by Nicol Terra
Ahn sighed, his smile widening. “Ahn Kyung. I never expected your Aura to be so…”
“Wild?” Yas interrupted.
Ahn nodded.
“Well, it comes with the years of training and meditation. I take it you are new to the West?” He asked. "Although to be fair, next to the blondie, I am practically chopped liver."
Ahn nodded. “Actually, I was supposed to get supplies and be heading to the main continent, but I was shot down.” He said, then he remembered who shot him down. He let out a faint curse, only for Yas to touch his forehead. He felt a ‘connection’ with the man as he gave off a wild, purple light. Ahn noticed that the monks started to disperse behind him, Ioja waving many of them out. He then turned his eyes back to Yas. His eyes were giving off faint, purple energy. He shook his head, letting go of Ahn.
“I see.” Yas said.
“What..did you coat your Aura with?” Ahn asked.
“I coated my eyes with Yellow.” He said. The man bowed once and shook his head. “I am sorry, you are truly behind your journey.”
Ahn let out a weak giggle. “No big deal, I can leave today, right?”
Yas said nothing. Ahn turned to Ioja, only for him to dart his eyes away. Ahn raised a brow.
“Well?” Ahn asked.
Yas shook his head, Ioja locking the door behind the three. Yas leaned his back on the wall, his eyes closed.
“What if I told you, this island is under siege?” He said.
Ahn raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“A little history first.” The man said, pulling his shirt sleeve up. He revealed a light, ocean blue patch of his skin. It was the mark of a Chisean, all of which had copper green blood. “I am a Chisean, on a Kragg controlled island.”
Ahn raised a brow. “So? Zynthia and Kragg are allies too?”
The man nodded. “Indeed. Kulso is too, however, not allied with Kragg.” He said, biting his tongue briefly as he darted his head away. “Let's just say, you can’t leave when the thousand-strong Brigade led by Zalima exists.” He said.
Ahn shook his head. “So the short of it, I am in a Warzone where Alliances do not matter.”
Ioja nodded. “That is correct, Alliances like the ones in the Old World do not matter here. Even if they did, I am sure you heard the news.”
Ahn expression was blanked, he instinctively pulled out his holosphere and pressed the button on the top. The news was almost sickening.
Kragg Declares Neutrality Once More, Zynthians split on war with Mysen and Maplesworn
Kulso declares Tariffs on Kragg Goods
Daniel Regulas and Legion One repel assassination attempt.
Ahn slipped his Holosphere back into his pocket. He was frozen, unsure of what to think. He was not ‘afraid’ of death, nor the potential of his harm crossing his mind. He instead felt a sense of sorrow, politics getting in the way of civilized discussion. There was nothing to be said because nothing can be said.
“Will you help us?” Ioja interrupted. Ahn shot his head up, his face washed with shock.
“What do you mean?” Ahn asked.
“Our Tribe Leader on the Island is speaking with Zane. He is one of the other Chieftains in a city nearby. Before he left from here to back home, he had a vision of three warriors defending these islands. He mentioned a Chisean Boy.” Yas said.
Ahn raised a brow. “I don’t know what you mean by this, but I don’t know if I can help,” Ahn said. He wasn’t insecure, just honest. What could he do to help? A small part of him wanted to help. Ioja opened the door as the three walked outside. Ahn looked too see no one out, the city roads were barren, lifeless. There were people in the city, but as he looked, he saw many closing their curtains, shutting their doors. Some even created force fields around their house, a sign of desperation. Ahn face became glued to the ground.
“I mean, what can I do to help?” Ahn asked.
Ioja said nothing. Yas sighed, grabbing Ahn by the shoulder.
“Not sure.” He said Ahn, Yas, and Ioja went inside a small wooden house in the far edge of the village. He saw the village buildings grow smaller and smaller, more and more run down and falling apart. He saw in the distance the sunrise to midday. He then marked his eyes down, to suddenly see a crowd of people blocking the room
“What in the?” Ahn asked.
Yas cursed while Ioja giggled.
