Thread: A Word of Darkness

Good evening everyone. I am currently writing a book and thought I'd throw it out here to see if people like it. Now, I know it's poorly written here and there, and there are even some holes in the story. But I hope you get a good impression of it. This is also a little old versionthe previous version of the current to be precise of the story, but that's intended. Both so people don't copy it and call it their own story, but also because I don't have the current version from where I am now. So withouth further delay... Enjoy. PS Sorry the weird format. It's a book after all. A WORD OF DARKNESS A long time ago, in a small valley, a man came to twist his leg as he walked along the road in the valley. The man sat down and looked around. Guess it can't be helped. The man said and took off his knapsack. He brushed some dust off the top of it as he smiled satisfied around at the small spot he sat. He took a sword up from the knapsack. The sword was big and long, yet light and sharp. He smiled even more as he could see himself in the shine of the polished surface of the blade. He stood up and stroked the sword against his twisted limb and raised the sword into the air. I sacrifice my leg for new life! Said the man and stabbed the sword into a pedestal which out of nowhere had appeared beneath his bare feet. After stabbing the sword into the pedestal, the man felled backwards and died. Ten years later, a small village was built around the pedestal in the very same valley. It was a lovely and pretty village. Storia was its name. Fewer than one hundred lived there. But at the same day when just ten days had passed from the man's death, a Boy was born. The Boy was born one storm-full night with a purple gem in his right hand. Only the half of it was visible at the top of the boy's hand. Seiken was the given name to the boy. He didn't cry when he was born, he just peered around as the curious little boy he was. Twenty years passed... And Seiken had grown to be a handsome young man. He had made four friends in the small village. Lisa, Joe, Canslash and Yimbo. They were all good friends which used to hang out a lot of times. Storia had become a nice little place for people to live in peace. Most people used to work as farmers to make their living others tried themselves as fishermen in the small river which went past the side of the village. The village was made of straw-huts with the Pedestal with the sword in the middle. There was not much to do in the village, but practice with swords. Using magic was forbidden as they could kill themselves by only trying to perform a spell without something they called Siren's Triangle. The elders of the village had spoken of it as a lost artifact that grants the user the ability to clear hishers mind of anything but magic, making the user able of performing even the greatest kind of spells. When Seiken woke up this day, he came to remember it was his birthday. So he jumped into his new nice cloths and looked into the polished stone which stood in the living-room which his father had found in the mountain. He looked down at his brown leather boots and slowly looked upwards on his loose black pants which were tied around his waist with a rope, Upwards on his chest where he only had a loose white shirt which revealed the top of his chest. Then he looked himself into the eyes. Those Brown beautiful eyes sparkled of excitement as he smiled for himself. He tied a bandanna around his head, making his black-brown hair stay a bit more up instead of covering his face. He gave his mother a kiss and ran out the door to meet up with his friends. Lisa stood already outside his house in a white dress which her mum had made for her. She smiled widely while both of her clear blue eyes shone nicely by the sun as well with her lovely pink lips. She had her golden-yellow hair hanging down her back. Good morning, Sleepyhead! Congratulations with your birthday! She smiled and waved as she saw Seiken came out of his house. They both started to talk a bit with each other before Yimbo and Canslash showed up. They were brothers so they had the exact same cloths. Brown leather shoes, white loose pants and nothing on their chest. They also congratulated Seiken with his birthday like Lisa did, but they lifted him into the air, carrying him down to the Battlefield where they used to practice Sword- fighting. Lisa didn't like to play with swords, so she used to just sitting by and cheer on them. Sometimes she did magic when no adults where nearby. She had mastered the art of creating small flames already, so she was trying to master the art of ice. When they got down to the Battlefield, Canslash and Yimbo started to practice-fight with each other. Seiken and Lisa cheered for them, but Canslash won. He's starting to master the sword-fighting art. Since this is my birthday, I will now do a magic spell for each of you. Seiken said and clapped his hands to each other a few times before holding them tightly to each other. This one is for Canslash. He slowly opened his hands, slightly opening his eyes wider as he could see he was creating lightning- sparks between his hands. He surged his energy harder and made it spark even more and it faded away into a small electrical firework. He breathed out thanking the gods that everything went alright. Seiken had never performed any magic spell before. He clapped his hands to each other again and slowly opened them, revealing a small ice ball between them. This one is for you, Yimbo. He made the ball spin around before he let go of his left hand and shot a chicken which ran past them with his ice bolt. Woah, way to go, Seiken! That was thrilling, man! He laughed and then looked at Lisa. She stood there excited and wondered what kind of magic spell he would do for her. He smiled and looked her deeper into her eyes. They was all at the same age so Seiken thought it was best to not get too close to Lisa as he was not the only one which seemed to be interested in her. He knitted his hands and pulled them to himself as he said. Lisa. This one is for you. Sparks and gloomy-glowing orbs appeared around him as he focused his energy as hard as he could. His body was lighten with a mystical force which just moved faster and faster until Seiken rise his hands into the air, letting go of the massive force. A big dragon was formed by the magical spell which flew around them in a terrific speed. They panicked slightly and ran to a pile of hay, hiding in it. Seiken, Stop it! Shouted Canslash, Yimbo and Lisa at the same time, all with a shivering Voice. Seiken didn't seem to react at first as he gazed at the dragon, wondering how he could possibly create such magic spell before he replied. I-I can't!. The dragon flew far into the sky before crashing in the roof of Lisa's House. The house was immediately consumed by an enormous fire. The peoples in the village screamed and ran around in panic as the dragon hit the house. Oh no! Said the four of them who lay in the hay. Lisa ran into the village with a horrified expression on her face. Seiken felt shivers down his spine as he realized what he just had done. He decided to run after Lisa, but stopped as he was about to exit the Battlefield. It was like something pierced through his heart, at least he felt like it! He turned around, looked around and then he saw it. On the top of the southern hill stood a man. The man didn't seem to move, but gaze out over the valley. Seiken, Canslash and Yimbo ran after Lisa, finding her just outside of the house, crying. They grabbed her arms and pulled her backwards away from the heat. Canslash and Yimbo went to the well to get some buckets of water which the other villagers had prepared. Some of the villagers where already trying to kill the flames with water. After a while, the flames