Announcement

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 09-21-2011, 05:38 PM

Okay, here's the first official chapter. And I forgot to mention, thank you Elliot for all you help.

Chapter One

The tall, tan girl balanced on her heels, her fists up and ready. The boy in front of her was a little shorter than her, but most people were. She flexed her muscles. This would be easy. This would show these gangs that she knew what she was the best. This group never gave her the time of day. It had finally come to a head when their leader tripped her on her way home from the market.
She bent slightly, putting one fist near her face, the other further out. The shadows of the houses around her lengthened as she grinned at her opponent. He scowled at her and launched a right hook. She caught it on her arm and threw her own punch. He dodged it, still scowling, and made a left cross. Quick as a flame, she ducked and jabbed him in the gut. He gasped and doubled over as her fist forced the breathe out of him. She slammed her elbow into his back, forcing him the rest the way to the ground. His face landed in the muddy street.
Jyotika glanced around at the people gathered around. She flashed a grin. “Anyone else?”
Everyone hurried away, not wanting to be caught by her gaze and forced to fight. Jyotika smiled, grabbed her bag and headed home. She put her ruby earrings back on, as well as her black belt. She pulled out her gold chain necklace. Hanging from it was a garnet in the shape of a flame. She stared at it, her bright-red eyes flashing in the sun. She had had this thing for as long as she could remember, wearing it since she was found by that couple. The blacksmith and his wife.
She sighed, then put the necklace on. It always comforted her, made her feel as though there was a reason her real parents had left her with Beyard, his wife Elizabeth, and their infant son Alec. She reached up and fingered her ears. She had pointed ears, unlike anyone else in the village. She had always been considered a freak because of them. Then when her powers developed…
Jyotika shook her head and kept walking. She had to get home soon, before Elizabeth started to worry. The woman often worried when she was out. And probably rightly, Jyotika had a habit of getting into fights. Just past 19 years of age and she still came home with cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Not so many now, but she still had some. Take today, for example. She had torn the knee of her leggings, again. She had also gotten a bruise right beneath her fire-shaped tattoo, which was on her right shoulder.
She rubbed at it as she walked into the house. The usual smell of baking bread and sweaty men greeted her. She breathed in deep, then hurried to her room and tossed her pack on her bed. She yanked off her black boots. She ran her fingers through her short hair. The red locks were cut in a choppy style, barely reaching her shoulders. It didn’t get much caught into it, but sometimes a few twigs would catch. Jyotika grabbed a new pair of leggings, then ran downstairs.
Elizabeth was just setting the table for dinner. She glanced up at her adopted daughter and smiled. The girl’s cheeks were flushed slightly from her hurry, and she forgot to check her sleeveless shirt for mud. The dirt stood out quite a bit on the red. Elizabeth smiled, the girl was always getting into trouble. Whether is was it because of her personality, or because she was different by appearance, Elizabeth didn’t know. “Dear, can you go tell your father and brother that I’m serving the meal?”
Jyotika nodded, then hurried through the house to the back. The back most room was were the two men worked away at their metals. The back wall was open, allowing smoke to escape. The furnace took up most of one wall; the opposite wall was lined with tools and shelves.
Jyotika ignored all of them, she had seen it all before. She walked to the table in the middle of the room, where two man were working, one holding something with tongs, the other hammering away at it. Jyotika stood watching them a minute, as the metal they were working on gradually became longer and thinner. She glanced up at the larger man, the one holding the tongs. He was a big man, his black hair cut short to keep it from falling into his face. He had beard as well, the edges singed from working too close to a fire. His merry brown eyes danced in the firelight.
She glanced at the younger man. He was taller than his father, but slimmer. He also had black hair cut short. He didn’t have a proper beard, but his chin was rough from the hairs growing in. His brown eyes focused on the metal, completely ignoring her.
