“Surprised you even know that word,” Daisy muttered. “Remarks…”
“Are you staying or going?”
“I’m staying,” she declared. “But I want to be the leader of my side.”
“Fine,” Fern smiled. “That will just make the game more fun.”
Bastion wasn’t sure what “game” they were playing at first, but once he saw the Langoran boys line up in a row, and then the Allayans do the same in their own separate line, he figured it out. It was an increasingly popular past-time through the Kingdom, and the adults were desperately trying to figure out where it originated. Rumors persisted that the Orders whispered it into a group of kids’ ears one day, but of course, they all deny it fervently.
The Sages VS. The Langorans. That was the game.
And not just a general game either. No, it was very specific. The Sages were one of the seven—the seven who went on the quest for the stones of power. The popular picks were usually Chloe or Dominic. Chloe, for the girls and Dominic for the boys. No one picked Kyran because he wasn’t an up-close fighter. Achan was a traitor—it didn’t matter how sorry he was in the end. The boys weren’t going to pick Scarlet, and for the girls, she was second tier. James and Arimus—they were still alive, so it wasn’t as exciting. Not much to imagine.
The Langorans represented the city of Languor. The popular choice was hands down the Enforcer, followed by the late King, and then just random, imagined Langorans that they made up. Whoever won this reenactment of the ages, was a matter of the current players’ skill. Though the Sages had undoubtedly won in actual history, no one stuck to that fact. The Langorans had more to prove, so often, their determination was enough to give them the extra edge.
“I choose Scarlet,” Daisy called out, to which all of the boys, including Bastion from a distance, sucked their teeth. The two Allayan boys chose Dominic and Arimus respectively.
The Langorans were the same as always: Enforcer, King, and a random. Fern was obviously the Enforcer.
“You guys ready?” Fern called out. Daisy cracked her neck and stretched out her arms as her teammates rolled their eyes. When she didn’t answer, Fern just gave a big sigh. “Whatever, I’m starting.”
To Bastion’s surprise, Fern didn’t just charge like most did. He actually began to grow in size. To the Sages’ horror, he continued to increase in size, until he was nearly the height of the tree line encompassing the meadow borders. His shoulders and biceps were as big as boulders, and his legs were like tree stumps. His massive frame was hairy and stretched abnormally. He chuckled for all to hear, his voice now coming from deep within his belly, as if it came from the bottom of a well.
“I’ve been practicing,” he laughed, as Daisy raised her eyebrows.
“You idiots,” one of the Allayans replied. “The village will see him and come to investigate. We won’t be able to play anymore.”
“He can actually grow twice that size,” one of the Langorans answered. “We measured it all out. He’s below the tree line, so we’re good. We just can’t get too reckless.”
“I don’t know, Kent,” Daisy replied. “We might damage something.”
“You scared, Daisy?” he shot back at her, with a sly grin on his face. Daisy guffawed and slapped her knees, her wild, dirty blonde hair flopping all over the place. There were more rolling of the eyes.
“I don’t have all day,” Fern bellowed, as he began making a fist with his right hand. “Let’s go.”
“Let’s Incinerate then!” Daisy shouted out, extending out her hands like she was going to ask for a hug. A hilt shimmered into view from the center of both palms, and then the rest slowly appeared. Dual weapons emerged, and he was impressed.
They were blood red hook swords, and they were very versatile in their deadliness. They were like thin regular swords, except they were pole-like in structure. At the end of each blade was a hook, which he realized could be used for both tripping an enemy or grabbing a weapon from an opponent. Although the ends were hooks, it didn’t mean they weren’t deadly sharp. There was also a sharp point at the end of the hilt, and the hilt itself was in the shape of a crescent guard. The crescent guard was also polished and razor sharp on the outside, making it not only an important blocking tool, but an extra blade as well. She had chosen great weapons to mold her soul into.
The other two boys weren’t nearly as imaginative, as both of them branded straight swords, the colors of midnight blue and banana yellow respectively.
