by Sean Watman
“Thank you,” I said, but thank you wasn't nearly significant enough a word for how grateful I was to this man. “You've done so much for me, and I don't even know your name.”
“My name is Kris; I'm from the water country of Tidran,” he answered. The wolf suddenly stirred and growled, cutting off Kris.
“And this little monster,” Kris said playfully, scratching its neck, “her name is Aquas, and she is my Kreysor.”
“My name's Jack,” I said. Then I asked, “What the hell is a Kreysor?” The man suddenly gave me a suspicious look and jumped from the tree, with Aquas not far behind.
“How can you not know what a Kreysor is?” he questioned as he walked up to me. “Kreysors are animals of an element that assist a Kreydur in battle.”
“And a Kreydur is …” I retorted, slightly annoyed at his change of tone.
“A Kreydur is the summoner, or user, of a Kreysor. Kreysors only come to those who are special,” he responded. “At least, that is what I was told.”
Kreysors? Kreydurs? This is the most confusing topic I have ever heard, I thought.
“Really, Kris, this man obviously does not understand a word you are saying,” a female voice said. The thing was, it was coming from Aquas.
“Ah!” I screamed, “Y … y … your Kreysor, dude, just t … t … talked,” I stammered.
Aquas then turned to face me and said in an impatient and irritated tone, “What? Did you think we lacked the capacity of human speech? Of course we can talk!” She then turned and walked away in a huff. I just stared dumbfounded at her. Here I am, trying to understand the laws of this world, when my logic is crumbling before me. Everything I learned from Earth I had to discard. What else did this world have? I wondered. When would I find out?
“Ah, do not mind her; she will come back after she cools down,” Kris stated. “Here, have some berries. Aquas was able to find them in the grove where the moths resided.” He threw a leather pouch onto my lap. I opened it up, and inside the pouch there were red berries. I tried one and immediately spat it out. It tasted disgusting. The skin was like a rotten apple's.
While I was coughing and trying to get the disgusting fruit out of my mouth, Kris was laughing. He finally said to me, “Wow! I never thought I would see the day when someone ate the skin of the rumbleberry. Everyone knows that the skin tastes disgusting to everyone but animals. You are a brave, brave man, Jack.” Feeling rather foolish about eating the skin, I peeled the skin off of another berry and put it in my mouth. It was delicious. This rumbleberry had a flavor that combined sugar and sour in perfect harmony.
“How do they taste?” Kris asked.
“They are amazing!” I exclaimed. “Haven't you tried them already?”
“In a way, yes, in a way, no,” was Kris's reply. Was there really a need for all the mysteriousness? I mean, it's a berry. Not like it was some major detail that could affect my life forever. When I tried to ask him what he meant, he just changed the subject as if nothing had happened. By doing that, he didn't kill my curiosity, but instead fuelled its flames. After learning nothing by my continuous pestering, I finally gave up and just gazed at the sky.
After a while, Aquas returned from her fuming. Without saying a word or even looking at us, she sat down beside Kris and rested her head on her paws. I felt like I should apologize to her, even though I didn't know what I had done wrong. I didn't know that much about her, so I was risking having her temper flare up again if I said the wrong thing. I decided to do what I usually do in that type of situation: nothing.
I leaned my head against the tree, still exhausted from the events of the previous day. At least I thought it was a day. I opened an eye and asked Kris how long I had been asleep.
“You slept for two days straight,” he said, “and in five minutes it would have been three.”
“Isn't there a nighttime here?” I asked.
“What is a night in this country?” Kris asked me. “There is always a sun up.”
“How can you tell the time here then?” I questioned, puzzled by his response.
“There are two suns in this country. The red one is called Pyre, and the orange one, which you see now, is called Pyro,” he answered.
Aquas then raised her head and tilted her ears. She suddenly started snarling and growling.
“What's wrong?” Kris asked nervously.
“Something's coming, fast,” Aquas replied through gritted teeth. “Be on your guard.”
Kris sprang into action. He grabbed the pouch and put it into a leather bag that he strapped onto his clothes.
“We need to go now!” Kris shouted at me. He helped me stand, taking no consideration of the condition of my arms. He then raced off into the forest with Aquas. I was left standing there, unsure of what to do. With a huge sigh, I sprinted off in Kris's direction, hoping to catch up with him.
Chapter 6: The Chase
It was amazing how fast Kris was. I only took five seconds to decide to follow him, and already he left no trail for me to track. If it was going to be difficult for me, it would also be difficult for the guy coming after us. The only advantage was that the moths no longer darkened the forest, so I could actually see where I was going without having to spot the yellow flowers. I continued to walk in a straight path when a hand grabbed me by the collar of my T-shirt and pulled me into the shade of a tree. I struggled to break free of the grip until I faced my captor, Kris. Before I could ask why he grabbed me, he put a finger to his lips to signal me to be quiet. I was about to protest when Aquas let out a quiet growl, shutting me up
The enemy did move fast, and if I hadn't been pulled off of the trail, I certainly would have been busted. I need to start acting smarter, I thought. It would certainly help me live longer. Kris then jumped up into the branches of the tree. I swear to god, that man was athletic beyond belief, and his clothes, although baggy, did not appear to hinder any of his movements. I was jealous, I admit, that he was so muscular. He then whispered a phrase, and Aquas, who was right beside me, disappeared again. This time, unlike when I had been weakened to the point of blindness, I got to watch the magic.
