contentment.

          “It’s about time.” Junta growled as he shoved past Will into the house uninvited, “Next time answer the door sooner, we don’t got a lot of time and we can’t waist it because you’re too afraid to open the door.”     

          “Please excuse Junta,” The girl said as she approached the door, “he can be a bit rough around the edges.”

          “It’s ok,” Will said, standing back gesturing for her to enter the house. “Please come in.”

          “Thanks,” She said, reaching her hand out to shake Will’s, “I’m Maylin.”

          “Will.” He let go of her hand and lead her to the kitchen area where Junta was already making himself at home in. He sat in the chair Will had been in previously, his feet propped up on the table top. Will points at each of his friends as he introduced them, “This is Amy, Jacob, Abe, Clare and Chester. Guys this is Maylin.”

          They nod in acknowledgment at her. Junta leaned back in the chair then suddenly fell forward slamming his hand on the table. Everyone jumped at the unexpected noise, turning to look at him.

          “Ok, let’s get started.” Junta said, moodily as he stood up. “We won’t let you out of this house safely until you are at least semi proficient, enough to stay alive in an attack, till at least one of us can get there.”

           “You can’t do that!” Clare cried out, “We have school on Monday!”

          Junta shrugged, “Not my problem. If you’re so worried about it then you’d better learn fast.”

          Junta walked out of the room, to the back door and out onto the deck. Everyone stood in shock at what Junta said. They turned to look at Maylin, who shrugged helplessly, and then slowly filed out to the backyard.

          They found Junta sitting cross legged on the ground, his eyes closed and body posture relaxed. The ground in front of him started to ripple, like a reflection in water that was disturbed. An empty black hole appeared in the grass, Junta reached into the hole and pulled a bag out, his posture never changing. The hole started to shrink and eventually disappeared.

          Junta sighed, opening his eyes, Will noticed a flash of something, almost sadness, cross Junta’s face, but it was gone to fast to really know what it was. Junta looked at them, a sneer forming on his lips. Shaking his head Junta turns to the bag without even addressing the group that stood in front of him.

          He unzipped the bag, taking out few small pouches, throwing them on the ground close to their feet. Reaching back into the bag, his arms seemed like they went further than what was physically possible, pulling out wooden poles of various sizes. Practice weapons, small shields, and body armor were soon thrown on the ground in small piles.

          Maylin grabbed four of the pouches that Junta had thrown at them, going to the far corner of the yard. Kneeling down, she did something with the ground at that corner, the proceeded to the other side of the yard, she did the same process there, and continued to repeat the job until she had covered all the corners of the yard. As she finished with the last one a wave of power washed over the area, covering the ground.

 Will shivered the very air seemed alive with energy. A bright light bloomed out of nowhere, blinding them for a moment. As they blinked the spots out of their vision, Will noticed that their surroundings had changed. They now stood in Japanese styled room, dojo he guessed, the wood paneled floor replaced the grass, and around where the fence used to be, the floor rose to a second level about three or four feet above the rest of the floor. The walls where paper paneled and the ceiling was arching high above them.

Maylin and Junta, stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed in front of themselves. Their pasture had changed, demanding respect from them. Maylin stepped forward to address them.

“Here is your training area,” Maylin looked at each of them, her eyes hardening. “If you want to survive, take this seriously. If you don’t or you can’t do that, you will die, and what’s worse you will probably get someone else killed in doing so.”

Junta stepped forward, “Let’s get this started, I don’t want to have to always be watching your backs because you can’t do that yourselves.” Cracking his knuckles, an almost feral grin crossed his features, “Ready for a beat down?”

 

4: Training Begins

Pt4 Training Begins

          The group stares mutely at Junta. He looks at each of their faces, then bursts out laughing. Everyone looks at each other, not quite sure how to respond. Wiping a few tears away from his eyes, he gasps out, “Your faces! Do you really think that we’re going to through you head first into the waters without even seeing if you can swim or not?”

          “Wouldn’t be surprised.” Amy muttered under her breath.

          Junta’s face suddenly became emotionless as he jumped straight to instructor mode, “You all will be learning how to defend yourselves, but each will specialize in a specific weapon or fighting style.”

          “How do we know?” Jacob asked hesitantly, not really wishing to draw attention to himself all that much.

          “You’ll find out soon,” Maylin said as Junta stooped next to a small pile of pouches and grabs a seemingly random one from the floor.

          “Actually, now.” Junta approached them, directing them, “Sit in a circle facing inward… no cross-legged, evenly spaced… Yes, like that.”

          After getting them in a way that seemed to please him, “Now close your eyes and empty your minds of all things. Breath in… and out… in… out…”

          Silently they all followed the verbal instructions, slowly falling into a light trance like state. Junta weaved in, out, and around Will and his friends. He stops in the middle of the circle dropping something on the ground with a soft thunk. All sound ceased, leaving behind an almost ringing sound. Behind his closed eyes, Will saw a golden light spring up out of nowhere. Warmth washed over his body, something heavy came to rest on his lap.

          Junta’s voice slowly became audible to Will as he said, “Ok, you can open your eyes.”

          Will slowly opened his eyes as he looked around, stretching out some of the kinks and stiffness. Chester had a pale green package, Abe and Jacob had a rich purple, Amy a sky blue package, and Clare a fiery red. Will looked down in his own lap, and saw a glittering gold, with dark green whorls inter woven in the gold.

          “Each of you have different talents,” Maylin said, looking at each of their packages. They were all different sizes and shapes. “It wouldn’t make since to try and force a specific style onto you, not to mention a waste of our time. Inside each of your packages you’ll find the weapon best fit for you and that will tell us the best way to go about training you. Let’s start with… Amy.”

          Turning the package over she unties the knot that keeps the cloth wrapped around the package. Finding a box, like an everyday shoe box, she reaches into the box her arm seeming to go further than physically possible. She pulls out a belt that has five throwing daggers sheathed, on the side opposite of the daggers were three pouches. Placing that to the side, Amy reaches back into the box and pulls out a magnificent mahogany bow. The light bouncing off of it brought out the almost glowing quality of the bow. Amy pulled out the matching quiver full of arrows, placing that carefully next to the bow.

          “Long distance weapons…” Maylin said, brow furrowed in concentration. “Clare your turn.”

          Clare unwraps her package, the box was made out of woven bamboo strips. Popping the lid off, Clare pulls out a katana, the blade a good three or four feet long. Wrapped loosely around the sheath was a reddish scarf, the cloth was patterned with oriental designs. Setting the blade down she reaches back into the box. She frowns momentarily, then plunges both hands in to the box and pulls out twin staffs. They were short and had blades on one end, the other had a funny metal thing.

          “Those can connect to make a single double ended staff.” Junta informed in a board tone. Clare stares at him, slightly startled that he spoke, until he impatiently gestured for her to continue, “Well? Go on.”

          Sighing Clare reaches back into the box, and pulls out a pair of hunting knifes, the blades about a foot and a half long. “That’s it.”

          “Offensive,” Maylin mused under her breath. Then shaking her head she turns to Abe, “Open yours.”

          Abe unwrapped his package, finding a smallish iron chest underneath the wrappings. Popping the lid off he pulls out a small shield, the heraldic device was a ten pointed silver star on a blue background. Setting that down Abe pulled out a two handed sword next. The cross guard was an enameled dark green with white Celtic knots winding across its surface. The grip was wrapped in dark brown almost black leather strips.

          “The Swards man…” Maylin noted to herself. “Anything else?”

          “No.” Abe said, still looking at the sward in his hands.

          “Hm… Jacob. Go.” Maylin ordered.

          Jacob’s box turned out to be a smooth wooden chest, opening it he pulled out a javelin, one made of metal. Small swirls ran the length of the weapon, the tip narrowed down to a sharp and deadly looking point. Placing that carefully on the ground next to him, Jacob reaches back into the chest and pulls out a shield. The heraldic device on his shield was that of a red bird, the wings out stretched, covering a pale green field. Placing that down he pulls out a couple of wooden spears with metal tips attached to the ends.

          “So we have two distance weapons users, and two closer range. And among that there are two more defensive weapon sets and two more offensive weapon sets.” Maylin said rubbing her chin in thought. Sighing she looks at Chester, “You’re up.”

