Storm closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was also curious about the truth of the stone but knew that their knowledge of the stone remained limited. And so he didn’t really try to seek out more knowledge of it, although his imagination had sprung alive several times to his own dismay. Trying to forget about the mysteries of the stone, he focused on the calm brought on by the cold air. A sudden gust of icy wind made him blink, and a fleeting thought passed through his mind. That’s strange, it feels as if the cloak of Winter is already upon us. We’ve only just been cloaked by Fall.
“Storm?” continued Caim. “What do you think it does?”
“How should I know?” said Storm, tired of answering Caim’s never-ending tirade of questions. “Probably nothing. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Almost immediately Caim had run in front him, staring up at him with his wide blue eyes and silver hair that fell about his face. “Well, maybe if I look at it … I could figure out!”
Storm walked straight past him. “Not gonna happen.”
“I’ll never let you hold my sword!” Caim changed his mind, then planted his feet and held up his arm as if to stop Storm in his tracks.
Storm sighed and continued on, “Who wants to hold your sword anyway? And besides, if you gave it to me, I’d probably transform your Fallblade to its final form before you just like the old man did.”
Caim’s fists clenched up at his sides. Just as he was about to protest Storm’s comment he detected the presence of something and looked down. Suddenly, Caim didn’t care about the gem or the sword anymore and sat entranced. A tiny white creature, small enough that it could have sat in his palm, with the exception of its long black tail that reached past the length of its furry body, stared at him through enormous blue eyes that were much too big for its face. It had snow-white fur and little black ears, with black whiskers and a pink button nose.
“What are you looking at, Tree Spirit,” said Caim before sticking his tongue out at the little creature. The Tree Spirit merely responded with a barely heard “meep” and started following him. Although they could be rare to see, he had grown up with the annoying little Tree Spirits and their strange behavior. He stuck his tongue out at it once more and turned after his brother.
Storm could hear his brother take up a pace at his side once again. Sighing silently, he realized Caim was never going to stop nagging him about the stone, but still he tried for a change of subject.
“Caim,” said Storm. “Do you really think the old man is telling the truth? That there is really a world tournament? How come he never told us about this before?”
“Oh now you want to talk about things we don’t know about,” answered Caim. The Tree Spirit was still following a few feet behind him.
Storm ignored him and considered his own question. His whole life had revolved around training for the sole purpose of becoming stronger, the strongest. It seemed unlikely that immediately after overcoming their old man’s last trial, there was suddenly a tournament where much stronger opponents were fighting, as if the next level of their training had just opened before them. It always seemed like the old man was one step ahead of them, planning things for them they couldn’t yet understand, nor predict. And another thing bothering him were the last words the old man had spoken before they left. “Don’t be disappointed, Storm … no matter what, you can’t enter.”
Storm clenched his teeth. “There is hidden meaning in those words … I know it.” Was this just another test? The thoughts were unsettling, and he couldn’t find peace with any answer that came to him. An evil grin curved across his face. “If this is about the wine …”
“I hope it’s all true,” said Caim. His eyes had a strong glint to them as he punched his fist into his other hand. “Storm … I know you’ve felt it. I remember feeling their power long ago. It felt as if all of Falia was shaking. There are strong fighters in this world … really strong. I know there are.”
Storm came to a stop, his boot crunching down hard over the dirt. He immediately knew what Caim was talking about. Ever since they were young, they had felt strong powers resonating from beyond Falia, pulsing from the distant world of Risia. They were but young boys when they first felt the powerful auras, and always wondered what kind of mythical creatures could create such a feeling within them. Their skill in focusing on energy from great distances was untrained in those days, and their imaginations had grown wild thinking of the thousand different possibilities. Caim had imagined huge creatures that rampaged through the lands trying to break into the White Castle. Storm on the other hand believed that such power couldn’t come from one particular thing, and thought that a vast army of soldiers from another land must exist, and that their powers combined made them feel as if they were one great energy.
Caim suddenly jumped up onto a low hanging tree branch and with a propelling bounce soared up to the highest branch, landing on his toes and casting his gaze westward. His eyes fell on the distant white paradise that illuminated the night. The White Castle glowed brilliantly, like stellar fire in the distance. To the two brothers, the castle might as well have been just another fairy tale, or a great mythic legend of the past. No matter how many questions they asked their grandfather, the only thing he ever told them was that the castle lay on the other end of their world, on Risia, which was the land of Nobility. It was something they hadn’t understood for a long time. Caim still remembered the words of the old man when he asked when he could go to the White Castle.
“You must never go there. Cast all thoughts of exploring the White Castle from your minds and ignore its existence. Entering the land of Risia is certain Death … at least for us.” The warning of their grandfather had kindled Caim’s love of adventure and Storm’s rebellious nature.
However, no matter how hard they tried, they could never shake the sense of curiosity that swept over them. A terrifying yet thrilling need to challenge the great powers beyond had been rising within Caim and Storm for many long cycles as their own power grew far beyond what they once believed possible.
“Yes, I’ve felt it,” answered Storm.
He remembered the very first time he had felt the distant aura spikes emanating from Risia. He had been only a little boy, training with Caim on the edge of Falia when he felt a shockwave of aura rush through his body like surging lightning. They came in bursts, as if fragments of pressure were being released and rippling across the lands. A cold sweat had swept over Storm, leaving icy chills on the tips of his fingers. To this day, he still wasn’t sure if the feeling had been real, or a very vivid nightmare. All he knew was that it wasn’t warm like the aura of their grandfather, but cold and daunting; his heart craved to meet it, yet his subconscious warned him gravely.
“We don’t even know if that power came from Sorians,” called Storm suddenly, as if contradicting his own feelings.
Caim landed lightly on his toes next to Storm. Caim grinned. “What else could it be? I hope they are way stronger than grandpa!”
Storm couldn’t help but grin at Caim’s words—he really did never change.
A soft light caught Storm’s eye as he gazed through the holes in the treetops at the two moons looking down at him like crystal eyes. Slowly but surely, they were creeping towards each other, like the two hands of a clock that both spun towards midnight. Storm raised his hand and measured the distance between them as two finger lengths.
“Seven more days, ka …”
“Meep, meep!” Storm heard something faint from near his feet.
Caim was looking up at the moons as well. “Doesn’t matter how strong they are … I’ll beat all of them!” He punched his fist into his other hand forcefully.
Storm grinned, “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” said Caim. “The stronger they are, the more fun it will be. Grandpa told me life is just a great challenge. If you’re going to challenge yourself, choose one that will push you past the brink o
f your limits.”
A sudden feeling that he was being watched swept over Caim and he turned to find that there were now dozens of Tree Spirits following at his heels, some hopping, and some flying. Caim noticed that some of them had started following him in a single file line, prancing about in a dancing motion. He looked up to the trees. Some must have been hiding amongst the branches and were awakened when he had jumped up to the highest branch. They had followed him down without him knowing.
Storm turned to face the unknown darkness and kept walking. They had been traveling for several shades and the once worn down path was nearly vanished. They were leaving their area of the forest and entering the domain of the Master of the Forest. Storm shook the dark thoughts from his head and thought back to Caim’s last words.
“A great challenge or a great game, sometimes I can’t tell which way you look at it Caim.” Storm muttered. He was expecting some retaliatory answer from Caim, but heard nothing.
Caim wasn’t paying attention; he was distracted by the effect of the Tree Spirits, for just looking at them gave one a calmness of the heart. Caim turned and stopped suddenly. Behind him, the Tree Spirits bumped into his leg one by one, knocking themselves down one by one in a domino effect. They cried out as they toppled over, their sharp eyes staring up at Caim, obviously angered by his sudden halt.
Caim kneeled and pulled on one of the creature’s ears. “Stop following me already.”
Just as he was about to get to his feet something caught his eye. It was clenched between the teeth of one of the Tree Spirits and its tiny pink tongue was cleaning the sides of it. Looking closer, he realized that it was holding onto a shimmering red gem and the instant it noticed Caim staring at it, it ran into the shadows of the trees and vanished.
“Did you see that?” Caim asked.
“What?”
And just like that his memory of the past few seconds went blank.
“See what?” Storm said.
Caim shrugged, “What are you talking about?”
Storm raised an eyebrow. “You have issues.” He stopped for a moment, gazing at the many Tree Spirits trying to swat the feathered tails of Caim’s vest. “I don’t understand why they have such a fascination with you,” he said. One of the Tree Spirits flashed by Storm’s face, attempting to scratch him. “Little bastard,” he said, swiping at the creature.
“They don’t like those who don’t understand them,” answered Caim.
Storm smirked, clearly not believing that the creatures had any higher form of intelligence at all. They sure didn’t look very intelligent. “It’s probably because you smell like food all the time.”
Caim’s stomach growled. “I’m hungry!”
Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. Storm quickly changed the subject. “We’re never going to get to Trestles by morning at this pace,” he said, kicking a stone. He watched it soar over the ground and crack into the side of a tree.
Caim, who had been distracted by the Tree Spirits, suddenly found his focus with the loud thud of the stone hitting the tree, and without really thinking, proposed an idea that was astoundingly amazing to him. “Let’s race!”
Storm stopped dead in his tracks and felt a grin creep up his face. The wind whistling through the trees seemed to die down as the two brothers turned to face each other. Caim cocked his head to the side smiled.
“To the lake,” said Caim. “And whoever wins gets to hold the magic stone.”
“So, that’s your plan” said Storm, his suspicions confirmed.
Caim was grinning even harder now. “Unless you’re scared you’ll lose.”
Storm laughed, shaking the hood from the top of his head. “Fine, at least then you’ll shut up about trying to see it every five seconds.” Storm looked through the trees. “Its a little ways away but … at least it will make the time go by faster.” Storm cracked his knuckles. “And besides, I’ve been practically burning up with all this talk of a world tournament. I’m seriously going to throw the old man off the Edge if he’s making up another story.”
He walked over and stood beside Caim, who was stretching his legs. Dozens of Tree Spirits had gathered behind Caim as if they were his little reinforcements.
“What is it with you and those things,” muttered Storm. For a second he stared at one of the Tree Spirits. It was about the size of his hand, looking up at him with perfectly round blue eyes. Its fur looked as if it had been rolled in powdered sugar. And just like that, something foreign and calm came over him. Immediately he fought it, disliking the idea that something could control his emotions other than himself.
“Creepy little bastards,” said Storm. The Tree Spirit seemed to understand him, and picked up a tiny piece of dirt and flung it at Storm with all its might. Storm grinned as the piece of dirt landed a few inches in front of the creature. He reached down and picked it up by the fur of its withers, and walked over to a puddle. The creature stared up at him with huge innocent eyes. He kneeled down and with a wicked smile, dropped it into the puddle. As soon as the Tree Spirit hit the puddle it kicked the water and splashed Storm in the face. Caim burst out laughing and all the Tree Spirits took off running.
“Don’t cry when I beat you,” said Storm, turning to Caim and wiping his face.
“I don’t even know how to cry.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“You don’t make sense.”
“Ok, I’m done talking to you.”
“I was already done talking to you first.”
Storm smacked Caim on top of his head.
“Hey! What’s the big idea!? You wanna fight!?”
“We racing or you getting scared?”
Caim tapped the ball of his foot on the ground, muttering something inaudible. Beside him, Storm reached down and picked up a dull grey stone half the size of his palm. A certain tension coursed through the air, and Storm’s tension rose with each breath he took.
“Alright, you know how it works,” said Storm, tossing the stone up and catching.
“Yeah, yeah,” said Caim. “We run that way and I win.”
“Something like that. Let’s do this.”
Storm threw the stone straight up through the trees. It whizzed past leaves, whistling up into the sky as the two brothers lowered their center of balance, waiting. Storm pulled his sheathed katana from the sash around his waist and held it firmly in his right hand. Caim shot him a strange look.
“I’m faster like this.”
“Nervous?” asked Caim with a grin.
“Not at all.”
“You should be.”
Straining their ears, they listened for the stone. Far off in the distance, they could hear it falling through the air, slicing through leaves, thumping off a branch …
Caim’s feet dug straight into the ground as he launched himself forward, temporarily vanishing from sight. Appearing next to the nearest tree, Caim dashed vertically up its side before swinging off the branches and piercing the treetops, disappearing into the twilight.
Storm released a heavy sigh. “Never could wait for it to hit the ground, could you.” Closing his eyes, he heard the final fall of the stone. “Tmp” was the last thing he heard before he dug his boots deep into the ground and vanished into the darkness.
IX – The Valyti
The brightness blinded the sister’s eyes for a few moments before their pupils adjusted to the sudden change. The three girls stood still, and then with deep breaths they walked as tiny shadows into the secret lair of the Force.
A massive white room made of stone a hundred times brighter than the inner walls of the tower spread out before them like an endless blanket. Pillars of black marble curved their way up from the tiled floor to the distant reaches of the stony ceiling, which was at least a hundred feet high and lined by thick, sharp icicles similar to the stony ones hanging from outside t
he window they passed earlier. The sisters were surprised to see that the Valyti was completely open to the sky along its farthest edge, while the white stone on the ground gave the impression of a sandy beach stretching before a vast blue ocean. A few fragments of floating stone hung in the sky not far from the entrance to the training grounds. Turning her gaze to the ceiling, Remi shuddered in fear: If one of the giant icicles were to fall it would crash through her like a boulder through water. As she was thinking she noticed strange tracks on the ceiling, lined with black runes that led to the side of the towering door they had just walked through. Following it with her eyes, she realized that the tracks led to the black stone cages holding the beasts and that they must have been used to transport the creatures into the room – for purposes she could only imagine.
“Unreal …” Remi said to herself.
Off in the distance, sitting on one of the floating chunks of earth outside the Valyti, Remi saw one Sorian with a long flowing white cloak. On the girl’s back was a long bow, but from the far distance, the only distinct features Remi could make out were that whoever it was, was not looking inward, but rather outwards at the sky, and that the bow on her back was the length of her body. The girl, or so Remi thought, considering that all of the Force were women, looked like a distant speck of white sitting atop an earthen throne of the sky. Remi suddenly shivered, feeling the intense cold of the room and watched as the misty vapor from her breath rose about her.
Ever since Remi had entered, the ground had been shaking and the distant drumbeat of what sounded like massive hammers cracking into stone began to grow faster and faster. Turning her gaze to the center of the room, she saw a young woman, naked from the waist up and wearing black wraps around her hands. With all of her strength, the girl struck one of the tall black pillars again and again. The stone cracked and splintered with each blow, but for some reason it never broke. With a closer glance, Remi realized that the stone was regenerating after each blow almost instantaneously. The pounding of the girl’s fists grew faster and faster until Remi could no longer make out the time between each one, and the thunder of her blows sent cracking sounds splitting across the open room. And then, with a sudden final blow, the girl stopped her barrage of attacks and stood still, her arms stiff at her sides. Crimson blood seeped onto the floor from her ravished knuckles.
Curseborn Saga - Fade to Black Page 10