Jyotika touched her father’s shoulder, startling him. He turned his head slightly to mock glare at her. “Daughter, I swear, you could have made me jerk the whole thing of steel here. Then Alec would have missed and smashed my thumb.”
Alec hit the steel one last time, then nodded to his father. The older man dowsed it in the barrel of water next to them as the younger put the hammer away. Alec turned to his sister and smiled at her. “Another fight, sis?” At her questioning look, he gestured to her shirt. “You forgot to check for dirt again.”
Jyotika grumbled a little under her breathe. Alec laughed and threw an arm about her shoulders. “Don’t worry, sis. One of these days you’ll remember.”
Their father laughed heartily. “The day she does that, will be the day she leaves.” It was a tease that Beyard and Alec loved to play on her. And she let them, they were her family after all.
They went back into the dining room, there to eat their supper. The meal was simple enough, a beef stew, some bread, and some water. There was little conversation as far as Jyotika was concerned. She prefer to eat, rather than letting her food get cold. After supper, her parents retired for the evening. Tomorrow they must go pay homage to the king and his queen. What irked Jyotika was that the two rulers thought themselves gods. She knew she was no god, yet she had the power of one. What gave them the right to call themselves rulers of the heavens?
Alec and she wrestled for a few hours. It was something they did every few nights. It helped her relieve her excess anger, and him to relax. Afterwards, the two would stay up and chat about their day. Alec was making a sword for her birthday in a few days. His birthday had been a few days before, and she had given him the hammer he used now. It was the only tool in the forge that was his, not Bernard’s, and he had been grateful for it.
Most of the time, Jyotika would stay quiet as Alec would tell her stories. She loved hearing him speak, his deep voice rising and falling with the tone of the story. She always told him that he would get better work being a bard than a blacksmith, but it was the family trade and he was sticking with it.
After he retired, Jyotika would stay up for hours, watching the stars and thinking. She would think of her real parents, and wonder who they were, and where. And more importantly, where’d she’d go. She had expressed her desire to leave the village and travel some months ago. Elizabeth and Bernard protested, but they had known the day would come when she’d want to find her past. So they sent Jyotika often to the butcher, to learn a little of how to cut meat just right. Elizabeth had been making her clothes to wear, but Jyotika had a mind to refuse them. She had learned how to fix her clothes, so she would just bring a couple outfits, and fix them when they needed to be fixed.
Before she would head in for the night, Jyotika practiced her other talent. The one talent few people other than Alec knew about. Her gift to control fire. She had discovered it close on her tenth birthday, when she had gotten into another fight. That person, however, had been bigger and stronger than most of the others. She was not used to defeat, and fought back. Hard. She pushed at him with everything, until she was exhausted. She tried pushing with her mind, simply because she did not want to lose. The man caught fire. He had run around, screaming, before she realized she had started the fire, and tried to put it out. The flames vanished as easily as they had appeared.
She ran home, and told no one what she had done. Alec had understood that she was upset, and pestered her about why. She finally told him, and flinched, expecting him to leave. Instead, he helped her try to master her newfound skill. He set up different targets for her to set fire to, and eventually, to throw the fire at. He helped her learn the limits of her strength, and slowly surpass them. She found it a great relief when he didn’t tell their parents, and from then on, went to him with her troubles. She would try to listen to his, but that was all she could do, for she hadn’t the mind or skill to come up with solutions.
Jyotika sat in the middle of her practice area, the tips of the grass blades singed. She panted, looking around. She could see the stars above her, the yard, the fence around it, and the house. Not a single soul had seen her. She stood, dusted off her leggings, then went inside to sleep.