          Chester nervously undid the knot, fumbling a bit with all the attention focused on him. The lid of his box had swirls carved into the wood, all surrounding a single star in the middle of the lid. He opens the lid slowly. Reaching in, he pulls out a wooden flute, a thin piece of light brown leather was wrapped around the neck of the flute. The leather strip ended with an eagle carved out of a green crystal holding a single bird feather. Slightly confused, Chester put it down in the wrappings of the box. He then reaches back in and pulls out a small leather bound book. The symbols on the cover where like nothing any of them had seen before, though Chester looked like they made some since to him. Junta looked over his shoulder, as though reading the cover of the book and nods like the book made since to him too.

          “Interesting…” Junta said, “Diffidently magic here.”

          Junta turns to Will, scrutinizing him silently with his eyes. Will glared back almost in challenge, what surprised him was seeing a look of something, almost resignation, in Junta’s eyes. Junta turned away, but not before Will caught a glimpse of sadness in his eyes.

          Will pushed the wrappings off of his box, it was plain, the wood looking neither special nor impressive as some of the others. Inside his box Will pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves, on the back of each glove was a small clear crystal. Underneath the gloves was a small golden tome.

          “You guys are an odd bunch,” Maylin said, “Four non-mages, and two mages at opposite ends of the spectrum from each other.”

          “Um, you said that you would be able to explain all of this to us,” Chester said timidly, “could you please start?”

          “Yes, yes, I’m getting there.” Maylin said dismissively, “Ok, now Amy you can tell that are more suited for defensive long distance, with the weapons that you have it makes more since that you are a scout or if there was a battle you would be stationed on high ground where you could observe the going-ons on the field.”

          “Now Clare, Jacob, and Abe,” She turned to address them, “You three have the closer ranged weapons. But Jacob, yours are better a longer distances, though if at close range you’ll be good for defensive things. You four will be working primarily with me.”

          Junta stepped forward, “Will, Chester, you two are mages. Chester you have more of the defensive/noninvasive type of magic, you know, like healing, shielding. Things like that, whereas with Will, he has more of the battle magic the offensive type.”

          “How do you know we’re mages?” Will asked, “All I can see is a flute, a pair of gloves and two books that make no since to anyone. How does that make anything magic?”

          “Well, I don’t know,” Junta said in a sarcastic tone, “I mean I am a mage myself, and have been around since before your grandparents were born. I’ve taught other mages. These books you pointed out are your guides, and the flute and gloves? They are how you channel your powers.”

          “Of course I could be wrong,” Junta said, stepping closer to Will, who   had to use all his will power not to take a step back, “I’m young compared to some, after all I’ve only been around for a couple hundred years. What do I know about anything?”

          Will and Junta glared at each other, electricity almost sparking in the air between them.

          “Um,” Maylin cleared her throat cautiously, “Let’s get started.

 

          Hours later, Will and the others dropped to the floor utterly spent.

          “You guys are in better shape than I thought.” Maylin said sounding slightly pleased.

          “Yeah, I thought that you’d spend all your time surfing the web and reading stories and shit.” Junta said, his tone would have pissed them off had they not been so exhausted.

          In the past few hours they had been doing countless laps, push-ups, curl-ups, and pull-ups. And then repeat, and repeat, and repeat. Until their muscles felt dead, and their bones melted.

          “Kay guys, get up.” Maylin said calmly, seeming to take no notice of their groaning as they forced their protesting muscles into use again. Maylin walked to the second level, opening one of the screens and into a side room. Junta followed as the others trailed along slowly behind.

          Inside, the center of the room was a fire pit/brazier thing, glowing red from the embers. On the floor surrounding the pit, pillows/cushions were strewn all around.

          “Sit.” Maylin said as she stirred the embers with a stick. They sank gracefully into the piles of cushions, Junta stood in the corner the red glow from the brazier reflected in his dark eyes.

          “What’s going on?” Amy asked hesitantly.

          “There are things you need to know, about the past,” Maylin said sadly looking down at her hands, “You need to learn about the history of young man named Sar’nem.”

          “Who’s Sar’nem?” Jacob asked, slightly interested.

          “The Shadow Lord.”

 

5: Story Time

Pt5 Story Time

          Stirring the embers again Maylin begins the tale softly.

          “The Shadow Lord, or Sar’nem, was once a mortal being, a mage to be exact. He was powerful, ambitious, strong, some might say persuasive. But he always was looking for more, his thirst for knowledge led him down a strange path. Eventually Sar’nem came to the Elders to find what else there was to learn, having already mastered all other things, but the Elders told him that there was nothing else. No more to learn.”

          ~prior to the Shadow uprising~

          “Sar’nem, there is nothing left. There is no more.” The High Sage sighed as he looked down at the young man. Sar’nem had come to the Elders begging for more to learn, the other Elders had to hide their sad gazes as they watched the young man. Many of them had grown close to Sar’nem as he worked on his quest to learn.

          “Please! There must be something! Anything!” Sar’nem protested, striding forward with his hands outstretched in a gesture of begging. “I know that there must be something! There has to be! None of the Magic’s have fit! None of them felt right to me.”

          “Sar’nem there is nothing.” One of the other Elders leaned forward to address him. “I’m sorry, but there is no more.”

          Sar’nem fell to his knees on the ground, staring at his hands as the Elders continued to address him. Their words swirled around him, as he sat unmoving on the ground.

          “Sar’nem you have so much potential. Find a Path that feels the best and stick with it. You never gave any Paths long to work with.”

          “You will find your magic, your Path, if given time.”

          “Sar’nem, please, rest for a while.”

          “Sar’nem, my son, take a while for yourself.”

          The High Sage stood, and all the other Elders turned to look at him as silence filled the room. The High Sage slowly walked to Sar’nem, and knelt in front of his still form. He wiped away some of the stray tears that were slowly making their way down Sar’nem’s face.

          “Oh Grandchild,” The old man pulled the unresisting body into a hug, “Grandchild, you must find where you belong, there you will find your Path. There is nothing left for you here, now you must go out and find your place.”

          “But-”

          “But nothing,” The High Sage said, “go. Go now and find where you belong. Travel the roads, see the world, and if you feel like you must come back then you will.”

          Standing up he gently pulled Sar’nem to his feet, and lightly pushed him towards the door. “Go my child, and may the winds be favorable.”

          Sar’nem stumbled out into the courtyard, the dusty ground shadowed by the high tower of the Elders. He approached his horse, a beautiful ebony black stallion, and grabbed the reins walking the horse to the gate of the courtyard. Standing under the gate Sar’nem mounted his horse and took one last look back at the only place he had ever known in his life. The gleaming walls now felt diminished, like there was a sadness taking over.

          Shaking his head harshly, Sar’nem spurred his horse and galloped away. Leaving only a cloud of dust behind, which soon settled, erasing the last trace of Sar’nem from the tower, but not the minds of the Elders that he left behind.

          From one of the high windows of the tower, The High Sage and an Elder watched Sar’nem’s leaving.

          “Is it bad if I wished he needn’t leave?” The High Sage sighed as he turned away from the window. The Elder placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

          “No, we all wished he wouldn’t have to leave. Young Sar’nem was a light among the old shadows in this tower.” The Elder pat the shoulder and turned away, “But all things must travel their own Paths.”

          “Then why do I feel that a new darkness is coming?”

          ~Present~

          “So what happened?” Will asked, “What caused Sar’nem to change from the young man he was to the… Thing he became?”

          Maylin sighed, “Not much is really known. During his travels it is said that Sar’nem encountered much, but never found were he belonged. Some say that he went mad after a while, but others believe that he met something out there. Slowly it poisoned Sar’nem’s mind, turning him away from finding his Path. Soon tales of destruction and devastation trailed behind Sar’nem. Small things, he kept them natural seeming, as to not attract the attention of the Elders. Whispers of a being, a Shadow, spread across the country side.”

          “Some 20 years later, Sar’nem returned to the tower.”

          ~at the very start of the Shadowed age~

          The marble doors of the Tower exploded inward, shards of stone flew everywhere. Interrupting the meeting a figure shrouded in shadows strode into the room. The aura surrounding the being was sickly, filled with deadness. His hands were clawed, the tips turning an ebony black, gleaming in a poisons way. His hair was flaring around his head as though made of fire.

          “Who are you?” The High Sage questioned.

          “Oh Grandfather, don’t you recognize me?” The figure’s voice had an odd echoing quality, though he spoke no louder than a whisper his voice seemed to bounce off everything. His tone sneered the term of grandfather, one that was usually used out of grate respect for a person. “It’s me, Sar’nem, the lowly apprentice with nothing left to learn. The one you sent away. Away on a journey to find where he belonged. You said that my travels could lead back here.”