were gone. So was Lisa's house. Lisa sat on the edge of the well gazing onto the ruins as her tears flow down her cheeks as Joe who recently showed up tried to soothe her. Lisa's Parents died as her father was the only doctor of the village. Her mother was giving birth during Seiken's magic-show, and her father was helping her. Get her more away from here! shouted Seiken at the guys. They lifted Lisa up, carrying her to a pile of hay where they carefully placed her. Joe sat down beside her, patting her head as he tried to soothe her as well as he could while Yimbo and Canslash went back to Seiken. Seiken had noticed two black appearances which was her parents. It was not a pretty sight and he wanted to spare Lisa for the sight. After a while, everything calmed down. Peoples had gathered around the ashes of the house, mourning and trying to salvage goods from the house. What have I done... Seiken covered his face with his hands, knowing that Lisa would hate him for the rest of his life now. He peered down into the purple gem on his hand, noticing a slight hint of a red spark inside it before it faded away. He blinked his eyes, trying to see if he could see it again, but with no luck. Seiken suddenly felt a hand on his shoulders. He felt his feet left the ground, noticing his father were lifting him up. His father was the hugest guy in the town, also the local blacksmith. He carried Seiken behind their house to the place where the Battlefield was located. Lisa, Joe, Canslash and Yimbo were already there. Lisa sat in a pile of hay with a expression over her face as she had seen a ghost. She lifted a hand and stroke over her left tear-stained cheek and peered over at Joe who stood right next to Seiken's father, Yimbo and Canslash who lied on the ground, seeming pretty up-beaten and then finally on Seiken, getting a slightly angry expression over her face. His father was known for giving out hard punishments to the children of Storia if they had done something wrong. What have I said about doing spells, kid?! He started shouting at Seiken. Seiken attempt to defend himself as good as he could but got a blackout when he felt his father's fist into his stomach. He could see his angry face and the clear blue sky as everything faded. Seiken could hear something far in the distance. W-wah? Am I dreaming? He stood up and looked around. By the looks, it seemed like he was in heaven due all the clouds, blue-white sky and a faint white fog surrounding him. He could see something far away. He rubbed his eyes, making sure if it was a dream or not, but everything seemed real. He slowly walked towards the sound that could remind of the sound of a harp. When he got closer he could see an Angel playing a harp. The Angel was crying and stopped playing as Seiken got close. She looked at him and faintly smiled. Boing A string of the harp was released from the harp and hovered over to Seiken. He watched the string intensely and gasped as it sparkled gently with white light. The string straightened up and suddenly flew into Seikens mouth and went down into his belly. Seiken got startled at first and attempted to cough it up again, but then he could feel a warm feeling within his chest, knowing that it was positive to have it inside him. The string faded away within him as Seikens attention was drawn to his gem in the hand. It was sparkling again, but this time it was a clear white light dancing inside it that slowly faded away. He felt weaker and weaker as the white light faded away and eventually fainted. Seiken could see something sparkling He groaned in pain as he shut his eyes hardly before slowly opening them, noticing money on the ground right next to him. The sun shone on them, making a sparkling light hit Seiken as he pulled himself together, stood up and looked around. The entire village was in flames. Everything was burning. With a horrified expression over his face he ran around in the village, trying to find anyone amongst the burning houses without any luck. He stopped up for a second, thinking a bit. He realized this must be a bad dream and smacked his face with his fist once. Nothing happened... He tried again, again and again, but with no luck. He widened his eyes, realizing this was reality. He ran to the battlefield to look after Lisa. He could see something far away, seeing a big prison-wagon going along the road a bit downward the mountainside as he slowed down and eventually walked to a pile of hay and felled onto his knees. He gazed into the distance, noticing it was that man who was standing on the top hill earlier that day, seeming to lead the export. He also saw that many of the villagers of Storia were trapped inside the wagon along with many other prisoners. If flames hadn't surrounded the place, he would've gone after them, but he couldn't. All he could was to stay behind looking at the caravan as it slowly went away. Cough Cough. Seiken peered around, looking at the pile of hay he was sitting in. Suddenly he could feel that something moved. Lisa crawled out of it, coughing. Seiken jumped off the hay, reaching out a hand for her and helped her up on her feet while brushing dust and hay away from her cloths. MURDERER! Lisa screamed when she noticed that Seiken helped her up. She went to the village-center, attempting to get away from Seiken. He came after her as he looked around, noticing the village had been pillaged. Lisa, Wait! said Seiken as he got close to her. Lisa leaned herself against the sword in the pedestal, coughing. Seiken sat down beside her, looking at her as he reached out his hand for her. Lisa peered up at him, knowing that he's a good person. But at the moment, she hated him for what he had done to her and her family. Smack! She hit his face with her hand, facing her face away from him. A wave of heat struck through the village. Seiken felt a wave of weakness rush through his body, leaving him rather crippled for a few seconds before he looked at Lisa and the sword. He had no other choice than grab Lisa even she wanted or not, take the sword from the pedestal to be able to defend himself and her and leave the village while they still had time. He grabbed her hand and the sword, pulling both to himself, ending up with Lisa standing and the sword in his Right hand, He ran towards the Forest that was haunted. Lisa didn't seem to react but running with him as he still held her hand. They reached the edge of the forest which the adults had warned them from to enter. Seiken took a deep breath and entered the forest with Lisa and the sword, a sunny afternoon... The forest was quite dense but had a small path going straight through it. The forest floor was mostly grassy with a few patches of moss. There was also several soft soils around on the ground that was risky to thread on one might fall down into an underground cave or an endless hole. Seiken's parents haven't told him where the path ended, but Seiken hoped it would end up in a city named Shana, a city which was named after the legendary hunter whom was known for slaying dragons. She was often spoken of in childrens stories. He hoped to stay there a few days until he had figured out what to do. After walking for a while, without seeing any signs of animals, Lisa asked where Seiken were taking her. She was walking behind Seiken, a bit to the left to him when Seiken said he didnt knew but hoped they ended up in Shana. She kept looking at his back, not wanting to talk to him at all as all she could think of what that recently had happened. The light in the forest started to fade away as the evening slowly faded in. It was the nights and evenings the parents had warned the children about. S-Seiken? said Lisa, shivering slightly as strange noises and sounds slightly began to appear around them as they walked along the path. Seiken didnt