Not far away, a creature stood. He shook his scales free of dirt and stretched his wings. He had been flying overhead and seen the sparks. A beast of fire himself, he had come to see what was causing it, since he didn’t smell smoke. And there was a girl, summoning and commanding the fire like his master. He landed in a small corpse of trees to watch. She could command the fire well, though not as well or as powerfully as his master.
He grinned, his blood-stained teeth flashing in the starlight. The Lord would be pleased. He had located one of the missing six, on of the ones the Lady had sent away. She had seen her error, and the Lord sent many minions to find his missing children. No one had found one. Until now. The beast jumped into the air and flapped his wings, flying quickly to his master's castle.

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 09-21-2011, 05:40 PM

Here's the next chapter.

Chapter Two

The tan man lounged in the tree. He was waiting, certain he’d be called soon to come do chores. His green eyes flashed in the morning sun as he shifted. He leaned back against the tree, his bare feet dangling on either side of the limb he was sitting on. He glanced around at the field below him. It belonged to his parents, the lot of it. It was a small farm, only a few acres, but it was free land, passed down through the family from father to son. The family had been here for as long as they could remember, tilling the earth to make it grow. It was hard work, but it paid off, much more so than most other trades. At least, as far as he cared.
He glanced down as he heard someone calling him. It was one of his younger brothers, Christian. “Tuvon! Tuvon! Are you out here?”
The man climbed down from his tree. Christian didn’t like the forest, so it must be important if he came out here. His deep voice echoed off the trees as he called his reply. “Coming down, Christian.” He dropped the rest the way. He turned to his brother. The 8-year-old was barely taller than his leg, and not much wider than it. Most people were smaller than the tall man. He ruffled Christian’s blonde hair. “What’s the matter, Christian? Did Chancelor break out of his pen again?”
The boy panted, bending over. He was wearing brown pants and a loose blue shirt. A small belt went around his waist. He looked up at Tuvon, his blue eyes shining with worry. “No, worse,” he panted out. “Wolf. In the sheep pen. Others in field, too far.”
Tuvon nodded, the lifted Christian onto his shoulder. He ran, a small length of his green sash blowing behind him. His open, green vest threatened to come off, revealing his thickly muscled chest. Both his vest and brown pants were heavily wrinkled, as he only took them off to wash, and he didn’t wash very often. He didn’t smell very bad, though, he smelled of dirt and grass. As he ran, his tree-shaped tsavorite bounced on his chest, worn around his neck on its silver chain.
Christian, like Tuvon’s other three siblings, was used to riding on his shoulder in this fashion. The boy held on to Tuvon’s vest shoulder with one hand. The other hand would hold onto Tuvon’s messy brown hair, or onto his pointed ear, but usually the hair. The kids often asked why Big Brother had pointy ears and they didn’t. Their parents never answered, though Tuvon knew. They had told him when his first brother was born, when he was 6. They told him he had been found in their fields, wearing only the tsavorite necklace.
Tuvon continued to run, his long limbs eating up the distance easily. A little way from the pen, he could hear the growling of the wolf and the baaing of the sheep. He let Christian off his shoulder, then hurried over. It was a skinny wolf, probably starving and hoping for easy pickings among the animals. It had cornered all the sheep in one corner, where they sat, baaing and making a large ruckus.
Tuvon approached the wolf, careful to walk with a bold stride. He growled a little at the wolf, attempting to ask it to leave the sheep alone. It whirled at him, hackles raised. It growled him a warning, claiming the sheep as its own prey. Tuvon lowered himself to his hands and knees, and growled again at the wolf. The wolf cowered a little, after all, Tuvon was large compared to it. Still, it attempted to chase him away.
Tuvon moved between the wolf and the sheep and considered. He didn’t want the wolf to die of hunger, as it seemed it might. But he also couldn’t let it eat the sheep. He thought a minute, then turned back to the wolf. “Hunt better prey, go together?” he growled to it.
It cocked its head and considered. This creature could help pull down large meat. Much food to eat, won’t ever be hungry for long time. The wolf growled an agreement, and a warning against double-crossing. Tuvon barked a promise to not, and they left the pen.