          “Sar’nem what happened to you?” One of the Elders asked, “You’ve changed so much since you left us all those years ago.”

          “‘What happened to me?’” Sar’nem let out a harsh laugh, one that clawed at all of their ears, “Realization happened to me! I came to understand why I’m here. I have not changed at all, I’ve only become smarter. You were right, there is nothing else left to learn. I just had to apply what I’ve learned to the world around me.”

          “Sar’nem, child, you have changed… and I’m not sure if it’s for the better.” The High Sage said sadly.

          “HA! You don’t know anything about me anymore!” Sar’nem shouted, “You lost the right to dictate what I can or can’t do the moment you sent me away! The world doesn’t care for great magics anymore! They’ve lost respect for the Elders, they don’t care about the power that you hold in your hands. They don’t fear us!”

          “Why should they fear us?” One of the Elders gasped out in surprise, “We would never give them any cause to fear us.”

          “But they should!” Sar’nem cried out gesturing around him. “We can hold their lives in our hands, they should tremble beneath us. The superior ones should stand above the rest. No matter the cost.”

          The air around Sar’nem started to glow ominously, his hair whipping a round his face even faster. He growled out “Now I stand above you.”

          A wave of magic flooded the room killing all the Elders instantaneously. Their bodies fell to the floor, laughing at the sudden freedom he felt, Sar’nem walked over to one of the bodies and kicked it. Drawing the magic to himself once again, Sar’nem opened a portal to another dimension, dark shadows flew out and filled the room. Half animal bests, winged monsters, disfigured human like things. One of them approached Sar’nem and knelt on the ground.

          “My lord,” The creature’s raspy voice sent chills down Sar’nem’s spine, though he didn’t show it, “We are the Shadows, tell us what to do”

          “Bring this world to darkness.”

          The shadowed figures flew out of the room, and darkness spread throughout the land. Sar’nem smiled.

          “Hmm… Shadow Lord?” he mumbled under his breath, “That has a nice ring to it.”

          ~present~

          “That’s how he came to power.” Maylin said, she looked around at each of them and laughed a little at their faces. “That’s enough for now.”

          “But Maylin, what are we going to do?” Amy asked just a little scared.

          “Do? Do?” Junta said incredulous. “You are going to fight this son of a bitch, and put an end to a beast that should have died ages ago!”

          The group flinched at the sudden biting tone he used, the room fell silent as each thought about what task they had been left.

          “Ok, enough.” Maylin said standing up, brushing off some dirt, “Get some rest tonight. The real training starts tomorrow.”

          They groaned at the thought of more training as they stood up, their muscles stiff from sitting for a long period of time. Maylin laughed at their discomfort.

          “Get cleaned up and something to eat.” Maylin said as she shooed them out of the room, “Then it’s off to bed for all of you.

          “Yes mom.” Jacob mumbled under his breath as he passed her. He then ducked to avoid her hand as she playfully swiped at his head. They left the room with a little bit of cheer, the earlier mood broken by their joking. Will hung back for a moment as the others went to the shower room. He stilled when he heard voices arguing behind him softly. Junta and Maylin were arguing about something.

          “…Tell them!” Maylin hissed, “They have the right to know!”

          “And I have the right to keep the past in the past!” Junta bit out equally soft, “The past is gone, nothing can change that. I’m here now, what more do you want?!”

          “The truth! They have the right to know who they are fighting beside!”

          “I thought you trusted me.” Junta’s voice carried a distinct air of hurt.

          “I do! But you need to tell them before something or someone let’s slip about your past. If that happens and you haven’t told them, they’ll lose all trust they had in you.”

          “That’s fine, I’m used to fighting alone! I don’t need their help!”

          “But the need yours.”

          The only sound Will heard was the sounds of footsteps as Junta angrily left the room. Maylin sighed, “You’re not alone now.”

          Will hurried to the shower room before he got caught eavesdropping. All though the rest of the night he couldn’t get their words out of his head, and kept throwing glances at Junta as they ate their meal. That night as the all climbed into bed, Will’s mind kept going over the words long after the others fell asleep, sighing he rolled over and tried to force himself to sleep. Soon his breathing evened out as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

 

6: Lessons

Pt6 Lessons

          The next morning, everyone was jarred out of their dreamless sleep with loud clanging and banging sounds coming from the common room. They all looked around blearily, eyes drooping shut with sleep.

Glancing down at his watch, Will cries out in, “It’s too damn early! Not even 5 o’clock!”

“What?” Abe shot up in his bed, before falling back over groaning as he covers his eyes with his arm, “Man… why did we get mixed up in this again?”

“Curiosity,” Chester mumbled under his breath, looking down. Will glanced at him, having heard what Chester said. Chester just shook his head, before climbing out of bed and pulling the covers back up.

“Waht are ya doin’ man?” Jacob murmured out from underneath his covers.

“Going out to see what’s going on.” Chester paused at the door way, “Unless you want to go do that?”

“Noooo…” Jacob moaned, turning over in his bed, pulling the covers even higher as he burrowed even further in the bed. Chester just shook his head before opening the door and slipping out. The others lay back in their beds, hoping that the commotion in the outer room would cease, and they could get back to sleep. But the noise, if anything just got louder. Fighting back a moan, Will threw off the covers and stocked out of the room to see if there was any way to get the sounds to stop.

“Good to see you awake,” Junta said, grinning evilly, “You’re wasting your own time! Get the others up and out here! The Girls are out here already.”

Will just stares dumbly at him, sleep still dragging at his mind, slowing down his understanding of what was happening. “But… it’s not even 5 in the morning!”

“Yeah, and?” Junta’s tone held a ‘well duh!’ in the words, “I’ve been up since about 3 this morning, doing my own training! Now go get them up and out here!”

Will went back to the sleeping area, where Jacob and Abe sat waiting.

“Time to get up.” Will muttered, “They want to start soon from the sounds of it.”

Jacob and Abe moaned, before slowly peeling back the covers and sliding out of bed. Will stood by the door waiting for them to get out.

“Man what time is it actually?” Jacob asked rubbing his eyes as he walked to Will.

“You are better off not knowing.”

“That early? Man, this was why I was never planning on signing up for the army…” Jacob muttered as he walked out into the common room, Abe following just a few steps behind him. Will took one last longing glance at his rumpled bed before walking out of the room, closing the door with a soft click.

“Now that you’re all here, we’re going to start with a small warm-up.” Junta’s evil/crazed smile seemed to widen as they all moaned. They remembered from yesterday that what he thought of as small and what everyone else thought of were two completely, and sometimes infinitely, different things. “30 laps around the training yard, then pair up for stretches. Wouldn’t want you to be stiff”

They set off around the beaten earth, fighting back snarky comments about what Junta could do with his fake concern. Yesterday they had also learned to keep their sarcasm to themselves. Their two new task masters had ears like hawks, they could hear anything and everything it seemed. It took them about an hour to finish the laps, and they came back inside to the indoor training room to start stretching.

Junta had standing on one of the patios watching over their laps as he worked with his daggers, they were small works of art. The blades were a tempered metal alloy that seemed to capture waves as the broke on cliffs, the cross guards were an absolute black, with glowing green script looping across it. He tucked the daggers back into their sheaths, before ducking inside.

Maylin and Junta walked into the room as they finished their stretching, Maylin approached them, “You guys are going to really get the brunt of the work today.”

Junta stepped up now, “You’re going to be split between the magical and the physical defenses. Will, Chester you guys are with me. Everyone else, you’re with Maylin. Do what we say and you’re less likely to get killed. Got it?”

They nod silently, not really wanting to say anything. Junta grunted before gesturing for Will and Chester to follow him. The others gave them sympathetic looks as they got up to follow Junta. They walked through the winding halls of the training center, Will felt like he was almost running as he tried to keep up with Junta’s fast pace. There were so many branching paths, veering off of the path that they were on that if he lost sight of Junta he could easily get lost.

Finally they stopped in front of one of the doors. The door was a deep red, almost black, with symbols carved in the wooden frame. Junta turned to face them, arms crossed in front of him as he glared at the two of them.

“If I find out that you’ve been doing magic outside of this room, without me or Maylin watching over you, then you’re in for Hell.”