“Alright, Alright! Shows over! What, have any of you ever seen an Elf before?” Yas said, shooing many away as they parted away in an instant.
Ahn felt his draw drop. She was beautiful, her flowing blonde hair and gentle eyes shot through the crowd. The crowd dispersed around him. The female elf smile as he felt a healthy heartbeat overcome.
‘That-” Ahn started to sputter as Illevetar turned to Ahn and gave him a wink. Ahn then felt a tingle fly up his spine.
“Princess Illevetar,” Ioja said. Illevetar walked over to Ahn and kissed his hand. He took a step back as he let out a crimson blush. It was customary for Royals either in Business or Power to kiss the hand of a person in a deal. It caught him off guard how dignified the Elves were.
“I take it you had an issue with some people too?” She asked. Ahn gulped, swallowing his anxiety down. He simply nodded, he couldn’t say anything as he laid motionless at her. Her
“She also came with a human friend, who is recovering nearby. You three are destined to fight off the invading army and lieutenants, by yourself.” Yas said.
Ahn smirked and inched away. “You mean that she is-”
“She is here to help you, and together you can win and save us all.” Ioja smiled.
“I mean-” Ahn said. Illevetar blinked for a moment.
“You seemed flustered, are you okay?” She asked. He rapidly swung his head up and down.
“Illevetar.” She said. Ahn slinked to grab her hand and shake it.
“Ahn Kyung.” Ahn whispered and whined.
“Oh wow, I didn’t expect a Royal to be here!” She said, then she let out a smirk. “You got time later?” She asked.
Before Ahn could respond, Ioja cleared his throat.
“Illevetar, I expect you to help us defend.” Ioja asked.
She nodded. “Of course!” She said, rolling over to Ahn who shot him a gentle glare. “Are you gonna help too?”
Ahn felt his heart beat rapidly; then he let out a small blush. “Now I have too.”
Rachel shifted around the darkness in her mind. She saw a mocking smile greet her dreams. She ran forward, her fists clenched as she tried to grasp and hit the smile straight across the face. That smile only got further and further away. She yelled in a blinding rage, to stop mid-run. She looked down, too see a blade struck inside her chest. Her yell of rage became one of emotional pain and trauma as she let out a stream of tears. The man was Xin, and his mocking face was enough to intensify a deep-seated personal anger.
She awoke in an instant, her face in a cold sweat. She grabbed her body all over, then reached for her crystal; it was there. Intact. She looked to her right side, a vase of flowers greeting her, with a white letter underneath the jar.
"Get better soon.”
A smile wiped across her face. She knew it was from Illevetar.
Her smile was gone and she felt her heart was heavy. She sighed heavily; she saw her clothes folded on the bed. She undressed her white pajama's and slid back own her plain white cotton shirt and her blue jeans. She grabbed her knife and then rubbed her crystal once more."I am sorry, I won't lose you again." Rachel said, walking outside of the room.
Her pride wouldn't allow it. There was no one in the house, walking outside to a busy city street. The white stone laid across the roads in a straight, orderly line. She sighed, she didn't have her Holosphere on her, she left it in her Airsail. If she did have it, she would have checked to see where she was. She was in a friendly, but strange city to her. She raised a brow to herself. This was new to her. She also didn't have her book bag anymore. She was 'naked' in a new world she did not
understand. Rachel released energy in her crystal, feeling the electricity of the hundreds of thousands of people. She felt a distinct electric signature; it was Illevetar. She smiled, at least she was safe. The downside is that she is across the city, a few hour walks. She sighed, might as thoroughly explore the city.
The city was relatively flat, houses clumped together, not taller than ten feet all looked similarly with each other. The houses were in the shape of boxes; these boxes were not much different from each other besides the different shades of paint on them. These smallest houses were yellow, closest to the ground. The next tallest houses, only a few feet taller were green, and the tallest houses that were over fifty feet tall were red. The streets were orderly and divided carefully, and even the roads were not imperfect, being perfectly even in size and order. The city had no open markets, with the stores being inside buildings not much larger than a green or red houses. There were no skyscrapers to touch the sky, the tallest building she saw was sixty feet tall.