The forest provided plenty of food for the wolf. Tuvon had no trouble tracking down an elderly deer, old enough that it wouldn’t missed from its herd, young enough that its meat wouldn’t be stringy. The wolf gorged itself, happy to have a full stomach after so long. Tuvon crept away, not wanting to be here. The smell of blood always made him nauseous. He always understood that some animals had to survive so some could live, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
Tuvon made sure he walked quietly, so that he wouldn’t disturb the wolf. It might attack him by instinct if it thought he was something wanting to steal its food. He headed back to the farm, ready to get to work on his chores. He stopped by the sheep pen to make sure that Christian had them all calmed down before heading to the field. On the way to the field, he glanced back at the forest. It had just occurred to him that the wolf had sounded funny. It sounded a little more human than it should have. Like that other creature who had come here only a few years ago. Tuvon only saw it because he had be looking for Christian.
The boy had wandered into the forest when his older sister had turned her back. She was frantic, and asked Tuvon to look for Christian in the forest while she checked the farm. Tuvon agreed, and wandered around the forest, searching for clues and calling for Christian. He searched for hours with no luck.
It was coming on sunset when he finally found Christian. The boy was held by a creature unlike anything he had ever seen or heard about. It stood almost level with him, and he was already a head taller than most people. It looked like a man, but with fur, and the head of a wolf. It also had the wings of a dragon. It was completely black, even its eyes. And it was holding Christian’s leg, about to kill and eat him.
Tuvon roared at it and charged. The creature looked up at him, then tossed Christian aside. It growled at him, and intercepted his charge. Tuvon was stronger than most but this creautre was stronger still. It completely arrested his momentum, and didn’t even seemed fazed. It looked him in the eye. “This one is older, more meat. I feast on his flesh and take little one for cubs.”
Tuvon was surprised he could understand the creature, but he didn’t care. He struggled in the thing’s grip, trying to break loose. It grinned at him, keeping his arms pinned to his sides. He screamed in anger and frustration, kicking at the thing, though it dodged the kicks easily.
Suddenly, vines whipped up and wrapped around the creature, grabbing its limbs and wings, and wrapping around its chest and neck. They yanked it up against a tree, making it almost impossible for the beast to move. Tuvon stumbled as the thing let him go, but recovered his balance quickly and glared at the beast. He marched up to it and slapped it across the face. It howled with terror, as it served a master who could do similar things. It knew it would only barely survive this, if it did. Tuvon kicked and punched at it, letting all his anger out on it. When he finally finished, he found himself panting, the beast dead, crushed under various rocks of various sizes. He turned to Christian, who had been crying with terror the entire time. Tuvon picked him up and carried him home, whispering calming words to him.
Tuvon shook his head. At 19 years of age, he rarely lost himself in memories. He usually preferred to let what happen, happen. He glanced behind him again, wondering a little as to why the wolf had reminded him of that beast, and of the time he found his power. He shrugged, it didn’t matter. He continued towards the farm, eager to get to work. He had a carving he wanted to finish, and he wouldn’t be allowed to get back to it until he had finished his chores for the day.

The wolf watched him from the shadows. It smiled, baring teeth that were not that of a wolf. Its form rippled and soon a different creature stood there. It look like a shadow, its edges constantly moving, rippling with the light. It was sombra, one of the creatures in the service of Yael. Its main talent was shape-shifting, turning into any form it chose.
The sombra was pleased with itself. It had been sent for by some loboscura, who had finally found their missing comrade. It had been dead for a couple years, yet the rocks on top of it looked as though they had been there for much longer. This was an indication that a being from Drakonera or Skyscallis had been near-by. The sombra had checked out the farm first for a person with the gift to move the earth. And it had found one immediately. A young male, as close to the earth as his mother. The sombra smiled, then shifted to a bird and flew off, going to the home of its master to deliver news. One of his children had been found.