hear Lisa and kept walking. Seiken? Lisa tried again, touching his left shoulder carefully. They both stopped. Seiken was looking down on the ground a bit before he peered over his shoulder with a smile across his face. Im tired. Lisa said carefully while she looked down into the ground, making a little circle in the dirt. Seiken knew that if they stopped in the middle of the woods, they would be dead for sure before the next day. Lets continue a bit more, okay? He looked forwards again, slowly starting to walk again. He had only shown Lisa the left side of his face when he turned around since he was crying on the right side. He was actually quite scared and didnt know what to do at all, but he had to keep going and smiling, hoping that Lisa wouldnt notice his fear. With a shivering nod, Lisa kept going on behind Seiken, peering around carefully. After they had been walking for a while, the little path widened up and turned out to lead into a meadow of Lotuses. Lotus? A-at a place like this? Lisa said to herself in her head before she went to the edge of the meadow. Seiken took off his shirt and sat down at a moss-covered rock by the meadow, trying to make a scabbard out of the shirt for the sword. Lisa went deeper and deeper into the ocean of Lotuses. In the middle of the flowers were a small spot with grass. In the middle of the spot grew a Black lotus. Lisa went towards the black lotus at once she spotted it. Seiken, who somehow finally had managed to make a scabbard, came over to Lisa who were sitting on her knees in front of the black lotus, wondering what she was about to do with Seiken that had killed her family, and what she should do next in her life. She had no home, no place to return to, no money, no food or water, she only had Seiken. She felt her tears flow down her cheeks again as she sat there, feeling how the moonlight that shone slightly through the trees illuminates her and the lotus with its enchanting light. Are you... Alright? Seiken asked, looking down at Lisa and the flower while wondering if it was really safe to walk around in the meadow as they couldn't tell whenever they step into soft soil or not or maybe get attacked by a poisonous snake. Lisa picked the Black lotus and held it up before Seiken, wanting to give it to him as a symbol of her grief and anger against him but also as a symbol of cooperation. As Seiken saw the Lotus, He suddenly felt a rush of rage and anger as a chilly feeling rushing through his body. Groaning and moaning, he covered his eyes with his left arm, noticing the gem on his right hand glowing strongly blue. He slightly breathed out more and more easily and uncovered his eyes, peering around. Lisa had taken a few steps back, looking at him. Seiken grabbed the Black Lotus and threw it away. Lisa looked at him with a disappointing expression before he took Lisa's hand and ran down the meadow, hoping to find the next part of the path or maybe the exit of the forest. Lisa wondered why they were in such rush and what that just had happened to Seiken since he all of a sudden started to groan and moan as well rushing her with him through the meadow with all the pretty lotuses. Suddenly the ground started to shake. The shaking grew stronger and stronger as Seiken ran down the meadow with Lisa. Lisa threw a glance over her shoulders, making big eyes when she saw a big wave of lotuses coming towards them in a speed quicker than theirs. The ocean of lotuses didnt seem to end as they got deeper and deeper into the forest. Seiken! Behind us! Lisa shouted as she kept looking back at the huge wave. All of a sudden the big wave stopped. However, the wave didn't flat out with the ground. It were still curved but standing completely still. S-Seiken? I think we can stop now. The Wave stopped. Seiken and Lisa stopped to regain their breath. All of a sudden, the ground trembled greatly. Since Seiken had quick reflexes, he grabbed something he thought was Lisas hand and started to run further down the meadow. Lisa had tripped over into the meadow, and was lying amongst the flowers. S-Seiken! Don't leave me! Seiken stopped and looked over at Lisa on the ground, starting to run back to her, but he tripped over because of some vines that had appeared on the ground. He struggled to get loose from the vine, but it seemed to be controlled as the vine entangled his feet. He could hear Lisa shouting his name over and over again but suddenly she stopped halfway through his name and became silent. Seiken kept struggling with the vine before he managed to look how Lisa was doing. Seiken made big eyes when he saw a huge black appearance where Lisa tripped over. He closed his eyes, hoped for that he could still use magic even due his strange behavior of his gem. He clapped his hands against each other rapidly before curving them, focusing energy of fire into a ball that he threw towards the appearance. The fireball exploded against a tree right next to the appearance, allowing Seiken to see its identity before it were consumed by shadows again. G-Gyrono! Seiken said with a shaking voice. Gyrono was a dire beast which was the monster in all of the children's stories. Gyrono where one of many beasts in this forest and had awakened when Lisa picked the flower from his bed Gyrono was a big monster which could remind of a dog, but with vines instead of hair. Seiken drew his sword, cutting vines off his legs and stood up, looking over at Gyrono that had caught Lisa in one of his vines on its left side. Lisa was unconscious and couldnt resist the loose grip Gyrono had on her. Seiken held his sword up in front of himself, being ready for any kind of attacks Gyrono might attempt. Seiken silently whispered to Lisa even though she couldnt hear him.This is going to be allright, Lisa... Just trust me. When he finished the last word, he was attacked by two vines from Gyronos body. He dodged and cut over them both as they passed by. Seiken slowly walked forward, still on guard for Gyronos attacks. Each step he took, two vines were whipping against him, one hitting and the other cut off by Seikens sword. When Seiken had reached Gyronos legs, he gazed up on the fierce best that was as tall as a building. Seiken attempted to hit Gyrono in the face by throwing the sword, but by the time he was about to throw the sword, Gyrono held Lisa just right in front of Seiken, making him unable to attack as he couldnt hurt Lisa. Gyrono kept holding Lisa as a shield when he noticed that Seiken didnt attack as long he held her in front of him. Gyronos vines were all over her body, going under her cloths, through her hair, even over her chest. Seiken then saw something sparkling in his gem again. It was the string! The string glowed faintly but gave out waves of faint energy as Seiken peered deeply into the gem. He noticed that his sword was faintly glowing purple and his right hand had a strange blue aura surging from it. He attempted to gather magic in his right hand, and surprisingly it went easily fast to gather up a fairly big fireball in his hand which he threw against Gyronos leg. Gyrono roared out in pain and attempted to run away, the opposite direction Lisa and Seiken had came. Seiken ran after Gyrono, but the fierce beast was a lot faster than him. When Seiken was about to lose the sight of Gyrono, it turned around and charged against Seiken. Seiken thought of this as a great opportunity to strike back at it with his sword and charged against him as well. Seiken had surged up another fireball that he had ready by his right hand as he charged against Gyrono. As they both engaged, Gyrono roared loudly and stung Seiken in the chest by its nose. Seiken wasnt prepared for this and got thrown across the meadow and far into woods just after he managed to impale his sword into Gyronos Eye and let go of the fireball, letting it fly up into the air before it hailed down into a tree that was immediately consumed by an enormous fire. Seiken landed against a tree that knocked him out before he fell down onto the ground next to his sword. The last thing he could remember before the darkness consumed his mind was the feeling of his body being drenched in the rain which came as a sudden downpour. Seiken could feel softness inside. He felt quite comfortable as he slightly opened his eyes more and more as he was about to regain consciousness. He could see something white swaying in the wind just above him. He sat up, noticing he was inside a quite beautiful room. Everything was clean he lay in a big bed, carpet on the floor, big mirror on the wall with golden decoration. The white swaying thing turned out to be curtains that were gently swaying into the room by the frisky summer-air that came as a breeze in the window. Seiken made big eyes to find himself at such a place like this. He just remembered Lisa and turned around in the bed, hoping shed be in the room as well, but with no luck. Seiken let out a sigh as he could hear someone coming behind the door. He placed his feet on the floor and just then noticed he was naked. Quickly, Seiken looked for his cloths that were to be found nowhere. The door went wide open and a girl came in. She had cloths in her hands and wore cloths like maids did according to the fairy tales that Seiken had heard. Oh, Im glad youre awake! Lady Iriya found you at the edge of the forest one week ago and youve been sleeping till now. Are you feeling alright? the maid said as she placed the cloths on a chair next to him. He had luckily covered his lower body with the sheet before the maid came in and smiled at her, thanking for her kindness. Thank you. Im Seiken. You shouldnt take this good care of me. I have no money, so I cant repay your kindness. Though, is Lady Iriya home at the moment? Id like to thank her personally. The maid smiled at Seiken and told him that they didnt mind at all to take care of him also that Iriya wouldnt be home until later. Say, Lady Iriya didnt find someone else with me, did she? Seiken said with a hope in his heart that he hadnt lost Lisa. The maid made a bit concerned face and shook her head. You wasnt alone, dear? She replied before making a slightly sad face when Seiken told her that he was together with Lisa. Im sorry to hear this. Well keep you informed if we find anyone nearby the forest in the coming days.. Seiken smiled back at the maid who was smiling back at him softly through the door before she closed it. The maid went downstairs to take care of the laundry so Seiken could get dressed. The cloths he had received were a pair of brown leathery shoes, white linen pants, Blue shirt with a Brown vest. The cloths seemed to fit him perfectly, just as if they were sewn for him. Seiken opened the door and walked into a huge hall. Seiken slowly walked into the huge hall, gasping and looking around, thinking that he mustve been found by a rich family. He came to two huge curtains and opened them, allowing the path to a terrace to be open. He stepped out onto the terrace, finding the view of a huge garden of flowers, small rivers and a view of the edge of a forest. Seiken made big eyes by this sight. He could see the maid on a terrace next to him hanging up the laundry to dry in the sun. He could also see far over their property which was quite amazing. A river went through the landscape which with a little help from the sun, seemed like a stream of gold. There were also fountains located around on the lawn. The thing that drew most attention from Seiken was the size of it all. And the biggest thing there was a large pond, almost a lake that lay peacefully at the far side of it all. Seiken became eager to see more of this exciting place and went back into the hall, finding a stair that went far down. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he stood in front of the entrance to the mansion. He could hear footsteps behind him and could see a butler coming his way. The butler stopped in front of him, introduced himself and asked if he could assist Seiken with something. Seiken was still amazed about the service at this place and carefully asked where his sword was stored. The butler went to a statue of a knight that stood against the wall and picked up a small key from its pocket. The butler pulled the halberd that the statue was holding and the statue turned around, revealing a little door in the back of the statue. He used the key in the keyhole and as he twisted the key inside the hole, the sound of releasing water was heard. The door slowly opened itself, allowing the butler to reach his hand into the darkness in the door, drawing Seikens sword out of the little door. The butler held the sword that had been covered in water, forth for him. Seiken smiled, bowed before him, thanked him and took the sword lightly in his left hand. Suddenly a huge noise was to be heard in the room, the sound was rumbling through the walls. Two knights had opened the entrance doors and held them open as a girl walked in between them. Seiken looked at her and thought at once it was Lisa, but after blinking a few times, he could see it was someone that looked like her in a moderate way. The woman walked to Seiken and smiled. Oh, youre awake! Im glad youre alright. I was quite worried about you when I found you at the edge of the forest last week. But its a relief to see youre okay. Im Iriya, the lady of this Mansion. I hope youve had a nice stay this far. Seiken smiled as he had got to meet with Iriya so he could thank her properly.Thank you very much for your kindness, Iriya. I dont know what wouldve happened to me if you hadnt found me But is there anything I can do to repay your kindness? Iriya giggled softly and smiled at Seiken. My, you surely are a cutie. Im afraid I dont have many things you could do. There are a lot of dangerous things going on in Ontiry lately. Oh, but if you wouldnt mind, could you find my cat for me? Its a big city and my little kitty often gets lost in the streets of Ontiry. Seiken smiled and nodded at Iriya as finding a little cat shouldnt be too much hassle, she had saved his life after all. On the way out of the Mansion, Seiken saw a picture on the wall. It was A picture of a woman, who wore a cape, hood, bow and looked just like Iriya. Seiken thought it was her mother on the picture and was member of a marksmanship club or something. As Seiken got out of the mansion, there was a straight road to a huge gate just in front of him. The gate was made of iron and Seiken wondered how he was supposed to open the gate as he could impossibly even make it budge even if it was open. When Seiken got to the gate, a sound of iron grinding against stone tore itself through the air. The gate mysterious opened itself and Seiken went outside, walking slowly while wondering how the big gate could move like that. He went further down the street that led into Ontiry. The mansion lied a bit out of the city so he had to walk for a while. When he came to the city, he got lost at once. Every building was made of stone, there were windows and the city gave Seiken an expression of being quite rich. Seiken started to look for the little cat. Iriya had given him descriptions about what the cat looked like, a long-haired little white kitty with a red ribbon and a golden bell around its neck. Seiken searched in every slum of the town, along every street, around every corner and around each restaurant that was to be found, but with no luck. It had gotten late and it was almost pitch-dark when Seiken decided to give it another try the next day. As he were walking back to the mansion, or at least that direction he thought itd be, he could hear music. He peered around himself, noticing there was a street-musician on the other side of the street. Seiken thought it was a nice tune from the flute he was playing and went to the other side and sat down in front of him to listen. Seiken sat there for many minutes with his eyes closed, just listening to the music. Suddenly the musician stopped playing. Give me your money, please. Apparently he had gotten tired of playing and playing with Seiken just sitting there, enjoying it all for free. Seiken stood up and said with a sad face Im sorry, I dont have any mo- Seiken stopped as he saw a little kitty yawning just next to the musician, matching the descriptions that Iriya had given him about her cat. Is that cat yours? Asked Seiken and sat down next to him, patting the cat gently so the bell rang faintly. The musician didnt seem to react at all, but playing further on his flute with a rather sad tune. Seiken took the cat in his arms and walked in the direction he thought the mansion was. Seiken thought that the musician only had the cat for company when he was playing and understood that someday someone would come to take the cat back. When Seiken got to the mansion, the gates were already open. Iriya stood in front of the entrance with the knights with her. You found her! Said Iriya and was filled with joy when she saw Seiken with her cat. The cat jumped down on the ground and ran as fast as she could to Iriya and jumped into her arms, licking her face. Seiken stood there and watched the happiness of the owner and a pet that was reunited. Ohw, how can I ever thank you for this? Please accept this as a token of my gratitude. She flipped a coin over to Seiken. He caught it nicely and peered at it. It was no normal coin, but a badge.Welcome to the Midnight Show! was engraved in it. Seiken then looked up at Iriya. Midnight Show? Said Seiken and tilted his head slightly, wondering what that was. Iriya smiled and told him that she did a man a favor not long ago, and he gave her a free ticket to a show thats going to be held that very night Seiken caught her cat.Please accept it, I still feel that I owe you, but if you see that show, Im sure youll be satisfied! She blinked at him slightly teasingly and went inside with her meowing kitty while telling the cat with a soothing voice that shell find some milk for her. By the name of the show, Seiken thought that it was going to be held at midnight. He went back into the town and found the building where the show was to be held, right across the street where the musician sat. The musician wasnt there anymore. Seiken opened the door to the building that was quite big and had a huge sign on the entrance. Midnight Show! said the sign. When he got inside he was met by a man in a red uniform and shiny golden buttons on the chest. Stop there. Im afraid were all sold out for tonight. Come back tomorrow. Seiken was startled by the man coming out of nowhere. W-what? Sold out? But, I have this with me. Seiken showed the man the badge.Hey! Where did you get that?! The man grabbed Seiken in the arm, pulling him to himself while Seiken struggled, attempting to get loose. I got it! Iriya gave it to me as a reward for finding her cat! The man let go of Seikens arm and apologized for his behavior. Oh, why didnt you say so at once? Im the man who gave Iriya that token. But since youre coming in her place, I guess Ill have to give you that place to sit Seiken didnt really caught what he meant, but nodded and smiled as he was let into the show-hall with lots of seats that was taken by nicely-dressed peoples. It was all filled up, but a seat in the middle of the crowd. Peoples stared at Seiken as he walked to his seat, someone whispering, thinking he looked strange in those cloths and wondered why he couldnt dress himself a bit more suiting for the evening. The moment Seiken sat down on the seat, the room became pitch-black. Then the scene was light-up and the curtains was risen. In the background of the Scene there was a big black font which saidMidnight Show. The scene was filled with showgirls in golden suits that started to move and dance around to the music that an orchestra was playing. The shows plot was about a couple that loved each other, but didnt realize it before the male died. Seiken did and applaud when he heard the others in the hall did the same, and thought the show was over since it was all black again. But then the scene was lit up once again and six golden showgirls stood there. They seemed to be in some sort of trance and dazzled around while the orchestra plaid a rather strange, yet sad song. Slowly, a big silver-moon slid down from the roof and stopped right in front of the font on the scene. On the moon sat a Silvery- dressed showgirl. Everyone could see clearly that she was crying while she sang the ballad of a girl that stole the stars. When the last word escaped her silvery-painted lips, she closed her eyes before she slowly opened them again. Her eyes were red and her tears had become blood. You will all die tonight. The silver woman said in a rather demonic voice. Seiken wondered if this was a part of the show as well, or if she was threatening them, but when he heard everyone giving applauds, he applauded as well, thinking it was just a part of the show. All of a sudden Seiken felt he started to fall. His seat had collapsed and he was falling down into a large dark tunnel. He could hear other peoples screaming as everyone else in the hall were falling. The tunnel widened and light was to be seen. He could see spikes made of wooden logs standing up from the ground far beneath him while he was falling. Without knowing it, the string appeared in his hand and formed itself as an eye and looked down at the spikes. Suddenly, the spike that was right beneath Seiken moved to the left just before Seiken hit the water that the spikes were sticking up from. Seiken couldnt swim, but luckily the water was shallow. He crawled out of the water and peered up on the spikes. Many of the peoples had been impaled and wounded by the spikes. It was lots of blood flowing out of the dead bodies, also the wounded ones. Seiken took a look around himself, finding himself in the middle of a gladiator ring. On the seats where the crowd is supposed to sit, sat lots of monsters. Goblins, Imps, Trolls, Orcs, and creatures that Seiken never had heard of or seen before. There was just a small pond of water where the spikes came from, but it was enough to kill at least twenty five of the three hundred peoples that was watching the show. Seiken tried to find a King, or a leader for this ring by looking at the highest seat in the ring. A troll sat there, smiling coldly down at his prisoners. There were three gates in the circle. The survivors had gathered behind the spikes when two of the gates slowly opened. Four lions walked into the ring and yawned before they licked their mouth, seeming to prepare for a meal. Seiken and the others realized fast that they were their meal. There was nothing they could use to defend themselves with but sand and water. Seiken remembered he had his sword at Iriyas place and therefore was unarmed. Though, he still had the magic, he was unsure if it was wise to use it right now as the gem in his hand had started to turn deeply purple. The string was gone, but a small green flame was to be seen dancing inside of the gem. Seiken attempted to cast the same spell he did for Lisa at his Birthday, hoping for it would scorch every monster around him, even the lions. He focused his energy and took the same position as back then, surging his energy through his hands for a while. Meanwhile, one of the survivors had gotten too close the lions, trying to soothe them by patting them. One of the lions was just to attack the woman, but Seiken released the energy towards the woman, making icy spikes shatter out of her chest, letting the cold glaciers covered in blood impale the attacking lion, leaving its dead and devastated corpse on the ground with the legs shaking of cramps. Seiken got startled when the ice penetrated itself out of the woman so much that he felled backwards. In fear he was paralyzed as he realized he had killed another innocent human with his magic when he only tried to help. The three other lions got more aggressive to see their pal hit the ground and started to chase the survivors around. Seiken stood up and hoped his next spell would be a lot better. He attempted to create fireballs in his hands like he did back in the forest. Due the stressed feelings he had, he messed up by putting his own hands on fire. He had developed an own magic spell if a spell should fail and attack himself. Seiken put both of his hands on his chest. Release! shouted Seiken and the fire disappeared leaving bruises on his chest since the fire had burnt itself through his vest, but strangely not spread. Seiken looked around, trying to locate the Lions. Two of them had captured two survivors and were feasting on them right next to each other. Seiken felt his body get hotter and hotter, and in a desperate attempt to get rid of the hot feeling, he did an energy release, letting rays of fire shine out of his body, eventually hitting the two feasting lions, nicely burning them into two black carcasses. Seiken felled down onto his knees, exhausted of all the magic spells he had been casting. The survivors had managed to surround a lion, slowly moving in. The lion felt threatened and attacked one of the survivors, made a slaughter out of him while all the others jumped over the lion, punching, kicking and attempting to hurt it in any way till it stopped moving. The crowd that had been cheering on the lions from the very beginning had now calmed and didnt even make a single sound as the last lion was dead. Seiken had finally regain his breath and stood now up with the others. He was hurt, but could bear with it. The final gate now slowly opened and the crowd had started to liven up again, cheering on a name as the gate opened. Kraptipass! did the crowd cheer. Seiken and the others could hear the name chime through the area. The final gate was now fully opened, however, nothing came out. Seiken could all of a sudden feel something grasping around his foot. He looked down, seeing a hand grabbing his right foot, but there was no ordinary hand, it was a skeletal hand! Seiken attempted to shake it off, but then another hand grabbed his other foot before a skeletal head slowly appeared through the sand in front of him. He could hear screaming, and when he looked around, he could see the others being attacked by skeletons from beneath their feet. Seiken felled over on his knees, getting just in range to punch the skeleton. The skull cracked as his fist hit it, and crumbled into dust. The hands on his feet also crumbled into dust. Seiken ran to help the others, but it was too late. They had been too late with retaliating, so all that was left was a big red pile of flesh, organs and bones. Seiken was surrounded by skeletons, someone bloody and someone just sandy. The skeletons gathered themselves in a circle before they started to fall apart, crumbling into dust. Seiken raised his hand with the gem in, hoping to get cheered on by the crowd for defeating the skeletons but with no effect. Instead of getting cheered on, Seiken felt the ground shaking while the crowd kept cheering at Kraptipass. Seiken noticed the circle of bone dust was gone, but instead, in the middle of the place where the circle had been, a huge skeletal hand reached up from the sand. Kraptipass, the skeletal lord had been released. Seiken had heard of the Skeletal Lord when he was a little boy when he overheard a story that was only for adults. Kraptipass was a huge Skeleton with a huge sword that he used both hands to lift and a boney armor that covered his chest. Kraptipass was said to live where thousands of humans had been slaughtered. Kraptipass stood now in front of Seiken, roaring at him so Seiken could feel his breath that smelled of thousand dead corpses. Seiken thought hed throw up by the stench, but managed to keep it down. Kraptipass swung its sword after Seiken, but since it was so big and heavy, Seiken managed to run away in good time before it hit the ground. The crowd kept going on, cheering louder and louder while Seiken struggled to keep himself alive against the Skeletal Lord. Seiken knew he had no chance at all to defeat such a dreadful undead, however, thought of possibilities to take it down. Seiken was still exhausted by the usage of magic, but couldnt stop now. He had to live on in order to find Lisa! Seiken dodged another attack, but before the sword hit the ground, the Lord changed the course of the sword, swinging it towards Seiken. He stopped and saw the sword slide through the air and hit him, tearing his body in half, 1 cm into the front of his body. Seiken felled down on his knees and sat back. He could feel he started to get colder and the blood flow out of him. Everything started to get blurry as he tried to focus on the Lord in order to dodge its next attack, but Kraptipass didnt move. Seiken felled backwards and lied in the sand, looking up in the roof, at the hole he had felled down through. He could still feel how the blood streamed out of his cut, even eventually get into his eyes, making his vision red. He closed his eyes and felt everything darkened.I will die here Im sorry Lisa Seiken became unconscious for about five seconds before he could feel a strong light coming in from the front of him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the Angel he had seen before. She was flying with her wings, hovering just above him. She was still crying, however, didnt had her harp. She reached out a hand to Seiken.Thou lost soul, shall not find damnation. could Seiken hear inside his head as he weakly reached for her hand with his. As their hands met, she disappeared with a flash of light. Seiken stood up as he felt pain no more. He looked down his body, seeing the cut was gone. He closed his hands and pulled them together, surging energy as he could feel a source of unlimited energy streamed in through his gem. He started to hover and faintly glow in a black aura. His hands got enlighten with fire and his eyes started burning with green fire. Yellow orbs appeared around him, slowly circulating up and down as he started to shake. The area around him started to shake as well due the enormous power that was about to be released. Seiken could feel a strong pain come from all this new and strong power and therefore screamed out. The Troll, the crowd and even Kraptipass started to shake in fear due the mighty roar and was therefore paralyzed. Seiken then released his energy towards Kraptipass by reaching his arms out towards him. An enormous force of Energy and power surged through the air in black, green, yellow and red colors, forming as a dragon before it hit Kraptipass that were consumed in an instant of the force. When it hit the Lord, the force scattered, and surged in all directions, gathering at the entrance of the hole in the roof. It surged there for a few seconds before white fire-meteors started to rain down at the Arena and the crowd. While all this happened, Seiken kept his position, hovering in the air, but had stopped the screaming. Seiken could feel the energy still flow out of him, but as it faded away he felled back onto the sand unconscious. None of the meteors hit him as he was still affected by the yellow orbs around him, a Spell shield. The crowd, the king and Kraptipass was all slaughtered by this force, the corpses lied everywhere, blood dripping from the roof, the tribune was covered in monster-blood as well. Seiken had