Aquas let out a howl, and she transformed into the gigantic sword Kris had wielded before. Kris outstretched his hand once she finished the transformation and caught her. Well, I finally understood what he meant by Kreysors assisting the Kreydurs in battle. Judging by what I just saw, each Kreysor could transform into a giant sword whenever you said the magic words. What they were was still a mystery, but I had finally figured out how the whole system worked. At least, that's what I thought.
Kris was perched like a hawk on the branches, not making a sound. There were two words to describe the way he looked: silent assassin. I just stared at him and his giant flaming blue blade, waiting for the guy to come and get killed. I felt like a monster thinking like that, but let's face facts: you screw with this guy, you die. Right before the guy arrived, Kris whispered something, but I couldn't hear what it was.
I started to shiver, which was definitely odd in this place. I mean, they had two suns! My breath started to show in front of my face. Rain came down, soaking my hair, and when I looked up at the sky, I saw that what used to be a cloudless expanse was now completely covered with dark clouds. I don't know how he did it, but Kris somehow changed the weather and the environment to his advantage. Now that the clouds were covering the sky, no sunlight could get through, leaving the field in total darkness. The enemy couldn't see Kris, but Kris already knew where he was. Now I was completely jealous: not only was this man superior athletically, but he was a genius too.
Everything was going the way Kris wanted to, and then something happened that I didn't expect: A yellow axe was spinning toward Kris abnormally fast. Kris ducked out of the way, and the axe barely missed him and returned to the warrior like a boomerang. As it was retreating, it barely missed my hiding place. Luckily, I caught a glimpse of the axe.
It had a brown handle, and the shaft had a golden yellow color. The blade
itself was normal, except for the fact that small lightning bolts were pulsing from the blade. There was no way this axe was normal. I realized that my Kreysors-turning-into-giant-swords theory was wrong. What I was looking at was another Kreysor. Judging by the lightning bolts coming off of the axe, I guessed this Kreysor's element was lightning.
“Kris!” I shouted, trying to throw my voice, “We're fighting a Kreydur, watch out!”
“What?” he screamed back. Turns out I made a mistake in yelling at him. I made him lose his concentration, and when the axe came at him a second time, he didn't have time to dodge it. As the axe made contact, his whole body went numb, and he collapsed. I wanted to scream for him to get up, but I had no Kreysor. As the Kreydur walked toward Kris, the clouds started to disappear, and I realized I had made another mistake. The Kreydur I had mistaken for a he was actually a she.
She looked just as odd as Kris. She wore the same armor, only it looked a little more feminine. She had long red hair, and she walked confidently. Kris was still not moving at all, and she was almost at his body. I knew I had to do something to help this guy; he saved my life. The only thing I could do was stay low and try to get closer to Kris. I was almost there when she reached Kris. I wasn't close enough to do anything dramatic, but I was close enough to hear what they were saying.
“You are not in your own country, Kreydur,” the woman said. Her voice told me she was around my age, but it had the tone of authority.
“Neither are you,” Kris retorted. “Should you not be protecting your own country?”
“It is not my country that I should be worried about.” She spoke in a menacing tone. “It's this one, and the fact that it has no Kreydur.” As I was overhearing this, my brain went into overdrive. Why does this country have no Kreydur? What happened to them? What exactly are their roles in the countries? I tried to continue eavesdropping, but there were too many mysteries all at once. My curiosity was preventing me from focusing.
“Are you going to kill me then?” Kris asked. “It wouldn't seem fair to attack me when I'm unable to defend myself.”
“Bolt's stun effect should have worn off a while ago. You were just appearing to be stunned so you could kill me once I got close enough and you got the information you needed. Correct?” Kris said nothing. Like I said before, this man was a genius. I was now hiding in a bush, not even thirty steps away from them, so if she made any sudden movements, I could tackle her if necessary. I also got a good look at her face. She had a kind face and beautiful brown eyes. The only problem would be if I pushed myself at her too fast. Right then my arms were hurting so much that I considered breaking them, that way I would be relieved of this agony..
The woman then raised her axe and asked Kris, “Any last words?”
“So, Bolt is his name,” Kris said slowly. “Interesting.”
“Not my preferred choice, but it works for me,” she replied. “Good-bye, Kreydur.” I turned away, not wanting to see my friend's tragic end, and waited for the chopping sound.
“What's wrong, Bolt?” The woman screamed. “Finish him off now!” I turned back to see that the other Kreydur was struggling to move her axe.
“I'm not done yet,” Kris said quietly as he started to stand up.
“Bolt! Kill him now!” She had gone into a confused frenzy.
“You made a pretty big mistake telling me your Kreysor's name,” Kris explained. “Fortunately, now you'll have all the time in the world to think about why.” He was about to deliver the final blow. He raised his sword, and just as Aquas was about to make contact, I rushed out to stop him.
“Stop, Kris!” I said right before he completed his swing. He hesitated, but said nothing as I ran in front of the Kreydur to protect her.
“You're both Kreydurs,” I said. “Why kill each other if you both have the same job? Shouldn't you be allies?”
“Stay out of this, boy,” the girl warned me. “You do not know anything about how we operate.”
“How can you call me a boy when you're not that much older than me?” I countered, irritated at her lack of respect for the person who saved her life. She said nothing, then turned her gaze toward Bolt, still immobilized. Was more magic involved? I wondered. If so, then I should probably learn how to cast spells—then maybe I wouldn't be so useless. I then got my thoughts together. Right then, we had an enemy Kreydur to deal with.
“We should go,” Was all Kris said to me after a few minutes of silence. These moments of silence were becoming more and more frequent whenever I had a conversation with him.
“What about her?” I asked. She then turned her gaze toward me, and we made eye contact for the first time. She looked into my eyes as if searching for the answer to my question. I broke contact first, afraid to look at her if Kris made a bad decision.
“Well, since you are standing in my way, and I do not want to kill you, there is no point in attempting to finish her off,” he replied in his mesmerizingly calm voice. “By the way, Bolt should be able to move in ten minutes or so. Do not try to track us because next time Jack will not be here to save you.” Once again, Kris scared me with his calm but menacing death threats, but that time I felt relieved. Not about the woman being probably terrified; that would just be cruel. I was relieved that Kris was on my side, and I didn't have to worry about being hunted down. Kris then muttered something and walked away. It was most likely the cancelling phrase for his weapon because the sword disappeared from his grip, and in its place, Aquas appeared beside him.
I turned to face her again and asked, “Will you be fine until the stun wears off?” She looked at me for a few moments as if analyzing possible traps hidden within my words. I then caught a glimpse of a smile as she said, “I am a Kreydur; I will be fine. You should probably go; it does not look like he will wait for you.”
“What's your name?” I asked.
“None of your business,” she replied hotly. “But if you must know, it is Lyra.”
“Lyra …” I repeated slowly, committing the name to memory. “My name's Jack.” I then started to walk away, my bandaged arms hanging at my sides, when for some reason, I said, “I hope to see you again someday—only next time as friends.” I had no idea why I said that; something just urged me to say it. When I think about it, there were better things I could have said, but since I only just met her, that's what came out.
Once again, Kris left me with no sense of where he went. I was really getting peeved. I understood why he hid his tracks—I didn't want enemies to pick up on our trail either—but I thought I should at least be with him when he's throwing off the trail. Still full from the earlier meal, I sat down next to a tree and closed my eyes. I realized that, after all the day's happenings and with the adrenaline wearing off, I was really freaking tired. Let him come trying to find me was my last thought before I fell asleep—too tired to care about all the questions that had come from meeting another Kreydur.
Chapter 7: The Realization
I found myself once again in my subconscious. This time, though, there were flaming walls surrounding me. As I glanced around, I realized something about myself: I definitely needed to stop watching those action movies in which the hero gets caught in a flaming building; my imagination made everything involve fire.
“We meet again,” A voice called out to me. I turned around and saw my reflection, but he looked older this time. My long brown hair had been cut, and it was spiked at the front. It also looked as if I was growing a beard, and I was taller. I had to admit, I looked a lot better than I normally did, with my long, messy, uncontrollable hair.
“Tell me,” he continued, “have you learned anything since our last encounter?” He definitely needed to be more specific with his question because I had learned too much. I had learned about Kreysors and Kreydurs and magic. I learned that the Kreydur of Pyrus is gone. I wanted to tell him all that had happened to me, everything I knew. But, after thinking about how to approach the question, I then asked him, “What do you want to know about?” Wh
en I saw him smile, something inside me told me that I had chosen the right approach to his question and that maybe some of mine would finally be answered.
“Have you found a reason to fight for your beliefs?” he asked. Well, that narrowed down the topic, I thought. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to respond. The only fighting I had done since our last encounter was with Lyra, and even then we didn't exchange blows. Since he was technically me, my guess was he would know if I was lying. I decided to be honest with myself—no pun intended.
“I don't know,” I whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. He walked up to me, placed his hands on my shoulders, and looked me straight in the eyes. As I was staring at this older, more confident version of myself, it was as if his confidence was being transferred to me.
“You will know when the time is right.” He spoke to me in a sincere voice. “Until then, don't you dare die on me.” Oh great, yet another person who wants me alive for their own needs, I thought. He then started to walk away.
“Wait!” I called out. “Who are you?”
“Who do you think I am?” he asked over his shoulder and slowly faded into the distance. Well, he was me, in a sense. But once again, he left me with more questions than answers. As a matter of fact, he didn't answer any of my questions. The confidence that I had gained had disappeared as quickly as it came and was replaced by anger.