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 09-21-2011, 05:42 PM

Chapter Three

She walked with a grace that would be the envy of every girl. She had the beauty that every boy would dream about. But not here. Here, with her grandmother, she learned about the elements, mainly her own. Aria trained every day, and learned everything. She knew about her past, she knew about her missing siblings. So she trained, for when she would meet them again, so she could train them. She herself had little skill, Light was not for fighting, but for defending. She could heal, she could protect, but she fought with her sword, not her element.
Aria petted the rabbit she was holding. She was so kind and beautiful that even the animals sought her presence. And she would heal them if they needed it. She loved the birds especially, enjoying to sing to them, and listen to them sing back.
But she rarely had time. She was too busy with her studies, running from one class to another, in an effort to learn everything she could. Aria knew that one day, she would have to leave and find her siblings, teaching them what they needed to know. No one knew what each could control, so she had to learn everything.
Arai sighed and shook her head, her light blonde curls moving with her head. She tried to stop thinking of these things, it made her worry, and worry was like the clouds over the sun. She started to sing, hoping for a bird to join her, so that her light voice wouldn’t be alone. Several birds joined her, and they sang of beauty, of spring, of love.
“Aria! Aria, where are you girl?” Aria sighed. It was her grandmother, Marissa, most likely come to take her to a new lesson. She stood up, put down the rabbit, and turned, the flower shaped diamond on her tiara flashing. The elderly woman was making her way through the gardens towards her. Her wooden cane clicked against the stone path, but she walked with a straight back, her head high. Her grey hair was tied up in a bun. Her blue dress had a darker blue hem that brushed the path.
Aria walked over to her grandmother, her own white dress also brushing the pavement. Her legs peeked out often through the slits on the dresses sides. The top part is fitting, though the long-sleeves slit down wrist to elbow. A yellow sun pattern is under her left arm, rays extending across her chest and back, and it glitters in the sunlight. A gold chain sits on her hips, a short length hanging down between her legs. Her goldish sandals made only soft noises as she walked to Marissa. Aria flashed her bright smile as she spoke. “Yes, Grandmother? What is it you require me for?”
Marissa glowered slightly at her granddaughter. “You were supposed to be at your water lesson a hour ago. Where were you? You do know what could happen if you don’t learn to teach your sibling to control it, correct?”
Aria sighed. She had heard this over and over again, but her grandmother continued to remind her. “Yes, Grandmother. If he/she/they do not mater the skill, they might reveal the talent to people they should not. This would call attention to them from the wrong people.”
Marissa slapped Aria’s ankles with her cane. “And not just any people! Any one could be a blabber-mouth and tell to others. Eventually, news would reach your father. And that would be the end of that sibling! Do you want that? No? Then get to learning!”
Aria was normally very patient, but she had this discussion with Marissa so many times. “What difference would it make? We don’t know where my siblings are, so how can I teach them? And why do I have to teach them anyways? Why can’t one of you go find them and teach them?”
Marissa scowled. “Girl, we went over this. You’re the strongest wielder Skycalis has seen in hundreds of years. And your siblings are likely to be just as strong. It is much easier for a strong wielder to teach another strong one, rather than a weaker one try.”
“Because the strong one can tell where the other’s limits are easier, I know, I know.” Aria sighed. She was starting to grow tired of hearing this discussion so many times. She knew she had to teach her siblings, but it was hard for her. She had to study more than any other person on Skycalis, just because she happened to be the one her mother sent here.
Aria turned to follow her grandmother to her next class, which was her swordsmanship lesson. This was easier for her to get into, though she hated killing. She loved the dance that sword fights required, the danger of knowing that one wrong move would spell defeat, possibly death. It was a fun way to take out any of her frustration.

A couple days after her last discussion with her grandmother, Aria was standing at the edge of the island. Skyscalis was a unique island, it didn’t have a beach. Instead, it floating among the clouds. It was dangerous to stand on the edge, but Aria loved to look down, seeing the islands below here, so tiny she could cover the smaller one, Drakonera with her fist, and the large one, Voltalia, with both her palms next to each other. She liked looking Voltalia over, seeing the green smudges, trees, and the tall dark spots, mountains. It was a fun way to practice her geography.
Aria turned to see her schoolmate, and the boy she had a crush on, James coming towards her. She smiled happily at him. He smiled back, then pushed some of his brown hair out of his face. He was darker than most, though not by much. His light eyes made her think of honey, so sweet and gold. He was one of the few people on Skycalis to not have any powers, so he often helped her study for her different lessons, and practiced her sword with her.
James sat down next to Aria, allowing his feet to dangle over the edge of the island. Aria sat down next to him, tucking her legs under her. He smiled at her. “What are you doing? You usually only come over here if you’re upset or waiting for Skyri.”
Aria smiled. “Skyri isn’t going to be back for awhile. Grandmother sent him to Drakonera, to see if he could hear what Yael is doing, or if there was any news about my siblings.” She looked back down at the islands, wishing her hawk would hurry home. She hated it when Marissa sent him down.
James put an arm about Aria’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Sure, Drakonera is often dark and stormy, especially now, but Skyri will be fine. He knows how to navigate storms much worse than Drakonera can dish out. And if Yael or one of his filthy beasts see him, Skyri is clever and quick. They’ll never catch him.”
Aria turned to James, hope shining in her eyes again. “You really think so?”
James smiled back at her. “I know so. I bet that Skyri will allow himself to be spotted, just to frustrate Yael. That hawk of yours could fly circles around that false king. He might even leave the man a present from you. On that bald head of his.”
Arai laughed at the image. James always had a way of cheering her up, even when she thought she was too far down to be cheered. She stood. “Want to see if your skill with the sword has improved any?” she teased.
James stood, laughing. Normally, he was the victor, though she was getting better, bit by little bit. “Sure, and maybe I’ll finally get passed that blinding smile of yours.” The two joked and teased all the way to the practice field. Aria glanced over her shoulder before they entered the circle, hoping to see her hawk flying towards her. She sighed when she didn’t see him, but decided that was probably a good sign. Maybe there was nothing to report yet. Aria shrugged, then took her stance.
James beat her, as usual. He went easy on her, but she was too distracted by school and her hawk. As he walked her home, he asked her if she was okay. She looked at him and attempted to smile. “Yeah, I’m okay. I was just thinking about when Grandmother told me that I had siblings and I had to go teach them to master their powers. That I had to protect them from my own father.” She sighed.
James put an arm about her shoulders. “I remember you were so surprised and frightened by the thought. But don’t worry about it. I am here to protect you, as I was then.” She smiled and they continued back to her home.