felt this soft feeling before. He rolled over and could still feel the soft feeling, however, it was slightly colder. He opened his eyes slowly, noticing a white curtain. He knew where he was now and sat up in the bed, but then groaned in pain. He looked down at his chest, noticing bandage over his bruises on the chest. He rested against the wall while letting the wind breeze through his hair as the top of the head just got over the edge to the window. Iriya sat on a chair next to his bed. She was smiling. You surely arent lucky, are you? She giggled and crossed her legs. Seiken hadnt really noticed before, but Iriya was a quite beautiful woman. A slim and curvy body yet gives an expression of and mature woman. She had to be about the same age as Seiken. We found you in the ruins of the theater. Youre lucky to have survived that attack of the crazy wizard. She placed her hand on his hand, smiling softly at him while leaning slightly forwards, revealing her cleavage even more. She had quite big breasts, yet they seemed all firm. M-mad wizard? Was the theater attacked by a wizard? She nodded. Seiken wasnt sure what to believe and told her what he could remember. She made bigger and bigger eyes as he told her how the show was, how he ended up in the gladiator ring, how the others was killed and how he managed to survive. I-Im not sure what to say You really did all this? The keepers of the town could clearly see there were strong elements of magic involved in the incident, but that you did it I cant just believe it. And Kraptipass at a place like that? She spaced out and slowly shakes her head. Seiken had been sleeping for three days, so he decided to sleep some more in order to fully recover from the incident. Iriya came to herself and smiled at Seiken when she saw he was sleeping again, but now with ease. The maid came in with new cloths for Seiken and put them on the chair Iriya just recently sat. When Seiken woke up the next morning, he was very hungry. He asked the maid nicely if he could have some breakfast. The maid smiled widely and made him a huge breakfast for him. Seiken ate till he got full and decided to relax on a coach in the living room. When he entered the room he was met by lots of animal heads that was on wooden plates along the wall. There was also a big bear fur in the front of the fireplace. Seiken thought there had to be a great hunter who had hunted down all these animals. He could hear someone sobbing and looked around. There, just left for the fireplace sat Iriya in a big chair and cried. When she noticed Seikens presence, she tried to stop crying and hide any trace of her sadness by smiling, but with no luck. Whats the matter? Said Seiken and sat down on a chair just next to her. Iriya couldnt hold her tears back and started to cry even louder than before while whining lots of things that Seiken couldnt understand a word of. Hey, calm down and take it slow from the beginning. What have happened? Seiken sat even closer, took her hand and looked into her eyes, trying to give her the feeling of that Seiken was there to help her. M-my father is dead. Assassins killed him last night. I dont know where he lives, but the Assassins were after his money and valuables. Only his maid was fast enough to send me a pigeon with a letter before she was murdered. Seiken sat shocked back in the chair. He didnt know what to say, but try to soothe her in any way he could. The hours passed and Iriya pulled herself together and turned her sorrow into hate. She told Seiken about herself. She was the Ranger General of the Moon Elves that had their stronghold in the forest just south of the city. So, youre the slayer of these animals? asked Seiken curiously and impressed before Iriya nodded and pointed at the picture beside the entrance that was to be seen due the open door to the living room. Thats me before I was abandoned. She giggled a bit and continued. What elf would let a Human be their general? Iriya was born and raised by the Moon Elves and showed great marksmanship skills with bow, therefore became their Ranger General. The Elves are poor, but their money is worth lots for humans, thats why they are hiding in the Forest, trying to escape from greedy peoples. Since its worth so much, I could afford everything I have here. Iriya stood up from her chair and wiped the last tears from her face and took down a bow that hung above the fireplace. Im going to take my revenge for my father. I shall track down this Assassin Guild and put an end on it. She didnt seem to be the person that would change their mind if they decide to do something. Join me, and maybe well find them. Seiken said as he was planning to leave the mansion very soon in order to keep looking for Lisa. Iriya smiled softly and thanked him for the kind offer, but she werent too sure if she should go with Seiken as he always seem to get into trouble from her point of view. But at the other hand, she thought he was quite kind and would like to take care of him in a way, so she decided to join him because of three reasons. He was cute and kind. She would feel lonely if she went alone. And last, but not least, she was heading the same way that he was planning to go. To Shana. Later that night, they had prepared themselves. Iriya had her old Ranger General Uniform on and Seiken had received some gifts from Iriya, Hardened Leather shoes, Hardened Leather gloves, Bandana, Loose blue linen pants and a loose white linen shirt. He also had a Leather belt to keep the pants up. He didnt wear anything heavy as his agile reflexes are something he would need later on according to Iriya. The Ranger General Uniform was made of Soft cloth-shoes, a small pair of tights that could remind more of a string, arm braces, a small, yet covering top and a hooded cloak. Seiken had found forth his sword again, sharpened it and Iriya had her quiver on her back filled with arrows along with the bow in her right hand. As they set out of the mansion, Iriya stopped in the entrance and gazed back in. The butler, all the knights and the maid stood there, waving at her. She could feel tears slide down her cheeks. The moonlight shone upon her face, making the tears look like silver crystals. She turned around against Seiken and walked together with him to the gate that stood wide open for them. They were heading towards the woods where the Moon Elves live. The nightlife in Ontiry was peaceful, but because of the incident with the theatre, town keepers was everywhere on patrol. Nobody noticed the lightly dressed woman in a dark-blue cape or the young man beside her in casual clothes as Seiken and Iriya ventured through the streets. When they reached the other edge of the exit of the city, Iriya took another look behind her, looking at the city she lived so close to yet knew so little about. Right in front of them was a huge iron gate that was open. They went through it and into the dark woods which was a lot darker because of the night. The reason they ventured into the forest during nighttime was that if the moon shone upon their path, it would lead them to the village of Moon Elves. The forest reminded him of the one by his village, but this one seemed calmer and a lot brighter in a way. After walking along the path that seemed like silver because of the moonlight, they came to a little lake. Just next to them was an old mossy log with a female elf sitting on it. Iriya spoke to the elf with an unknown language for Seiken, but it sounded like she was singing. The elf smiled widely and stood up, peering at Seiken like shed never seen a human before. Whos this? Asked the elf and circled around Seiken by her curiousness. Iriya smiled and explained who Seiken was and what they were up to. The elf sniffed him and licked her lips slowly just before she shouted something loudly. Her