Will swallowed, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as Junta pulled out a key from under his shirt. Pressing the key to the lock, Junta whispers something to the handle causing it to glow a pale red color. Pushing the door back he stepped aside, letting Will and Chester to enter before him. Will stepped inside the room, pausing to look around the darkened room.

The walls were bear, blank spaces, painted a deep burgundy. The floor was covered in patches and pieces of carpet, every color imaginable. There were no windows and carved around the inside of the door frame were the same symbols as on the outside of the door only these were also painted, an off white color. Junta stepped inside and closed the door behind him, causing the frame to flare up brightly, throwing their shadows across the room. After the blinding light faded out, the room brightened to a normal-ish setting.

In the very center of the room rose a small circular table like thing. Junta sat down beside it and motioned for them to sit beside the table as well.

“Here is where you’ll learn control.” Junta pulled a few small things out of his pack and placed them on the table in two piles. “You have to be able to clear your mind, to use your magic. All emotions must be controlled, don’t let them control the magic. Yes sometimes the emotions will help you to force great things form your magic, but it you let it take hold and control you then your magic can turn against you.”

“But…” Chester held his hand up, “Are there limitations? Because this is sounding like… well ultimate power.”

“Yes,” Junta nodded his head, sounding slightly impressed by Chester’s understanding of magic. “There are limitations to what you can do. You have to learn your limits, each magician has their own barriers to overcome. Seeing as the two of you are just starting, you’re going to have power limits to start with. The more you work with your magic the more you’ll be able to do in the long run.”

Will glanced at the table, the two piles held very different things, one of them had paper, a feather, and a rock. The other had a chunk of unworked metal, leather, and wood. “What are those two piles about?”

Junta looked at the piles on the table, “Your first test.”

“What?” Will cried out, “You expect us to be able to do things with something we haven’t had for two days yet? We have no idea what we’re doing, how can you expect us to be able to do anything?”

“Magic is the art of doing.” Junta said coldly, “You learn by doing. I can’t give you lessons you learn by experiencing it.”

Pointing at the two piles Junta said, “The point of this exercise is to use your magic to make something out of these piles. I won’t tell you which one is yours, your magic will work one that you are to use.”

“Um…” Chester hesitantly looked at Junta, “I know you said you have to experience it, but can you help us get started at least?”

Junta nodded, “Close your eyes and empty your mind, you’ll know what to do when you find it.”

Sighing harshly, Will closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath he let it out slowly, trying to empty his mind like Junta wanted them to do. Slowly he repeated the process, feeling his mind actually going blank.

At the edge of his mind there was this node, this barrier like bump. In his mind’s eye the little bump seemed to glow and pulse with a golden light. He ‘reached’ for the golden globe, touching the edge, Will felt a surge of power as the bump recoiled from him. He gasped, the surge of power knocking him out of his mind. He opened his eyes and saw that Junta was watching him with a knowing look.

“What are you waiting for?” Junta snapped at him, “Get back to the task!”

Sighing Will closed his eyes and repeated the process of clearing his mind, and found the node of power in his mind. This time he was slower in reaching out to the spot. The power still recoiled away from his seeking hand, but this time the shielding started to bend eventually making a whole his hand could reach through and grasped the power. Coaxing a small tether of rope out of the bundle he marveled at the power that even the small rope held. He held it for a moment longer, looking at pulsing light before letting it go. The power surged through him and then out of him. The magic flowed out of him and into the room, wrapping around something for a moment transferring power to the objects before coiling back in on its self and nestling back in the node.

Opening his eyes, Will noticed that the table now no longer held to piles of things but now had a miniature eagle and a knife with swirling engraving on its blade. His eyes were captured by the knife, the blade catching light in sparkling waves. Blinking he shook himself out of the mesmerizing magic of the blade, beside him Chester was petting the paper bird. Will was surprised to see it move, the birds head was rubbing up against the palm of his friends hand.

Chester chuckled at his friends face, “Hey, it’s magic, remember?”

Will laughed slightly, before turning back to the knife that lay on the table. He picked up the knife, closely examining the blade. There were pale yellow waves running along the entire length of the blade, and at one end there was a pale golden star outlined in a stronger gold.

Junta cleared his throat, “These are your weapons. Often the first work of magic is thing that will be with you for as long as you live.”

“But what if we lose it or it gets stolen?” Chester asked as the bird hopped on to his shoulder.

“You can’t,” Junta shrugged, his tone empty, “There’s just some kind of connection between you and your first piece of magic. It’ll always find a way back to you as long as you live.”

“So it has an automatic homing device.” Will murmured.

“Yes.” Junta looked at him, “But first you have to name them.”

“Um…” Chester scratched at the chin of his bird as it roosted on his shoulder. “I think, maybe, she is Elchan…”

The bird on his shoulder chirped loudly as it, she, flapped her wings widely. Will looked down at his knife, trying to think of name that fit it. Luminous Star a voice in his head seemed to whisper to him.

“…Luminous Star..” Will heard himself whisper under his breath. The knife suddenly held a brilliant golden light originating from the star at the cross guard.

“Well there you go.” Junta said clasping his hands in front of himself. “Now we’re going to spend the rest of the day working on transferring them from their battle forms to their more… inconspicuous forms.”

 

7: Can we go back to School?

Pt7 Can we go to school?

          The rest of the day was spent in that room for Will and Chester. At lunch time Junta had food brought to them. Will was able to reduce his dagger to the size of an emblem on a necklace and expand it to about one and a half feet long. Chester was able to use his magic to turn Elchan into a real eagle, but about the size of a small SUV, but she never changed to anything smaller than the animated paper form from the start.

          The hours grew late, the sun had long since fallen below the horizon, before Will and Chester were finally let out of the locked room. They walked back to the common room, trying to not get lost in all the twists and turns in the halls.

          “I didn’t realize your back yard was quite so big.” Chester mumbled as they walked past yet another branching passage, “I mean, how can something this large fit in your yard. It’s what, about maybe 30 feet or so, right?”

          Will nodded in agreement, and Chester continued, “I know that we’ve gone in one direction for long enough that we’ve gone over 30 feet. I mean, what’s messed up with this place?”

          “It’s magic, ‘member?” Will said, shrugging, exhaustion dragging at his shoulder. They kept walking in silence for a while, before they finally reached the common room. The others already sat around the table talking quietly, they seemed fine.

          “‘bout time you guys showed up,” Abe got up and pulled them over to the table. Then he set some plates in front of them. “Eat, then we’ll talk.”

          Too tired to complain, Will just grabbed the first thing from his plate and shoved it into his mouth. For a moment the room was quiet as he and Chester ate their food.

          “So… how’d training go for you?” Will asked, slightly revived by the food.

          Jacob groaned, “God, Maylin put us through the most torturous training regime ever known to man! All these punches, kicks, and tosses I swear that I’m becoming more bruised than human!”

          “Don’t forget the ‘practice course’,” Amy said wearily. “I don’t think that I can stand this for long amounts of time. I never thought that I would be saying this, but I can’t wait for school tomorrow.”

          “I know what you mean,” Chester said, jumping into the conversation. “At least at school they give us breaks, not to mention they aren’t teaching us combat survival.”

          They all fell into silence for a while, each one thinking about just how much they’ve changed in just two days. Maylin and Junta walk into the room, Junta with his hands on his hips Maylin walked over to the fire place on the ground floor.

          “Junta and I have talked with each other,” Maylin said softly, watching the flames. “You guys can go to school. We feel that, barring special circumstances, that you should be safe going to school. You have the rest of the night off, get your things together so that you are ready for school in the morning.”

          “But that doesn’t mean that you’ll get off from training,” Junta cut in, “Come back here after school every day for training. Got it?”

          They all nodded silently, Junta glared at each of them, before turning sharply and walking out the door. Will felt himself slump back down after he left.

          “What’s his problem?” Clare asked harshly, glaring at the door Junta left through.

          “You’ll have to excuse him.” They all jumped, forgetting that Maylin was still in the room, “He’s been through some harsh things.”

          “That doesn’t mean that he should take it out on us!” Clare protested.

          Maylin laughed, “Trust me, if he was taking it out on you guys, you wouldn’t be around anymore to complain about it.”

          Clare huffed, before leaving the room. Heading toward the dorm rooms they had slept in the night before. The others slowly drifted to the dorm, until it was just Will and Maylin left. Will turns to Maylin, “What’s happened to Junta?”

          Maylin looks at the fire again, the flames casting shadows on her face making her look a thousand years old before sighing, “So much, I can’t even begin to tell you, because even I don’t know all of it.”

          “But can’t you tell me anything?” Will persisted.

          “No,” Maylin said softly, still not looking at him, “It’s not my story to tell, if you want to know, you’ll have to ask him yourself.” She shakes herself, before looking at him and giving him a small smile, “But for now off to bed with you!”

          Will bid Maylin a good night, before quietly entering into the dorm room. Scattered around the room his friends were sprawled on the ground, sound asleep. Shaking his head, Will climes into his own bed pulling the covers up. Slowly he fell asleep, dreaming about falling stars and flying eagles.

 

          They were walking to school, talking about random things. None of them really wanted to think about what was happening in Will’s back yard. They joked around, finally stopping at one of the street corners, not far from Will’s house.

          “Guys, ready for school?” Amy asked, as they paused at the corner.

          “Yes!” Chester cried out, “Normal people doing normal things! I’ve been wanting this since the weekend started!”

          “Well, it looks like you won’t be getting that wish as soon as you would hope it to be…” A voice sounded from their left, they turn to face it. Something was standing in the shadows by the house. The air seemed to shake with power.

          Will turned to the others, “Chester, Amy, I think that you need to go back to base and get Maylin and Junta.”

          The two nod before running off.

          “Where are those two going?” The creature asked. It started lumbering toward them, as it tried to follow Chester and Amy. Will’s friends that remained, lined up blocking the path of the creature. “Who are you to stand in my way?!”

          “We won’t let you go anywhere.” Will said, trying to be confident. He reached in trying to pull his magic. The others grabbed their weapons holding them in front of themselves, still standing in the way of the beast.

          “Hahahaha!” The beast’s shoulders started to shake from laughter, bending over as it tried to pull itself back together, “And who are you to stop me?”

          A wave of power crashed into them, throwing them back and bouncing over the ground. Jacob, Abe, and Clare were knocked back over ten feet, skidding across the ground their weapons went flying from their hands. Will somehow didn’t go further than three feet, there was a golden glow surrounding him, he was still standing. Looking over at his friends he felt relief fly through him when he saw they were still breathing.      

           Will didn’t know what to do, the others had been knocked out, Amy and Chester had been sent back to base to get Junta and Maylin. Will was alone, standing beside the unconscious bodies of his friend. A shadowy creature, made solely out of blackened cloud approached him and his fallen friend. In one hand the thing held a fiery ball, wreathed in deep violet flames, the other hand was metal claws over its hand. The points gleamed, sharpened to long deadly tips.

          “Poor little lamb,” the thing’s voice was deep and his words were slightly garbled, “All by yourself… where did your friends go? Hmmm, after I’ve finished you I’ll have to find them. Can’t have any leftovers, causing trouble for the Lord.”

          “You have to get through me first!” Will focused his magic, enlarging Luminous Star to its largest form. His hands started to glow a bright golden color, as they held the blade in front of him, the tip was shaking slightly even as he tried to show no fear.

          “Ha! And you think a little lamb like you can stop me?” The beast roared with laughter, “The knights of old could barely trap me, and even then it cost them almost five score of their greatest warriors! A puny little thing like you could not even land a single blow on me! You are nothing!”

          “I may seem like nothing to you,” Will said, proud of himself for making his voice not shake at all, “But I have my own reasons for fighting.”

          “Oh, really? Will they keep you alive?” the creature stepped closer, “Will ideals and words keep you alive?”

          “I don’t know, they seem to be doing a good job so far,” Will muttered under his breath, as the creature continued.

          “Years ago, I came across someone like you. Someone with ideals, with ‘reasons’. He stood in my path just like you do now, trying to stop me from going forward. All his flowery words and speeches didn’t stop me. His ideals and reasons never hindered me from stepping forward. He was in the exact same position as you, trying to protect his friends. We battled, he kept dodging and flitting in and out.”

“But I still slipped through his defenses and grabbed the body of one of his friend, she was a pretty little thing.” The beast paused as though savoring the memory. “The man stopped cold, glaring at me as though I’d frozen him. And you know what I did from there? I placed my hand against her throat, my claw crossing her slim neck like this,” He paused for a moment giving a visual to Will, “and then I slit her throat, the little girl was slowly covered in blood, and the best thing about it all was the little smile now carved in her body. It was a beautiful sight.”

The creature paused again, a feral smile stretching across his lips. “Oh, that man was frozen watching that little girl bleed. I threw aside the girl and walked towards him like this.”

The creature started to creep closer to Will, who was so enthralled with the words of the creature to hardly notice the danger he was in. “And I extended my hand grabbing at his throat,” the beast roughly lifted Will up. Will dropped his blade, his hands scrabbling at the metal hand wrapped around his throat. “I started to slowly squeeze, and he reacted the same way you are.

“Did you know how similar you are to him?” The beast lowered his voice, talking to himself, “No, I don’t suppose you do… maybe I’ll keep you, to remind me of him. His fear was so intoxicating, but no I can’t, Lord wouldn’t allow it.”

The beast raised his voice, as he looked maliciously into Will’s eyes, “But I can kill you. Ah, how much fun that would be-”

“You didn’t kill me then, you won’t kill him now.” A voice from behind the creature said. The beast turned, Will still in his tight grasp. Junta stood alone, his pair of daggers held tightly in his grasp, the air around his body seemed to shimmer with a bloody red haze.

The beast laughed, extinguishing the flame in his other hand. He used that hand to hold Will tightly to his chest, the metal claw pressed tightly against his throat. “You’re still alive, hmmm? Truly amazing. I never thought we’d be back in this situation again. Granted this time it’s not a girl, and times really have changed, but it is almost exactly the same. Will you be able to change the results this time?”

“You forget one thing.” Junta said, crouching low to the ground.

“Hmm, and what’s that?”

“This time I’m not alone.” Junta charged at the beast. The beast laughed at the seemingly futile attempt to attack him, but quickly it turned to a roar of pain as an arrow pierced its shoulder.

“You won’t win this one!” The beast roared, its hand started to glow ominously. Will felt pain ripple through him, heat rising from the hand around his middle quickly spread to his entire torso. The smell of burnt flesh met his nose, smoke rising getting in to his eyes.

The pain in his body slowly coiled around his chest, expanding. The ripples were washing the pain all through his body. Will could hardly notice anything but the burning pain. Dimly he heard screaming from somewhere, but he couldn’t say where for sure. All he knew was the burning pain. His vision was blackening, nothing he saw was making since to him. There was red, a flaming wall of red all around him, shadows move erratically as they encircled him. Suddenly there was a violet streak directly in front of him. And it was coming closer and closer. The violet flames wrapped themselves around his neck. There was a cool metallic thing slashing across his neck and then the violet flame was gone.

The red flames were dying out, they didn’t just disappear, but were slowly fading out. Will realized that maybe it was his vision that was failing, not the flames. Blackness rushed in and covered him forcing him into a deep pit. The pain from his body was fading, but so was everything else.

 

8: What's happening now?

Pt8 What’s happening now?

Will felt like he was floating, there was a dull blackness surrounding him. What happened? Will just was… floating.  Thinking back he remembered something about going to school, but after that… nothing. He remembered feeling… something? But what was it? A warm feeling flooded through him, a wave a calm followed. But there was something else, there was this ache in his neck. But what caused it?

Thinking as hard as he could, Will tried to remember what happened after they started walking to school. He remembered that he was with his friends, they stopped at a street corner and… something spoke to them. After that… there was pain, something burning around his chest. His throat felt odd, scratchy-ish, but also heavy like something weighed down on it.

The blackness started to turn a redish-orangeish color, his eyes felt sticky like they had been glued together. Sharper stabs of pain made themselves known, sparking up his spin. They seemed to center around his middle chest and across his throat. Sounds started penetrating the thick fog around him. Sounds of stools moving around, soft murmurs of voices too far away to be understood, someone much closer breathing.

 Will groans, fighting to open his eyes, the sounds in the room stopped. Finally he was able to crack his eyes open. The room was white, spotless white, there were shadows in his vision shadows shaped like people. Stiffly he reached a hand to his eyes trying to rub the blurriness out of them.

“Will? Will can you hear me?” A voice called softly, penetrating the fuzz in his ears. Will moaned, looking over at the black outline standing beside him. “Will, try not to move too much, ‘Kay? I need to know what’s the last thing you can remember, do you think you can do that?”