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 09-21-2011, 05:44 PM

Here's the next chapter. Since I'm going to be going to school, I might not be able to work on this as much, so it will be longer between times.

Chapter Four

His black cloak swirled about him as he walked, the silver spots flashing like stars in the moonlight. The sound of his boots on pavement echoed off the walls of the alley around him. He stopped in front of a door. He drew his knife and inserted it into the keyhole. Jiggling it, he soon had the door open. He grinned, then walked in. The house was dark, but the young man didnâ€™t need light. He liked the darkness, and even preferred it to light.
He glanced around, looking for something small to steal. He quickly found a jewelry box, inside of which were several expensive pieces. He grinned in the dark and pocketed several. He slipped out of the room again, quietly closing the door behind him. He then walked along the road, searching. He grinned as he saw another door, and he walked up to it. He jiggled the lock, opening it. He slipped in and looked around.
Again, it was dark, but he could see just fine. He soon found a table in open view of the windows, and placed two of the pieces of jewelry on it. He grinned, then slipped out and hid in the shadows. He couldnâ€™t wait for the person he stole from to come walking down the street. He would see the jewelry, and confront the other man. They would fight, and he would never be suspected. He grinned to himself, then settled down to wait.

It wasnâ€™t as entertaining as he had hoped. The first man came over and asked about the gems. The second had said he had no idea where they came from and gave them back to the first man. Kazumio grumbled quietly, then slipped out of his hiding place. He wandered around for a little while, then left the village. He walked for awhile before he came to his mountain home. The mountain was called Ontangio, as was the village.
Kazumio entered his cave near the base of the mountain, and deposited the jewelry into a large box right next to the entrance. Inside were several other pieces of jewelry, all winking slightly in the scant light coming in. Kazumio pulled off his cloak and hung it on a stalagmite that was only just shorter than himself. He pulled off his black boots, and placed them next to the chest.
As he stood up, his crescent moon-shaped onyx thudded against his chest. He smiled down at it slightly. The silver-chained gem was the only thing he had of his home. He blinked back tears that were starting to well in his eyes as home-sickness swept over him. He had been gone for ten years, kicked out when he accidentally created a realistic and scary illusion. His parents had just abandoned him in their haste to escape it. He had just stood there, knowing it was fake, but not knowing they didnâ€™t. Now here he was, alone, because of his gift.
Kazumio shook his head, his short black ponytail brushing his neck as he did so. He had mostly put that behind him. Sometimes something would remind him of it, and heâ€™d get hit by a wave of home-sickness. It was annoying, more often than not. He turned to the back of the cave. There was a cavern there, which he followed. This mountain was riddled with caves, many of which were connected by this twisting tunnel.
Kazumio lit a small lamp, because even he couldnâ€™t see in this pitch blackness. He shielded his eyes for a minute after lighting the torch, then carried it to a cave near the top of the mountain. This had a large opening in the front, but the tunnel to the back was well shielded from the morning sunlight. Kazumio blew out the lamp and place it on a ledge near the entrance to the tunnel. He then entered the actual cave.
It was fairly small, and the frontal entrance was more of the slide-in than the walk-in sort. A desk was directly across from it, on which were whatever things he was tinkering with. On the wall to the left was a small mattress stuffed with feathers from various birds. The rest of the cave was mostly bare, with a stalagmites scattered around and a small pool opposite the bed. Kazumio walked over to it and slipped out of his black, long-sleeved shirt, revealing a heavily muscled body. He tossed the shirt onto a stalagmite, then washed his face. He finished quickly and stood. He walked over to the bed and laid down, falling asleep quickly with nothing but his black pants on.