words chimed through the woods and along the lake, making small waves of sound in the water. A boat was to be seen far away. It was slowly cruising towards them while the elf was waving eagerly at the boat. By the time the boat arrived, Iriya had explained Seiken that she knows the language of the elves and that if he didnt understood what they said to him, he could just ask her. In the boat were two male elves, armored in plate, shield and a sword. They greeted Seiken in a regular way but made a salute to Iriya. Even though Iriya was forced to give up her rank, some elves remained loyal as if she was their commander. Seiken and Iriya sat down in the boat which started to sail slowly away at once the female elf stepped into it. After been cruising for a while through the lake that was lit up by the moonshine and through mist, they finally arrived at a dock. Just behind the dock lied a big gate made of wood but with lots of runes and magic symbols engraved along the doors. Seiken had agreed back in the mansion to not tell anyone where this place was. Seiken gasped in amazedness by the sight of the gates that he knew led into the Moon Elfish Empire. The gates slowly opened when the female elf touched a red rune on the middle. It immediately turned blue by the touch and made a strange glowing sound. Seiken widened his eyes when he saw whats beyond the gate. A huge stair leading up to their leader, lots of houses built in the trees, massive stonewall surrounding the village like a fortress, guards patrolling around and lots of rivers and fountains where quite many girls sat. There were even a few nagas as well with water nymphs bathing in the fountains and rivers. As the gates were fully opened, they slammed against the wall while Seiken waved slightly at everyone while Iriya smiled and patted his shoulder. Ex-Ranger General Iriya is here!! Shouted an elf in golden-edged plate which had taken a few steps away from a crowd of soldiers that had come down the stairs. As the last words escaped her soft purple lips, a horn was to be heard throughout the village and lots of archers appeared on the top of the stone wall. Iriya smiled and told Seiken to take cover. Seiken did as she said and took a few steps to the side, looking at Iriya from a few meter away. Fire! shouted a man on the top of the stairs, and just as he hit the start of the word, all of the archers aimed and shot fifteen arrows at Iriya as fast and accurate as they could. Each of the archers had a tiny apple nailed to their uniform on the shoulder, just next to the head. Iriya smiled and started to dodge every single arrow that the about thirty archers was shooting at her. While she was dodging, she retaliated, shooting back in an enormous speed, hitting every single apple on each of the archers shoulder. Iriya breathed slightly faster when she was done, yet kept her cool.Was that all? said she with a cocky attitude and smiled at the crowd that had gather to see whats going on. The crowd cheered loudly for her, applauding her performance. Seiken stood there, gasping at her. He had never seen anyone move that fast andor counter back in such a speed she did. Amazing! said Seiken and came to her. She grinned at him. Oh, that was nothing. She winked at him and turned against the crowd again which had moved to the sides, allowing the man on the top of the stairs reach to Iriya. The man was the leader of the elves and welcome Seiken and Iriya to their village. Long time no see, Iriya! It has been so long since I last saw you. The man introduced himself as Lazard and guided them towards his royal chamber. They ascended the stairs and as they got on the top of the stairs, they entered a plateau with stone pillars in each corner of the square-formed pyramid. On the floor was there a big carving of a crescent moon, and just inside the crescent moon was a little stair, leading down into the plateau. You must be tired, it is quite late, and I presume you arent used to be this late up, mister human? Seiken had introduced himself, but Lazard seemed to like mister human best. Seiken nodded and so did Iriya before he showed them the way down the stairs and into a great hall which could remind of a crypt, but of a rather wealthy look. There was a carpet on the floor, leading to a throne, torches along the wall, and curtains along the walls where there were no torches and lots of pillows all over the place. Feel like home, well talk more tomorrow. Im so happy youre visiting us, Iriya! said the man and opened a door behind the throne and went in. Iriya headed through some curtains hanging down from the roof and found a little room where she could rest. She took off her clothes and sat down in a little pond inside the room where a few water nymphs already sat, but they didnt seem to notice Iriya. Ill be sleeping here tonight! Go ahead, take the other room yelled Iriya before she chased the nymphs out. The nymphs got all grumpy and murmured something while they covered their bodies in some towels and went outside of the crypt. Seiken slid the curtains to the side and entered his room. It was fairly big with a big soft bed with lots of pillow, a pond just alike Iriyas with nymphs. On the wall just next to his bed was a carving in the wall. He tried to figure out what it said, but with no luck. One of the nymphs saw this and giggled before she took a towel and came to Seiken, peering over his shoulder. Oh? You dont understand our writings? Seiken was startled by the sudden voice against his ear and lightly shake his head. Silly human I will read for you. Nymphs. Magical creatures that needs to be covered with water every hour. If this is not done, the Nymphs body will get instantly dry and die. A Nymphs body was made to attract males since all Nymphs are females, so Nymphs looks almost like Moon Elves, but much alike a sea-serpent as well. Once a Nymph had seduced a male, they woul-Seiken interrupted the Nymph as she were speaking.Why are you telling me all this? It is not like I am interested in knowing anything about you Sorry, I am just tired and want to sleep. Ive had a long day. The Nymph was first scared but then calmed down as Seiken calmed. I see said she before she slid down into the pond where her friends sat. Seiken peered at the drawing of a Nymph on the wall and then on the Nymphs in the pond. The Nymphs in the pond was a lot prettier than the one on the carving, even though it was a good carving. The Nymphs had started a conversation in their own language and washed each others bodies. They had slightly bigger breasts than the Moon Elves, bigger butt and slimmer body according to Seikens analyze. He sat down in the bed and started to change into a little loincloth that was lying on the bed, obviously hinting to be used during nights. One of the Nymphs saw that Seiken slid down under the sheet and looked at her friends. Shhh! The human has gone to sleep. Seiken felled asleep at once he had closed his eyes. The Nymph that read the carvings for Seiken looked at him and smiled before she suggested for the others to let him be for the night. The others nodded and disappeared. Nymphs could teleport through the ponds in the village as much theyd like to. Later that night, the Nymph that had read for Seiken, appeared alone in the pond in his room. Nymphs were naked and disliked to wear any clothes, but covered their breasts and crotch each time they felt too shy to reveal themselves for people or other creatures. She smiled even more when she saw Seikens sheet had almost felled down on the floor and slid it over him before the string of her necklace fell apart and landed on the sheet. Sarah was engraved on the shiny stone that was attached to the necklace. Yes, thats my name nodded Sarah silently to herself before she slid down under the sheet just next to Seiken. But she