“We w-were wa-walking to s-s-school, a-and we s-s-stopped f-for some r-reason.” Will coughed harshly, his throat soar and dry feeling. Someone propped him up, placing the lip of a cup against his own allowing him to get something to drink. When the cup was pulled away he continued, his voice sounding slightly better, “Some…Thing?... spoke to us, and then… there was burning. And my throat! Something happened didn’t it? Why can’t I remember?”

He looked at the person beside him, finally able to get a clear view of them, Chester sighed, “The reason that you can’t remember is because you almost died. Junta says it’s part of your body’s response to traumatic events. There’s a chance you will remember but at the same time, he said you may never be able to remember any of it.”

Chester turned to leave, Will lunged forward and latched on to his sleeve, “What about everyone else? Is everyone else ok? Please, what happened?!”

Before Chester could answer, the door to the healing wing was thrown open and Junta strode in, dressed in his usual black attire. He came over to Will’s bed and looked down at him. Junta sighed as he ran a hand through his unusually messy hair.

“Will, calm down.” Junta said crossly, “Everyone’s fine, you were the only one to get hurt. If you don’t calm down though, the healing won’t stick and you’ll be stuck here longer than you’re willing to be confined to bed rest. Or I guess that we could have Chester put you back under again…”

“I think that you ought to leave before you upset him.” Chester said, almost growling at Junta. Will stared at Chester for a moment. Never had he seen his friend actually stand up to someone like that before, let alone someone like Junta.

Junta looked at Chester for a moment too, as though to see if he would back down. But Chester just stood there, arms crossed and back straight. Junta glanced down at Will and huffed slightly before turning to go, as he reached the door he looked over his shoulder at them, “I just figured that someone should be telling things to him faster than what you would.”

Then he was gone, the door sliding shut behind him. Chester slouched after a moment, all the tension draining from him. Sitting back on the stool beside Will’s bed, Chester raised a shaky hand to his face running it over his eyes.

“Ches, are you ok?” Will asked softly, concern filling him as he looked at his friend.

“Yeah… yeah, it’s just…” Chester shuddered violently as he took a deep breath trying to calm himself, “There was just so… so much blood…” He shudders again as the memory washed over him, “And you weren’t moving, none of you were. God, Amy almost broke down and started crying.”

There were tears gathering in Chester’s eyes threatening to fall any moment. Will was silent, not really sure how to approach this. After a moment Will reached out and placed a hand over Chester’s.

“It’s ok,” Will said, slightly uncomfortable, “I’m still here and I’m sure the others are just fine too.” He paused, brow creasing for a moment, “Did any of us make it to school at all today?”

Chester wiped the water from his eyes before it had a chance to fall down his face. “Did I just hear right? The student push-over asking if anyone made it to school?! I think if any of your teachers heard you, they’d fall over in shock! Why, I think that history has just been made! Will Dawnson just asked about going to school instead of skipping it!”

Will growled playfully at his friend, swiping at his arm, “Shut it! After this weekend I think I would be up for anything as boring as school! Figured the others would like that too.”

Chester shook his head, laughing slightly to himself, “Do you really think that anyone could stand sitting through classes at school when one of your friends could be fighting for their lives at the moment?”

Will paused, before shaking his head, “I guess when you put it that way, I wouldn’t be able to focus in class either. I assume they’re somewhere around here?”

“Yeah, they had been in here for a while not leaving your side until Junta and Maylin forced them out of here.” Chester paused for a moment, “I think most of them would be in the dorm, sleeping off the after effects of being thrown around like rag dolls.”

“How… how long have I been out?” Will asked hesitant of the answer.

Chester sighed, running his fingers through his curly hair. He looked down, shadows seemed to spring up on his face out of nowhere. “It’s been a while, almost a full day…”

Will froze, “Th-that long?”

“Yeah… your injuries were a lot harder to heal than expected.” Chester said staring at his hands, “…and… even with the healing, the wounds are still going to scar. Will, I’m sorry! The cuts were deep and the burns were really really bad! I had to split my focus and magic between the two areas so I couldn’t fix them so the skin would be smooth. God, Will it was touch and go for a while! You were pale as a sheet, laying there on the bed not moving hardly breathing.”

Will silently stared at his hands, they looked a healthy pink to him. He could hardly believe that just hours ago he had probably been fighting for his life one way or another. Fear raced through him at the thought of being helpless, being unable to have a say in what happened to him. The feeling scared him, badly.

‘I have to get stronger’ Will thought clinching his fists tightly, still looking at the sheets covering his lap, ‘I don’t want to go through this ever again, don’t want them to go through this. I have to get stronger!’

The door to the healing wing slammed open for the second time that day, Chester was almost glaring at the door before seeing that it wasn’t Junta who came tumbling in. Abe, Clare, Amy and Jacob were tripping over themselves as they all tried to come through the door at the same time. Collapsing in a pile of limbs just inside the door way, Will laughed slightly before wincing as his wounds made themselves known. Amy was the first to get to him after untangling herself from the pile on the floor.

“Will!” She cried, tears literally almost falling from her eyes, “You’re awake!”

“Yeah, I kinda figured it out…” Will said a smile splitting his face.

“Man, you have no idea how much worry you’ve put us all through the past 24 hours!” Abe walked up and patted his shoulder lightly.

“Yeah, I don’t think that Chester has slept a moment in over, like, 30 hours.” Jacob strode over, standing a small distance from the edge of the bed. Clare walked up and stayed a little ways off not saying a word.

“Do I dare ask how you found out Will was a wake?” Chester’s dry drawl caused them all to look behind them. Chester stood with his arms crossed over his chest, the tapping of his foot on the ground was slowly increasing. Every line of his body held the stereotypical healers irateness of one whose domain had been invaded by blundering dunderheads.

Jacob scratched the back of his head hardly daring to look Chester in the eye, “Well… we may have, kinda, overheard Junta grumbling/talking with Maylin that Will was awake, you know, just being good friends and all we decided to come see for ourselves to see if he had been right…hehe-he…”

Jacob tried to smile innocently as Chester continued to glare at them all. Chester glared silently at them all, slowly walking up to Jacob as he unfolded his arms ad placed his hands on his hips.

“If you think that you can come in here and do whatever the hell you want, you had better get out of here right now,” Chester threatened lowly, “You have to keep the noise to a minimum and let him rest when you see he needs to rest. Also you have to do what I say when I say. If you can’t do that much then I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask you to leave right now.”

Jacob stared in shock at his friend, one who usually the quietest one of their group standing up to one who was one of if not the most out spoken member. Will stifled a giggle as the look Jacob’s face. The others of the group didn’t even try to save their friend the embarrassment openly laughing at their friend’s expense.

“Kay, I think we, I, can do that.” Jacob said, letting a small smirk form on his lips. Chester also smiled slightly letting his posture relax a hair as he moved some of the stools over so they could sit as they talked.

Soon everyone had taken a seat around Will’s bed, for a while they sat there quietly content with just being around each other and that everyone was still alive.

“So, how’s everything going?” Will asked softly.

“Oh, so-so.” Abe said gesturing with his hand. “Just dealin’ with homicidal maniacs that are attackin’ me and my friends’ man. So not much really.”

“Yeah… I can see that.” Will said slowly fighting a smile. “But really, how are you guys doing?”

“Could be better.” Clare whispered as she looked at her hands.

“I can see that. I think we all could be better.” Will felt guilt rise up in him. He tried to ignore it but when he look at his friends it just kept rising.

“But at least we’re getting out of having to do any school work at the moment.” Jacob said a smile crossing his face.

“Yeah, the teachers are getting a break too.” Abe said as he high fived Jacob, the two of them sharing grins that held a secret.

“What did the two of you do?” Amy asked sounding exasperated. “Can’t you guys give the teachers a break? I wouldn’t be surprised if our school has the highest rate of teachers leaving since the two of you found each other.”

“Well…” Abe trailed off at the look in Amy’s eyes, ducking behind Jacob, “It was all his idea!”

“Wow, way to support each other,” Jacob said sounding slightly cross before seeing the glare Amy sent him. He turned to Abe and the two had a silent conversation before nodding and turning to face the rest of them. Clearing his throat Jacob stood to address the rest of them grabbing the front of his jacket acting like he were some kind of lawyer, “Me and my associate have decided to, err, retire from this gathering for our own personal health. It was fun but now we must go!”

“It’s almost a shame,” Chester said laughing as the two made a quick escape, “Those two would have been better off in theater.”

“Yeah, but think about how much more trouble they would have gotten in to!” Amy cried out. “Those two have had their hand in nearly every little thing that has happened I our school! Remember when the principle had to take a short ‘vacation’? Or when the cafeteria ‘mysteriously’ lost all their spoons? How about the time when-”

“Ok, ok! We got the idea!” Clare said laughing, “If you try to name them all we’d be here all night!”

The rest of their visit was spent talking about some of the two jokers more memorable moments at school. Soon the hours grew late, Chester shoed them out of the wing saying that they all needed their sleep. Chester whipped around the room cleaning it up and clearing the spaces around the beds that the others had used for resting areas while they had waited for Will to wake up.

“I’m going to actually get some sleep, though if you need something don’t be afraid to call.” Chester said, standing next to the door leaning against the frame, tiredly rubbing his eyes, “Maylin or Junta will be in and out of here through the night, checking in on you seeing if you need anything. Stay in that bed or else.”

With that Chester left the room turning the lights down low so Will could sleep easier. Silence filled the room as Will’s thoughts came to the fore front of his mind. That beast was able to defeat them all so easily, if Junta and Maylin hadn’t gotten there when they did Will knew that he and his friends would all have died. That beast had taken them all out so fast. So easily.

The door to the wing slid open and a dark shadow crept in. Will, caught up as he was in his thoughts as he was, didn’t notice. The shadow kept to the walls slowly making its way to Will’s bed. A hand rested on Will’s shoulder causing him to jump, startled by the action.

“You think too much.” Junta’s voice reached Will’s ear. “You need all the rest you can get if you want to be able to defeat the Gaultra.”

“The what?” Will asked turning to look at Junta in the dim light.

“The Gaultra. The thing that you met yesterday.” Junta sighed, “I know from experience, that’s one tough opponent.”

Will suddenly had a memory that filled his head. “You didn’t kill me then, you won’t kill him now.” A voice from behind the creature said.

“That was you.” Will breathed out softly. “You were the one that the thing was speaking of, weren’t you?”

Junta sighed, shaking his head slightly, “Yes I was. That little girl he killed in front of me was my friend, one of my first companions. She had helped me through so much.”

“How did you get away from the Gaultra?” Will asked.

“I used a little bit of magic,” Junta said looking down, his eyes suddenly holding a deep well of emotion that usually he kept hidden inside of himself, locked somewhere deep inside, “Along with a bit of cunning planning.”

Will looked down at his hands mumbling, “Junta, can I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

“Can you help me?” Will finally pushed out, “Help me get stronger?”

“Why?” Junta asked, he didn’t look confused, rather he looked as though he were waiting for an answer.

“I want to become stronger…because I… I don’t want to be defeated so easily.” Will paused, “The Gaultra was able to take us out so easily… and would have killed us if you hadn’t gotten there when you did. I want to be able to protect my friends, so please help me become stronger!”

Will’s eyes burned with determination, Junta looked at Will for a long moment. “I’ll help you. But you need to heal up first.”

 

9: Back to training

 Pt.9 Back to training

Will spent the next few days laying in the bed, restless energy building up in him. Everyday someone would sit in the room with him, changing out at lunch. Finally after about four days, though to Will they felt like an eternity, he was allowed out of the bed. Walking on slightly unstable legs into the common room, Chester hovering behind him ready to catch him if he fell.

Sitting at the table with everyone else for breakfast was the best feeling he had had in the past few days. The others chattered about random things grabbing food from the platters that lined the table center. None of them had gone to school so far this week, all had come to a general consensus to delay going back until they’ve had more training.

Chester had been getting one-on-one sessions with Junta and was now sitting in on Abe, Jacob, Clare, and Amy’s training sessions with Maylin. He was practicing his magic by healing any accidental injuries they would get as well as getting in some practice with his other skills. Like shielding, invisibility, and what not.

As the others got up getting ready to start training, Will sat at the table slightly lost. The others would be working on group fighting while he just continued to rest and do nothing. It was starting to get to him, the whole doing nothing. Soon the table was cleared and the others were filing out of the room following Maylin out to the outdoor training yard.  Junta took a seat next to him.

“You said earlier that you want help, right?” Junta asked softly, “You asked me to help you, do you want to start now?”

“Can I?” Will turned to look at Junta, “Please… I can’t stand to feel like that ever again.”

“I know, trust me I know.” Junta muttered under his breath, almost unheard by Will. But then Junta stood up and gestured for Will to follow him, “We’re going to start with your magic, seeing as you’re still recovering slightly. After you are cleared for physical work outs, we’ll start your combat training.”

Junta briskly walked down the corridors, heading back to the training room that they had used before when they first started training. Will followed behind him, as they entered the room and they sat down in the center of the room.

“We’ll start with getting you better prepared for dealing with and identifying the creatures that you’ll face most likely at some point.” Junta said. He sat in front of Will cross legged and back straight. Will subconsciously imitated the position himself, Junta nodded with approval.

“Good, now I need you to clear your mind.” Junta said, his tone going flat. Will closed his eyes and began to try and follow the instructions that Junta was telling him, “You’re going to feel something brush up against your mind, don’t fight it it’s just me.”

Will’s mind goes blank for a moment and when he next opens his eyes he has no idea where he was. He was in a stone walled building, the floor was packed dirt and there was only one room. A hand rest on his shoulder, causing him to jump and turn around his hand flying to his side where his dagger was sheathed.

“Will, it’s just me.” Junta glanced down at him, an almost smirk caused his lips to twitch.

“Where are we?” Will asked as he forced his breathing back under control.

“We’re in my mind… or at least an interpretation of my mind.” Junta said looking around, his eyes seemed to soften slightly before he glanced back at Will. “Come on, let’s sit down and then we can talk.”

They walked over to one of the walls, it looked like seamless granite but then Junta pressed a barely noticeable crack in the wall. Suddenly there was a deep groaning sound suddenly there was a door outline as part of the wall moved back and slowly upward as a cloud of dust came rolling out. Junta stepped inside with Will following hesitantly behind. Inside the room was a slightly bigger room with a more homely feel to it. There was a woven carpet on the floor and muted hangings on the walls. A couple of handmade chairs were gathered around a small table next to a fire pit.

“So, what are we doing here?” Will asked as he slowly lowered himself down in one of the chairs.

“I will be teaching you, you will be learning from me.” Junta said sitting down after walking around the room a little. “First we’ll start with the Gaultra.”

Will shuddered at the reminder of the thing that almost killed him. Suddenly on the table an image of the Gaultra appeared floating in the air. Will almost knocked the chair over as he flew back from the table.

“Relax, it’s just a memory.” Junta said calmly. Will slowly came back to the table placing his hands together under the table. “As you can see and probably remember, the Gaultra is a formidable opponent. He has the ability to manipulate fire as well as slight immunity to burns. The beast is narcissistic, if he has the chance then he will do whatever he can to draw out the kill and regale you with his older kills. That’s something you can use against him. Physically, he is almost unbeatable never, I mean never, try to take him on your own. His body is practically armored by itself. Sharp teeth, long claws. If you can try to use long distance weapons against him, though you’ll probably have to have a target to distract him that is much closer.”

“I remember that he said something about fighting you before?” Will looked at Junta before quickly letting his eyes fall back to his lap.

Junta sighed running his fingers through his hair, “Yes, I’ve had to fight him before.”

“What happened?” Will asked slightly eagerly.

“… I…” Junta’s eyes suddenly seemed far away as they clouded over and held a blank quality to them. “I don’t know…”

“Please.” Will practically begged.

“Well… a company of men, me, and Justine where traveling from one place to another.” Junta started slowly.

Past

Junta stood at the top of a hill gazing out at the rolling hills and green country that lay sprawled in front of them holding the reigns of a horse’s bridal. Crouching down he grabbed some grass and then throws it in the wind. Standing up he sighs loudly as he runs a gloved hand over his face.

“What’s wrong now?” A voice echos in his ears as someone perches themselves on his shoulder.

“Justine, will you stop with that?” Junta sounded grumpy. He mounts his horse and nudges it in the direction of the wind carried grass.

“Junta! Come on, let me it!” Justine cried out as she jumped on her horse and rushed to his side, “You’ve hardly rested since the last mission, you hardly talk anymore.”