“Round one!” the nameless Langoran shouted, rushing toward Daisy. Daisy waited until the last second to make her move. Just when he was about to punch her in the face, she pivoted behind him, hooked his ankle with one of her swords and yanked upwards, forcing him off his feet. As he fell, she slashed at his exposed back two times. He started screaming before his belly even hit the grass.
Kent wasn’t so quick to follow suit, as he and Daisy danced in front of each other, looking for an opening. The other two Allayan boys decided to team up on Fern. It wasn’t going so well. Before they separated to flank him, Fern had already sprinted forward and kicked them both with one of his massive, bare feet. The two boys went flying in mid-air, clutching their abdomens like they had eggs in their hand, and they were trying desperately to keep them intact.
“Why aren’t you coming forward, Kent?” Daisy shouted to her opponent, over the agonizing screams of the other Langoran.
“You may have the reach,” Kent smiled. “But all I need is to grab you once, and it’s all over.”
“You wish you were that strong,” she replied, jabbing toward him with one of her blades. He leapt back to dodge it, and then he made an attempt to grab the surface. Daisy retracted her eidolons before he could get a grip.
“Come on!” Kent shouted gleefully, approaching ever so closer to Daisy. “Just let me touch one. See what happens. Your will has to be stronger than that!”
“Stronger than your hide!” she chided, finally lunging forward. She grew tired of the game. Kent grabbed her right wrist and began crushing it, deciding to take the eidolon blow from the left. Since it was a hook sword, and not a straight sword, it merely slashed up against his tough skin and muscle, rather than piercing through. Daisy grit her teeth as she felt her wrist breaking, using the pain to slash at Kent all the more. Kent grimaced, but it was obvious that he would win the exchange.
Bastion shook his head as he turned his attention from Daisy to the Allayan boys. One of them was being crushed in hand by Fern. The other was busy stabbing at the giant’s leg to no avail. What are they doing? Bastion sighed to himself. Try something different! It’s obvious that just slashing at them isn’t going to work. You’re barely breaking the skin!
As the two Allayan boys were getting destroyed, Daisy finally decided to use her head. She concentrated the best she could on her eidolons as Kent kneed and kicked her in the stomach repeatedly. She altered the hook sword in her left hand, so that the end was straight, and then she went to plunge it through Kent’s ribs. But he was waiting for such an attempt. He let go of Daisy’s wrist and backed off. The eidolon in Daisy’s right hand disappeared as she nursed her wrist, folding it under her left armpit.
She glared at Kent and then smiled. Even from a distance, Bastion could tell that she was buying time. She was trying to heal her wound, but Kent wasn’t going to allow it. He charged toward her as she fell to her knees, her left hand slamming against the grass. As soon as it did, a glowing, crimson pillar shot out from the ground and into Kent’s chin. His neck whiplashed backwards under the sudden assault, and before he could recover, Daisy sent more his way. Pillars shot out all around him, slamming into his flesh from all angles, hitting his back to keep him standing, his stomach to take the wind out of him, his face to increase the vertigo.
Bastion couldn’t help but grin. Master James had done something similar in the final battle against Thorn. He had summoned many eidolons to his aid at the time. They came up out of the ground, as if they had been lying there the e
ntire time, and they hung in the air around him as if he was blessed with telekinesis. Using such a display, he had intimidated Thorn and cut him down.
But such a technique had great limitations, and it wasted a great deal of energy. It worked with Thorn because James had been distracting the King while he summoned, but any enemy who knew how the technique worked could easily get around it.
It didn’t matter what was summoned, or how many. Each eidolon James had called forth was still part of his soul, just fragmented into several pieces. And each piece, was still tethered to James, just with a line of energy so thin and fine that it created the illusion of telekinesis, when in reality, it was more akin to puppetry. This was why Sages typically didn’t use projectiles in their arsenal. Because it was impossible to take a piece of the soul and sever it completely.
Through trial and error, Bastion had also discovered that the further away a manifestation was from the owner, the weaker the strength. This was why eidolons were in sword form. They were almost always in contact with the wielder. So in reality, even though Daisy’s assault looked impressive, they lacked stopping power, and she was growing weaker with every pillar that broke out of the surface.
On cue, Daisy began breathing hard, just as Kent gained his footing. He punched down the next pillar that shot out in front of him with ease, and then he sprinted foward, ready to barrel into her with his uncanny strength. Bastion took a deep breath. It was over.
But Daisy apparently didn’t think so. Just as Kent was about to make contact, her brown eyes flashed open, and for a moment—she disappeared. Appearing behind Kent like a specter, Bastion watched in awe as Daisy thrust two straight swords through Kent’s back and pushed them forward until they exploded out his chest. Daisy was no longer the same. She had transformed.
Her Sage robe, long and billowing, flowed down her body like water. It was red and black, with streaks striped across the back, as if a painter had flicked his brush onto the garment while it was dipped in yellow. Bastion wondered what the stripes meant.
At the same time, he was envious. He had spent so much time honing his eidolon that he had neglected transformation. Now he regretted it. The sudden change in victor between Daisy and Kent provided more than enough evidence that it was a worthy goal to pursue.
Kent’s body hit the grass, and his body visibly got smaller on impact. Daisy looked down at him, with both eidolons in hand. She closed her eyes, and they became hook swords once more. She used one to put a hold on his shoulder and flip him over. Kent was breathing heavily as he stared up at her.
“That was good,” he said in a raspy voice. “I didn’t think you could transform that fast. There wasn’t—there wasn’t even a flash of light.”
“I’ve been practicing,” she smiled. “You thought you had me, didn’t ya?”
“Sure did,” he said, then he cleared his throat. “Still might. Fern’s still standing. Langorans still might win.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” she muttered, casting her eyes to the giant, who had all but murdered the Allayan boys. They were both lying in the grass, face down. The giant was kicking them lightly with his big toe, making sure there were no surprises. Daisy was just about to engage him in battle when her robe flickered, like it was the light of a firefly. She glanced down at it, examining it for tears or flaws. There were none, but it didn’t matter. It flickered once more, and then it disintegrated, ripping into tiny pieces, and becoming one with the air. Her old village clothes replaced the attire, and Daisy grunted in frustration.
So, Bastion thought. She can transform, but only for a very short amount of time. Did she sacrifice strengthening her state just to gain the speed? It was true what Kent had said. There had been no flashes or pillars of light encompassing her like he had read about. It was an interesting concept to consider.
“Let’s take a break, guys,” Fern shouted, his voice pounding the air with his deep voice. “We can start over in a few minutes.”
“Good,” Kent groaned, sitting up. The two holes in his chest were now healed. “I can redeem myself.”
“Sure you can,” Daisy said, giving him a hand to his feet. Fern helped the two Allayan boys to their feet slowly, one by one. Neither one was in a condition to continue in only a few measly minutes, but they still smiled weakly, trying to save face in front of the others. The Langoran that Daisy had taken out earlier had apparently been awake for a little while. He stayed on his belly, brushing his hand against the grass blades. Just thinking.
“You okay, Zif?” Kent asked the Langoran. The Langoran turned his head to look at Kent and smiled.
“Yep,” Zif replied. “Just gaining my strength for the next round. I’ll probably last longer than you this time.”
“Don’t count on it!” Kent laughed heartily. Bastion’s eyes widened in horror when he noticed that his own gaze had suddenly met Kent’s. Without hesitation, Kent began walking toward him—a playful expression on his face. Bastion thought about running, but he didn’t want to ruin his reputation before it even began. All of them, even Fern and Kent, were certainly contenders to be students at the Sage Academy. Due to the protests of the Langoran Order, a few of the rules were changed to accommodate the non-Allayans that wanted to join the school. If a Langoran was capable of excessive growth or increasing their strength to a certain degree, then it was seen as the equivalent of releasing one’s eidolon.
“Hey, you want to join us?” Kent asked, towering over him. “I’m Kent.” Bastion blinked a few times and then looked over at the others. He turned back to the Langoran before him.