She accidentally bumped into a male elf.
"Oh, I am sorry." She said.
The elf merely winked and walked away. Rachel shrugged once, Rachel never saw herself as naturally gorgeous. Humans dominated the city, but a few elves greeted her with friendly stares. She giggled to herself, even far away from the political 'bullshit' of Alato and Siphor, humans and elves can still get along.
The city streets were numbered instead of named; she took a right turn at 21, her lucky number. This neighborhood had only military style castles and buildings, in the shape of tall and skinny pencil boxes. She sighed, maybe she can get some information regarding this city.
She walked inside the tallest pencil box, as she was greeted with tens of human soldiers, playing cards and drinking among themselves. Some of them were smoking rolls and high off their peacefulness. The rest, however, were visibly nervous.
“Hey, did you hear, Xin attacked a few people just outside the city.” One of the as Soldiers said.
“Oh no, he is getting more and more powerful. He is too strong.” Another said.
Rachel froze, Xin was also the first person to hand her a loss. She instead shook her head, trying to relax.
“I wonder how powerful he is..” One said.
Rachel heard this, it was on the table to her right. She swung around and scoffed
“He is not so tough. I am sure I can blitz him if I get a hold of him.”
She said confidently. The three men turned to her confused, with of them raising a troubled brow.
“Oh yeah? And how fast are you?” One of them said.
She bolted a flash from Mookaite and snatched one of the swords leaning on the table. Their faces turned ghost white as their jaws dropped. In just a second.
“What, how did you?” One asked.
“Are you..the Flash of the West?” Another asked.
Rachel shrugged. “Some people call me that.” She said, tossing them the sword back as she looked an open wooden box. The box had a roll of six joints, a sort of pastime in Kragg for productivity and easing stress, even out here Cannabis was the most popular drug of choice.
“How about I snatch one and you try to stop me?” She asked
The three men, both amazed and smiling nodded in agreement, as they repositioned themselves upward.
“Alright, but we won’t give you a chance for-”
She snatched it in a microsecond, balancing it with her pointer finger straight up, as she wobbled it with a gust of win. That was her top speed, she can snatch something a meter away in a microsecond.
“Nice try.” She said with a small smirk.
"Return that please." A loud, gruff man said. She turned around to see a man, armored with green armor. He gave a friendly, but punitive smile. "The Flash of the West is awake." He said.
She grumbled, throwing the joint back at the men. She then tossed him a bronze coin at the stolen pack of joints.
"For your trouble." She said, winking at the men.. The men blushed and looked away. She turned back to the larger man, who gave her a soft grumble. He was burly, over two hundred pounds of thick muscle all of which was centered in her chest and arms. She guessed he was probably an Aura user, but considering his blade had a Magic Inscription on it, made her think otherwise.
"What is your name?" She asked.
"Yas, I am the military Lieutenant in this city. For now." He said.
She raised a brow. "For now?"
"Well, first off, I heard your friend carried you up the peaks." He said, shaking his head. "She has recovered in just a day and has been here for the past week, preparing for the war."
She turned around, her eyes widened. "You mean Illevetar; she is here? Is she okay? What war are you talking about? What city is-"
The man put the finger to her lips as she swiped it away. "I am still not done. Why is there a city here? What other cities are on this archipelago."
"Stop, please. Your questions hurt my brain." He said.
She shuffled her feet; her eyes drooped down. "I am sorry."
"Well, why don't you meet Illevetar and ask her all of these questions?" He said, shaking his head. "I can tell you this, and you are safe for now. Don't worry about it." He said. She gave a small sigh of relief as she felt a discharge of electricity come out of her body. He raised a brow.
"That is Mookaite?" He said, his mind fixated on her crystal. She darted away for a second, grabbing her crystal on instinct.
"Yeah, it is." She said. She walked away. She didn't feel comfortable around this man. She shivered at the thought. She hasn't seen someone who looked at her crystal so intently before.
She walked through the city and back to the cityscape. The buildings went from an assortment of colors to red and tall buildings. She realized in the back of her head; she needed a Holosphere now. She reached into her pocket; she has a gold piece, twenty silver, and bronze. She figured she could get a cheap one or at least a crystal core that she can use to program her. She smiled at the idea; now she hasn't done that in a long time.
She walked to a crystal store instead, a red building with the storefront labeled 'Naturia Crystals’ She felt a sense of relief that a large company like Naturia still has a branch out here.
She walked inside, walking to the crystals first. She looked at the bright blue crystals first. The crystals ranged from fifty silver to a gold piece. The tags underneath read "Ash Elemental," "Water Elemental," "Shadow Elemental" and "Light Elemental." She snatched the Light Elemental crystal and went up to the top floor in the back. It was a room with wooden or plastic sphere's, with an open indention inside for a crystal. The worst part, however, was that none of them had a Holodisk, literally the one piece of technology that creates holograms, to begin with.
She asked the shopkeep on her way down. "You wouldn't happen to have a Holodisk for Holospheres, do you?"
"I am sorry, what is a Holosphere?" The shoopkeep said.
Rachel blinked and then let out a small frown. "Oh, I get it." He said. Daniel did say they don't know what a Holosphere was, those shells must have been traded before the war started. Getting Holodisks for making Holograms was an expensive task anyway, probably the most costly piece other than the power source. Someone in Kragg must have forgotten to import the Holodisks. Ironically, the Crystals would be used for battle, but even though Crystal Use was easy to use, they can be broken. A broken crystal is as broken as a broken person. She thought and then frowned once again.
"Nevermind." She said
She went outside, their crystal selection was mediocre and overpriced. She could get the same crystals for silver, not gold.
She saw the sun start to set in the distance, was it already dawn? "Must have been asleep all day." She said to herself. She turned back to the hotel. As the sun set, she saw everyone lock their doors and rush inside, the full moon greeting the city. She raised a small furrow in her brow. She did not expect to see the friendly and lively city to not be active during the night.
She felt a
small presence behind as she turned around. It was a man, a Human with a gentle smile. He was nearly six feet tall, and he had a green tinted armor latched on his body.
"Ah yes, may I help you?" Rachel said.
The man nodded. "Yes, I hear your name is Rachel. Your friend Illevetar talks highly of you."
Dear god Illevetar, how much have you done here? She asked herself. She shrugged once.
"That's my name, what's up?" Rachel said, scratching the back of her head for a moment as he stared at the tall man.
"Well, how about we walk and talk at your hotel?" The man said, pulling out a pack of Sparks for her. She sighed, taking one for herself. She lit the roll with her crystal, a shot of lightning sparking it cleanly with no taste of flames whatsoever. She took a long drag and then exhaled. She felt her worries and fears exhale with the giant puff of smoke. The man too took a long whiff of his joint and emitted as well. She returned with a second drag.
"What brings you to this Archipelago?" The man asked.
"I have orders from Kragg to explore the Western Islands; I chose here." She answered truthfully. “My Airsail is further South from here.” She said, which is partially correct, assuming a Maldition Squad didn't find it through the invisibility and decide to steal it.
He nodded. "I would not have picked this island if I knew the circumstances currently present." He said.
Rachel eyes locked onto his.
"Besides being attacked by Maldition thugs, I don't see anything uniquely terrible about this place." She added.
The man turned to her, the moonlight parting between the two. "Do you know who leads those thugs?"
She said nothing.
"The man who leads this group of hooligans is named Zalima. He is a Chief Commander of Kulso." He said..
She took another drag, her mind sinking that in. A man of high rank, only fifteen others in his kingdom have a similar position. She shivered. He was the same rank as Daniel, her boyfriend. She sighed.
"Alright, fine. I screwed up. What is a guy like that have to do with me?"
The man took another puff. "He wants to take over this land and turn it into a military base.”