Kazumio jerked away, sitting up in bed. He looked around, sweating hard and panting. He saw nothing, but he knew there was something here. He could sense fear from something, but not the emotion itself. It was as though whatever it was caused fear. It was as though whatever it was had the same talent he did, to cause fear.
Kazumio couldnâ€™t see anything, it was night outside with no moon. There were a few stars, but their light was too feeble to reach into the cave opening. Kazumio felt around and his hand soon fell on a stalagmite next to his bed. Beside it was the black sword he kept near-by, in case something like this happened. It never had before, but he was too cautious to believe it never would be. Now he was glad he had kept it in this slightly hidden location.
Kazumio drew the black blade with a hiss of metal on leather. At the same time, he heard something else hiss. He whirled around and saw a spot that seemed darker than the rest. It was shifting, like a shadow before a flickering flame. Kazumio stabbed at it. It separated and reformed further away. Just like a shadow would, Kasumio thought. What is this thing? It moves like a shadow, but it obviously has form like a creature.
The thing sprang forward and Kazumio pointed the sword at it. It separated and formed again behind him, on the bed. Kazumio shifted the sword in his hand and stabbed at it without turning. A screech told him he had hit it. He stifled a shriek of his own as something sharp ran across his back, cutting deeply. He pulled his sword out of the creature and whirled around. It was sitting there, moaning with pain, clutching at its chest. Its form was more solid than before, giving it the appearance of a young human, though of what gender, Kazumio couldnâ€™t make out.
He walked over to the ledge with his lamp and lit the lamp. He held it high with his left hand, with his sword in his right. He approached the thing, and saw it was completely black, like a shadow. It looked like a human child, a girl. It was clutching at a stab wound in its chest, inky black blood slipping through its fingers. As the light of the lamp approached, its head darted up, its bright red eyes flashing with fear. It tried to disperse, but flinched. Kazumio, realizing that the light was affecting the thing, placed the lamp on the ground just far enough from the creature that it wasnâ€˜t trying to escape from it, and sat down next to it. â€œYouâ€™re going to tell me what youâ€™re doing here, shadow beast,â€ he said, his deep voice echoing off the walls.
The thingâ€™s eyes opened wide. In a hissing voice, it said, â€œYou have a voice of power.â€
Kazumioâ€™s eyes hardened. â€œThatâ€™s not what I asked. What are you, and what are you doing here?â€ When it refused to speak, he picked up the lamp and started to move closer. It screeched, â€œNo, Lord! Please donâ€™t! I will speak, just keep the light away from me!â€
Kazumio placed the lamp back down and sat next to it. â€œIâ€™m waiting, shadow beast.â€
The thing sighed slightly. â€œLord, I am a sombra, one of the many beings of shadow that the Master has summoned to life. I have been tasked with the duty of finding my Masterâ€™s offspring.â€
Kazumio rubbed his chin thoughtfully. â€œAnd why did you attack me?â€
The sombra grinned at him, its teeth filed to sharp little points. â€œBecause you are a human taking residence in the place I wished to sleep.â€ Kazumio stood up to slap at the sombra, when its grin vanished. Its eyes opened wide with fright as it stared at something behind Kazumio. â€œPlease, no! Master, I have not failed! Please, another chance!â€ Kazumio whirled around and saw a flicker of movement but nothing else. He turned back to see the sombra was gone. All that remained of it was a black stain on his bed.

Announcement

Crystal Elementals

Crystal Elementals

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment