by Jack Knight
Chapter 1: Lost
Xion stood panting and covered in sweat. The salty scent filled his nose, masking the strong stench coming off the monster in front of him. His shirt was drenched, and stuck to his skin in an uncomfortable way, and he had to keep wiping sweat from his eyes to keep his sight clear.
His sandy blonde hair, which had grown longer since his journey across the continent had begun, was matted against his head. The bow in his hands, made of white wood and elegantly carved, slid slightly in his wet palm.
He raised his weapon as best he could, and loosed another arrow at the beast he was fighting. The arrow sailed through the air and hit the monster in its side, it roared in a frenzy of pain and anger. The creature was like nothing Xion had ever seen before. It looked just like a lion, with a golden mane and course brown fur along its body, but its hindquarters looked like a goat and it had a fearsome snake for a tail. The snake, quickly lunged towards him, snapping its powerful jaw menacingly.
Xion was more than twenty feet away from the snake’s mouth, but he couldn’t help but flinch.
“Is this thing ever going to die?” Ava called out, her voice shaking with fury and exhaustion.
Ava had short white hair that had only recently gotten long enough to cover the tips of her pointed ears. She was thin, like most elves, and she stood barely over five feet tall. Her size did not stop her from being one of the bravest and most fierce warriors that Xion knew. She wielded only a small dagger, maybe six inches long, but that didn’t stop her from running right up to the fire breathing beast that was hell bent on destroying them. She expertly dodged its attacks before moving in again to strike, the steel of her dagger was tinted red with the beast’s blood.
“Warren, does it have a weakness?” called Sapphire.
Sapphire was standing even farther back than Xion, out of range of the beast’s fiery breaths. She would throw a ball of fire at the creature as often as she could summon one, but after half an hour of fighting the monster, she was moving slower and looked exhausted.
Sapphire had straight red hair that fell halfway down her back, and her bright blue eyes sparkled in the midday sunlight. She was even more pale than Ava, as well as shorter and thinner. She was also an elf, but much more petite than any other Xion had seen. She wore the same plain brown clothes that Xion and Ava did, but Sapphire had her shirt tied at her back to stop it from looking like she was wearing a blanket, all clothes looked so baggy on her.
“Nope, I got nothin’,” Warren called back.
Warren circled around the monster from the side opposite Xion. He was the tallest of all of them, and not as thin as the others. He was the only human in the group, as evidenced by his black, shoulder length hair which parted over his rounded ears, his dark brown eyes, and his darker skin.
“It is a chimera,” Sarin, the last person with them, answered, “it has no notable weakness. We must continue fighting.”
Sarin was the only recognized master mage, so they all listened to her without question. Unfortunately, she was not giving them much direction at the moment.
Sarin had purple eyes that matched Xion’s and Ava’s so closely that Xion occasionally wondered if any of them were related. She had long blonde-white hair that fell passed her shoulders. She was also an elf, but not as thin as Ava, and almost as tall as Xion. Her clothes were not as plain as everyone else’s. She wore dark green pants and a shirt that had been bright white at the beginning of their journey, but was now brown with dirt and sweat. Sarin held a sword in her hand, but was fighting the beast almost entirely with magic.
“Sarin,” Warren yelled as Xion let another arrow fly toward the creature Sarin had called a chimera, “a little more would be helpful.”
“Shut up and fight,” Ava spat back as she slashed her dagger across the chimera’s side. Immediately, she had to jump backward to avoid the snake that snapped at her.
“There are nice ways to talk to people,” Warren responded.
As soon as he finished his sentence, he started speaking another language, Draconic, the language of dragons. All of them had learned to use magic by using spells, which were channeled and given direction by speaking in the language of the beings that first used magic. Xion did not understand the exact words, but they were the same ones that Warren had said every time he summoned a small ball of fire in his hand. Seconds later, the flame burst into existence, and Warren through it at the chimera.
Warren was too far away for the beast to attack, because Ava was still slashing at it every chance she could. So, it rounded on her and swiped its massive claws, as if to retaliate for Warren’s attack.
“Someone please, think of something!” Sapphire pleaded. She was starting to stumble as she walked, using so much magic was catching up with her.
Xion knew that using magic took energy, and they had all been using it since the fight began. Xion was not surprised that Sapphire was getting weak. They had to end the fight soon, or they were all going to pass out.
The situation became so dire, that it finally triggered something in Xion that he had been waiting for since he first saw the chimera. A fire roared inside him, as if his blood, his entire being, became fire itself. He knew the feeling, it was what happened when he summoned magic. When it was strong, like it had just become, magic would burst out of him in powerful ways that he could not fully control.
He concentrated on the raging fire inside him as he pulled the string of his bow, arrow at the ready. “Get away, now!” he yelled at Ava.
Ava did not hesitate, she turned from the creature and ran toward Xion. Just as she passed him, the chimera turned toward Xion, who was now the closest to it. It opened its gigantic lion’s mouth and roared, sending a wave of fire toward him.
The flames were white hot, and surrounded Xion so completely that it blocked everything else from sight, but he did not flinch. The flames licked at his skin, he felt the intense heat, but he did not burn.
Xion let out a yell of anger as he let the arrow fly. He felt a tremendous pull from inside himself, like half of his life force had left him when he let go of the arrow.
The fire from the chimera stopped, and Xion could see again just as the arrow hit its mark. The arrows impact let off a sound so loud that Xion’s ears felt like they had burst, and a wave of energy exploded from the chimera, so strong that Xion was knocked off his feet and landed on his back several yards from where he had been standing.
Xion’s ears rang and he was so dizzy that even the thought of lifting his head off the ground made him feel like he was going to be sick. The loss of energy from using the magic was overwhelming, it felt like he had not eaten or slept in weeks. His arms and legs were so heavy he was sure they were made of steel, and it took every ounce of willpower that he had to keep his eyes open.
Slowly, he rolled over onto his stomach. He pushed himself up to his knees, feeling like he had an entire house on his back, and turned to look at the chimera. Or, where the chimera had been.
Now, there was a roaring fire, ten feet across, burning bright and devouring all the grass around it. It was surrounding where the chimera had been.
Xion let himself fall back to the ground. He did not know how long he laid there. He let his eyes close, and focused on the ringing in his ears to keep himself conscious. He refused to pass out, again. He wondered if he would ever not feel this way after using so much magic.
Xion felt something touch the sides of his head, and his eyes opened immediately. His entire body tensed, ready to continue fighting, despite his exhaustion. Just as quickly, he relaxed again. Sapphire was kneeling just above his head, her hands placed over his ears. She said something to him, but Xion could not make out what it was. Slowly, the ringing subsided, and Xion’s head stopped swimming.
“Thank you,” Xion said, his voice came out hoarse and weak. Magic could not replenish the loss of energy from using magic, but it could heal whatever damage he had done to his ears.
Sapphire’s bright blue eyes stared directly into his and she smiled so sweetly that Xion knew she was thinking about something more than just healing him.
“Yeah, thanks for making us all deaf,” Ava scolded as she let herself fall to the ground beside Sapphire.
“That’s not friendship,” Warren chuckled, “he killed the thing.”
Xion pushed himself up. The crackle of the bonfire and the whistle of the soft breeze blowing through the air were the only sounds, besides their collective panting.
Sarin came into Xion’s view, she had come from somewhere behind him.
“Xion, we discussed the use of chaos magic.” Her voice was calm and even, but Xion knew that she was scolding him.
Xion knew that chaos magic, using magic without a spell, was supposed to be dangerous. Spells had been created so that there was a definite, set outcome every time. They had all studied magic in Aur’in, the city where spells were invented, and for a while Xion had believed that chaos magic was dangerous. He did not believe that anymore.
That was the entire reason for their journey. Xion had insisted that he needed to learn a way to control chaos magic, so that the random bursts of energy that came out of him would always have direction, and so that he would not drain himself of all his energy when it happened.
His friends had all agreed, or rather, insisted on coming with him to find a tutor. In the meantime, Sarin had strongly encouraged him to only use spells. Xion had done his best, he only used spells since their battle at the dragon watchtower, making sure that no chaos magic burst out of him even once.
Xion shivered as he remembered that place. A tower filled with ancient magic, dangerous trials that had to be passed to reach a gem filled with the magic of a dragon. It was there that he had fought Draxis, the only dragon left alive. He was much more powerful than any of them had imagined he would be, and they had barely escaped with their lives. They only managed to make it out because Xion had used chaos magic to teleport them outside the tower as it collapsed. The amount of power it took had left Xion unconscious for a week, and too weak to walk for even longer.
“I had to do something,” Xion defended himself. “We were all going to die.”
Sarin fixed him with an emotionless stare. “Chaos magic is dangerous. What if you had used so much energy and did not defeat the chimera?”
Xion felt his stomach twist into knots. They were barely fending off the beast with all of them. If he had been as weak as he was now, there was no way they would have survived.
“Sarin, he did defeat it,” Sapphire interjected. Xion felt a little better knowing that someone was on his side. “We are alive right now, because Xion saved us.”
Sarin sighed. “Be that as it may, we must be careful.”
“How long until the next town,” Warren interrupted.
Xion smiled at Warren, thankful for the change of topic. Warren subtly winked at him, so that Sarin would not see.
“We are a day’s walk from Aromir,” Sarin answered, turning to look at Warren. “And, you are not to draw any attention to yourself. These are dangerous times.”
“Hey, she was into me,” Warren grinned.
Ava snorted in derision. “Yeah, most girls love when a guy knocks over a barmaid, spills ale all over three mercenaries, and gets beat up in the alley outside of a bar.”
Warren shrugged. “Could’ve been worse.”
Xion could not help but laugh. “How?” he asked, surprised at Warren’s optimism.
“I could’ve died,” Warren mused.
“Don’t joke about that,” Sapphire said, her voice full of concern. “Between you and Xion, I can barely get my energy back in time to keep you two alive.” Warren smirked like he was proud, but Xion felt bad.
Travelling between cities was dangerous, most people did not do it in small numbers. The space between villages and cities was filled with dangerous creatures, like the one they had just fought, and they had already encountered quite a few. Sapphire spent most of her time healing everyone after every fight, and then trying to recover in time for the next one.
None of them were anywhere close to as good as Sapphire was with healing magic. Even Sarin, who had been practicing magic for at least a dozen decades longer than Sapphire, could not match her skill in healing. Xion knew it was not fair for Sapphire to have to keep them alive, but they relied very heavily on her.
“Whatever,” Ava said, “we’re close to Celemor, only about a week left.”
“It would be faster if we still had horses,” Warren teased, looking at Sarin.
Sarin had spent all the gold that she had to get them horses at the first village they had come across, in the hope of completing their journey more quickly. Unfortunately, only a few days later, they had been ambushed by bandits. They managed to win the fight, and dispatch most of their attackers, but two of the horses had died, and the surviving bandits had stolen the other three and rode away before they could be stopped.
Warren had tried, at least once a day, since then to convince Sarin to summon them horses. Sarin was a conjurer, her most skilled area of magic was summoning creatures and objects, but she had explained to Warren many times that summoning anything for any long period of time was dangerously tiring. The most she could do was summon five horses for a few hours, which was not worth the little added speed they would gain.
“Come,” Sarin commanded, ignoring Warren’s comment, “we should continue on, we must reach Aromir before nightfall.”
“Are you joking?” Ava spat. Xion was surprised. Ava was often less than polite to most people, but Sarin had been her mentor in Aur’in, and Ava had always treated her with considerably more respect than anyone else. “We walked for, what, maybe an hour, and then we fought that thing for just as long! We need a break.”
Xion knew that Sarin was right, but he was glad someone else had suggested a break. He was still covered in sweat, and he was not sure he had the energy to walk for the rest of the day.
Sarin started walking away. “We have no time,” she answered simply.
Ava groaned angrily as she stood and stalked after Sarin. Warren followed after, always ready to go along with anything. Sapphire took Xion’s hand and helped him stand. All of them, weak and exhausted, followed Sarin, and left the blazing inferno where the chimera had been behind them.
They walked through what Xion had come to realize was a vast plain. He had thought he had grown up in a place in the middle of nowhere, a village called Fairen, on the edge of the western kingdom. That was before he had ever left it. The journey they were on now, walking from the southern border of their kingdom, to the capital of the northern kingdom, was about fourteen hundred miles.
It had been weeks of walking through an endless plain. Xion was used to hills and valleys, forests and mountains in the distance. But here there was nothing but a sea of grass and monsters. The earth was flat, the horizon even in every direction. You could see nothing for miles except for more grass. Every so often, they would come upon a village, or a city, or a road. Just as quickly, they would pass it, and the void of the plain would return. It was maddening.
Sarin had them avoid cities as often as possible. Even with weeks of walking, as tired as they were, and as much as they would all like to sleep in beds and eat hot food, they stayed in the wilderness.
Sarin had explained that they wanted to avoid detection. Xion knew that the human kingdoms were at war with each other and traveling by road was dangerous. They might be mistaken for spies from an enemy kingdom, and roads drew attention from the monsters waiting for someone vulnerable to walk near. He also knew that it was best that nobody knew where he was, because Draxis might be looking for him.
He just wished that they would arrive at Celemor, so he could find the tutor that he had been searching for, an
d they could stop walking for days on end.
Over a month had passed since they had begun. The winter air and snow had given way to brisk mornings and warm afternoons. The snow that had surrounded them when they had set out was gone, leaving occasional rains, and lots of wind. Xion was glad when the clouds disappeared, and the sun returned. At least there was sunlight, and not dark clouds that mirrored his gloomy thoughts.
Sarin stopped after a minute, at a mound of packs that they had dropped when the chimera had appeared. She pulled her seemingly average pack from the bottom of the pile and slid it onto her back before continuing on. Each of the rest of them did the same. It was not hard to tell them apart. Sarin’s looked empty and weighed the same as it would if there were nothing in it. Warren’s was the heaviest. He had made them all agree to carry a few books, but he held the most. He liked to be able to take them out and read as he walked. Sapphire, Ava, and Xion’s were all identical is appearance and contents, so none of them minded if they switched packs.
Something that Sarin had said finally clicked in Xion’s mind as he shouldered his pack, carefully avoiding his bow and quiver as he did so.
“Sarin,” Xion asked, “are we stopping in Arromin, or wherever?”
“Aromir,” Sapphire corrected, smiling at him, like him getting the name wrong was funny.
“Right, are we stopping there?”
“Yes,” Sarin confirmed. “I need to collect information.”
Xion did not need to ask why. Any time they stopped in any city or village, it was for the same reason. She was going to ask around about the darkness, and the dragons.
For thousands of years, nobody was sure what exactly the darkness was. Xion had been the one to figure out that it was really Draxis. He had been operating in the shadows, influencing the world as much as he could without anyone ever finding out about him.
When Xion had confronted him weeks before, it was to stop him from using the dragon fire gem, but he had failed. Draxis had broken the gem and used all the power inside to cast a resurrection spell. Xion knew that the purpose of the spell was to revive all the dragons that had been wiped out thousands of years before.