“The teams are uneven,” he decided to say. “It would be unfair.”
“Not really,” Kent laughed. “The Sages could use some help.”
“Hey!” Daisy shouted. “I heard that!”
“I don’t understand the game,” Bastion replied. “I mean, I know that you choose someone from the battles of the past, but none of you did any of their moves except Fern. Were you supposed to?”
“You don’t have to do any special abilites. Choosing a character just makes it more fun when play fighting.”
“It didn’t look like play fighting.”
“Well, there were no true killing blows,” Kent replied casually. “We can wound someone to a certain degree since we can all heal ourselves. Just nothing serious. No aiming for the head or the neck if you’re going to use blades. Don’t overstress your opponent’s organs. For example, I had to be careful about not hitting Daisy in the chest much. Because I have great strength, I don’t want to hit where her heart would be too many times. I might accidentally kill her.”
“We know you’re really just trying to feel her up!” Fern yelled. Kent shook his head.
“Come on. Join us. You can be on our team then.”
“A Langoran?”
“You don’t have to be a Langoran to play one.”
“But I don’t know any moves of a Langoran.”
“Doesn’t matter. But if you don’t feel comfortable, you can join the Sages then. Can you release your eidolon?”
Bastion wasn’t sure how to answer the question, even though there should have been no reason to hide. They would all know the answer in only a couple days anyways. Would it be better to reveal his abilities then, when he might gain a reputation as a powerful warrior? Or was it better now, to gain early respect, and maybe even a friend or two?
“Well?” Kent asked, not impatiently.
“I’ll go to the Langoran’s side,” he said finally. Kent nodded, as if the statement had revealed all he needed to know. Bastion climbed to his feet, realizing too late that his tome was now exposed. It had been behind him, but now it captured the attention of Kent. Kent eyed the book, and then he gave Bastion an inquisitive look. Still, he made no motion to call the others’ attention to it, nor did he pry more into Bastion. He left it alone, and they both walked toward the group. From where the rest of them stood, no one would think the book was anything out of the ordinary.
“This is…um, what’s your name?” Kent asked, turning to him.
“Bastion,” he replied, noticing that Kent, and the other two Langorans were a couple feet taller than him. Even Daisy and the Allayans towered over him by a few inches. The group gave out their names as if they were answering an attendance roll call: Daisy, Fern, Zif, the bald twin-looking boys, Michael and Mason. No one seemed interested in the short boy that had just graced their presence.
“So what team is he going to be on?” Michael asked, with a bored expression on his face.
“The Langorans,” Kent declared proudly, patting Bastion on the back. Daisy raised her eyebrows.
“He doesn’t look like a Langoran to me,” she said.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Kent winked, as they all lined up again in their respective teams.
“How many rounds are we doing today?” Zif sighed.
“Hey,” Fern snapped at him. “You’re the one that said you needed the training. We’re out here for you.”
“It’s just that she could have really hurt me,” he whined, pointing at Daisy.
“No wonder you didn’t make it into the Academy,” he sighed, shaking his head.
“Round two,” Daisy said, her hook swords materializing in her hands. Fern blew her a kiss, and then he began transforming back into a giant. Being so close to him now, Bastion realized just how intimidating he was. It was no wonder that the Enforcer was revered by their people.
“Come on,” Kent growled, patting Bastion on the back again. His muscles were beginning to increase in size rapidly, his skin stretching so far out that Bastion feared it would snap.
Michael and Mason attacked first, but this time, they didn’t go after Fern. They headed straight for Bastion. Bastion’s eyes widened as he saw a foot flying toward his face. He was shocked by how quickly all of his private training sessions didn’t mean a thing.
Chapter 5 – Intervention
James yawned as he climbed to his feet. The dust that clung to his clothes fell off into a cloud of soot and smoke. He coughed and tried to wave it away fervently. Arimus chuckled nearby as he too joined James in standing. James spit out some of the dirt that had gotten into his mouth.
Of Heroes And Villains (Book 4) Page 5