“I hardly talk to anyone.” Junta said shortly, “I’ve hardly talked to anyone ever.”

“You talked to me.”

“We’re on a mission, we don’t have time for this. I’m fine.” Junta said, turning his face away from Justine looking out over the distance.

“Please, Junta, let me it.” Justine reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, “I just want to help.”

“I told you, I’m fine. I don’t need any help.” Junta said harshly and spurred his horse to a gallop, racing away from both the conversation as well as the people.

The rest of the day was spent on the horses covering miles of ground. When they reached a small clearing at dusk they set up a small camp. The soldiers pitched their tents on the edges of the clearing while Junta and Justine set theirs next to each other. Junta was still avoiding talking to Justine. Every time she would start to approach him he would either deflect it or start talking with someone else.

That night the sky was clear and yet still dark. Junta paced the perimeter of the camp for hours nodding to the sentries as he passed them. Near the midnight hour when he finally was able to rest, laying his head on his bed roll he sighed watching the shadows dance on the walls of his tent. The flap to his tent opened and Justine ducked in.

“Justine, what are you doing here?” Junta hissed out, “You should be sleeping!”

“As should you.” Justine sat down beside him, “Junta, did you think that it wouldn’t be noticed? You spend every day straying further from everyone, you spend most of the night pacing, you barely eat anymore, your scaring me.”

“Justine-”

“No, just listen for once! It’s not just me, everyone is worried. Please just talk to me, to someone, anyone!” Justine begged. “I know that the last mission was hard on you, it was hard on everyone. We all lose people, we’ve all lost someone to Him. That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. We have to stop Him.”

“But you weren’t there,” Junta said, almost as though he were pleading, “You haven’t seen what he does the way that I have.”

“We may not have,” Justine sighed, “But we’ve seen the results.”

“Justine, you just don’t understand!” Junta stood up and started pacing as he ran his hands through his hair, “It’s… there… god! What He does-”

“Is not something you’re to blame for.” Justine grabbed his arm and forced him to sit. Junta curled up as tears started to well up in his eyes. “You need to sleep.”

“I-I don’t know if I can…” Junta whispered, his head still tucked in his little ball.

“I know, honey, I know.” Justine said softly, making soothing circles on his back, “I’ll be here for you. Just try.”

The rest of the night was spent with him curled up at her side.

Time skip

A few days later the company reached a bridge, the river below rushed over the stones. The sky was slightly over cast and the air had a distinct bite to it. Junta sheltered his eyes from the sun and wind as he looked over the empty plane before them. There air was empty, no birds had taken flight. His horse sidestepped nervously as though imitating the rider.

“Junta, what is it?” Justine rode up beside him.

“I don’t know yet…” Junta said slowly, “But there’s something wrong, I just can’t put my finger on it yet.”

“Wha-”

A wave of energy rolled out from nowhere knocking them off their horses, Justine flew back hitting her head on a small stone protruding from the ground a few yards back. The men were scattered in small heaps around the road. Junta threw his arm up and was cocooned in a glowing red energy.

Standing up shakily, Junta looked around blearily. A dark figure stood at the lip of the bridge, the outline was huge and seemed beast like. The figure lumbered forward slowly approaching him crouching down as though checking him out. It suddenly straightened up and leaned back.

“Well, well, well… what do we have here?” The beast’s tone held a jovial quality, the dog like head moving up and down as he looked at Junta, “Hehehe… a fighter! It’s so hard finding ones like you. But then again you had no choice, didn’t you?”

Junta looked at him startled, wrapping his hand around the hilts of his daggers.

“You weren’t the only one… I bet He never told you about me.” The beast took a step toward him. “But, I guess, He was right not to trust you…”

Tightening the grasp he had on the daggers, Junta started to pull out them out of their sheathes. But the figure gestured with his clawed hands, as though to calm him down.

“Whoa, slow down there boy, how about some introductions before we go at it.” The beast shuffled forward again, Junta stepped back trying to keep the distance the same. “I’m not one for names really… but if you talk with others they’ll call me a Gaultra… and I’ll be the last thing you’ll see before you die.”

“Good luck with that.” Junta said drawing his daggers, the blades starting to glow a bloody red and seemed to drip on the ground. “Quite a few have tried, but as you can see none succeeded.”

“I like that attitude.” The Gaultra growled, lowering itself to all fours. “But I think this one will be different from other encounters.”

The beast charged at Junta, leaping at him with its deadly claws extended. Ducking out of the way, Junta slashed at the belly sending it crashing in to a tree head first. Snarling the Gaultra whorled to face him, a purple glow encasing its claws.

“You won’t get out of here alive.” The Gaultra snarled, slashing at Junta.

Junta smirked darkly, “I don’t think you have much say in that.”

A blood-red aura surrounded him as his moves came faster and faster. The two of them became a blur, red and purple streaks filled the air moving around the clearing. The two broke apart breathing heavily, Junta wiped sweat from his fore head. A dark chuckle filled the air as Junta glanced up quickly. Suddenly every muscle in his body froze.

“Did you think nothing could happen to them?” The Gaultra asked, a sneer contorting its face. It held the limp body of Justine in front of him, a wickedly sharp claw resting just above her collar bone nicking the skin. The Gaultra nuzzled her hair while looking at Junta enjoying the fear that manifested in his eyes. “Now, what to do now…”

Junta didn’t move as the Gaultra stepped toward him, his eyes riveted on Justine. His jaw clinched and the rest of his muscles tensed. The Gaultra cocked its head to the side before tightening its grasp on Justine.

“Let her go.” Junta forced out, “She’s not part of this fight.”

“I don’t think so…” The Gaultra shifted its grip, “You see, I can’t let any of you get out. Especially not you, but the rest with you… well they became targets the moment they started this mission with you. So I guess it’s all your fault when they die.”

Junta twitched the Gaultra bared its teeth, “I wouldn’t move if you know what I mean.”

The beast started to pace in front of him, “You know I’ve always wondered why you did what you did. But now that I see this little tidbit I can understand slightly. Now I’m wondering what you’d do if you lost her.”

The beast stopped pacing and faced him, “I think I’ll find out.”

Before Junta could do anything the Gaultra tightened the grip on Justine and slit her throat. Her body slid to the ground after being let go by the beast, her breathing became ragged gasps as wet rattles rolled in her throat as she slowly suffocated on her own blood while at the same time her cloths soon turned a scarlet red from her life source quickly spilled out of her by her own heart. It laughed at the expression on Junta’s face, before he could react one of the clawed hands wrapped itself around his throat.

“I’ll be nice,” The Gaultra whispered in his ear, “I help you leave this world so you can be with her.”

The grip tightened around Junta’s throat slowly cutting off his air supply. Black fuzz began to invade his vision as his hands scrabbled against the grip trying to force it to let go of him. The beast’s laughter filled the air blocking out any other sound. Desperation filled his mind with panic, as conciseness faded from him red flooded his vision. A vicious roar filled the air. Junta felt his body go flying before his awareness faded and all conscious thought fled from him.

Present

Junta sighed, running a hand through his hair, “That’s the first encounter I had with the Gaultra, the only one I had until it came after you.”

“It seemed to know a lot about you.” Will stared at Junta for a moment, “Why did he know so much about you?”

“A good warrior knows everything they can about their enemy.” Junta said, he wouldn’t look Will in the eyes.

 Standing up Junta started pacing around the room before stopping by the fire pit resting on his arm as he leaned against the mantle. The fire cast a flickering shadow on him, to Will it seemed as though every line in his body was screaming exhaustion. The fire light created deeper shadows on Junta’s face making him look centuries older than his physical body.

Junta turned around leaning his back against the wall staring at the ground silently.

“Junta?” Will hesitantly spoke up.

“Hum?” Junta seemed to jump out of where ever he was in his mind. “Oh…I think that we’ve had enough for today.”

Junta closed his eyes, suddenly Will was sitting on the ground in the training room. Junta was already standing up and walking toward the door.

“Hey!” Will cried out as he scrambled to stand up. “Where are you going?”

“I told you, we’re done for today.” Junta said. He paused at the door looking down before opening it and starting to walk out.

“Will we continue this?” Will asked as he rushed trying to follow him.

“Maybe later.” Junta said and walked off down the hall, not looking back.

Will watched as he left, confused by the way he seemed to cut himself off after the conversation. Junta disappeared into the dark shadows of the halls.