Fan Fiction ❯ A War of Three Nations ❯ Chapter Four: The Start of a Journey ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: Go look at the first chapter for one; I'm not typing it out again! XD

 

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A War of Three Nations

 

Chapter Four: The Start of a Journey

 

Saleh had caught wind of the events the courts of Fayrie and Gaia had conspired together. With this new threat lingering a little ways off in the future, Saleh knew he and the other soldiers would be needed for the upcoming events. As day had soon gone to night, and night had come to its darker hours before the sun rose, Saleh still lay in his bed, his eyes wide open. He had been brooding on these thoughts for most of the day as soon as he had heard them when he stood just outside the Throne Room the previous afternoon.

Still decorated in his pearly white armor, he sat up in his feathery bed, making little sound as he did. He swung his legs over the edge of his bed, waiting a moment or two before standing up. He grabbed the middle of his sword, still in its sheath, and held it parallel to the ground. As his focus centered on the spot of the sword he held, a flash of searing pain shot through his head, forcing him to his hands and knees.

------------------Flash Back--------------------------

A moment of weightlessness covered the feelings of his body seconds before he splashed into cold water. Going completely under, he kept his eyes open, looking upwards at what he had fallen from. Air escaped from his mouth little by little as he drifted a little further down into the raging water. His eyes focused enough to catch a glimpse of two shady figures standing atop the thing he had fallen off of. One shady figure was leaning its head against the other's chest.

He reached his hand towards the two outlined by the dark, cloudy sky overhead, all the while sinking lower and lower toward the river's bottom. The current had begun to push him further and further away from the two figures, carrying him at a quickened pace. As the last few bubbles of air escaped from the corner of his mouth, thoughts of this being the end for him flooded through his mind. As his eyes started to drift into closing, he was pulled downwards by the current of the waterfall. Again a slight feeling of weightlessness spread over his body. Completely disorientated by now due to the coldness factor of the water and all the noise of the cascading water surrounding him, the impact of landing on the surface of a lake below rendered him unconscious...

--------------------End Flash Back----------------------------

As the searing pain began to subside and the feeling of coldness and breathlessness began to leave his body, he began to move again, now laying face down on his floor. His sight faded in slowly from a nauseating blackness until he could see again. Slowly standing up placing one hand on his head, he picked up his sword, which he had dropped when he fell to his knees, and groggily attached it to the satchel at his waist. As he was planning to do before his painful flashback, he made his way outside into the refreshing air outside of the castle.

Preparing to make his daily rounds mounted atop his steed, he wandered down to the stables where King Rai and his band had been stabling there horses. Walking to his steed, he un-strapped him from the stable, and lead him through the door. Not until he had mounted his steed did he realize that King Rai's entire band had already saddled up and left. A sense of desperation quickly kicked in and set into the bottom of his stomach. In the moments following that, he was out the stable doors and rushing down the small slope and off towards the trail King Rai and his men were supposed to be taking home...

 

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`I hope no one heard me leaving; the traders better get here soon!' Preia thought worriedly, absently patting the back of her horse, Night Runner's, neck. The black stallion whinnied softly, prancing patiently. Preia smiled. The horse had always been able to sense her innermost feelings, and she could never have asked for a better steed.

Zephyr had given him to her on her 16th birthday. Her parents hadn't been very happy, as they had wanted her to ride a white mare, just like all the other elven ladies, but Preia had fallen in love with the stallion upon laying her eyes on him. His coat and mane were sheer ebony, with a little white marking on his front right leg.

Frowning as she thought of her parents and 'uncle', Preia shook the thoughts from her mind and looked up when she heard carriages nearby. Moving Night Runner back into the shadows, she watched as the traders wagons came into sight, along with King Rai's carriage.

'I hope that no one else from my manor is awake.' Preia had left an hour before hand, exiting through her window and jumping down to the stables. Her pack was filled with things she thought she might need; her untouched crescent blades, the sack of gold her parents had given her for emergencies, a blanket, and a spare change of clothes.

Marie had agreed to lay in her bed and sleep, in order to convince anyone whom would look into the room that Preia was still there. However, she knew it wouldn't work for long.

"Just a little bit longer,” she whispered, pulling the hood of her cape over her head and face. She couldn't have anyone recognizing her and sending her back to her parents.

 

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Aceline woke earlier than the other members of Ronin's household, and Fayrie's general, since she wanted to catch up on her training. Slinging Uflah Ula and Zale on her shoulder, she put on her armor once again, and went out to Ronin's backyard. Picking a random spot on the large tree behind, she held Ulfah Ula strongly, and an arrow was soon strumming through the air. As Aceline's sharp eyes picked out the point, Zale's arrow hit the mark, and she smiled a small smile. Focusing on the Wood proportion of her energy, she channeled it through the Earth and into the tree, making the arrow rebound off the branch it had hit. She repeated this over and over again, until she'd depleted most of her Wood energy and had to rest for a while. She suddenly heard a loud horn in the distance, and smiled, King Rai! She gave another slight smile as she rode her horse towards her father's steed. "Father!" she cried.

"Aah! Aceline!" Galvin Gaewrn cooed, sweeping her daughter in a quick hug, "How have you been, my dear?"

"Quite alright. People of Fayrie are very kind."

"I do hope they were." Galvin continued, "As soon as our King has finished his business with Queen Fara, we shall be returning to Gaia."

"I can't wait to see Mother again."

"She has been rather worried for you, Ace, my dear."

Aceline threw her head back and laughed melodically, "She knows she needn't worry!"

"It's all in a mother's instinct, my dear. You can just call the instinct love; you can't live with it, and yet you can't live without it."

Aceline and Galvin shared a quiet chuckle before something caught Aceline's eye and she turned sharply to the left. She squinted in the rising sunlight, and gasped-- "Preia! I know you're there. Come out now, Preia."

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Zephyr didn't get even one wink of sleep that night. He dressed himself in his armor, and tied Alexavier to his waist. Stepping out to the veranda, he watched quietly as Aceline Aaralyn, the Gaian general, trained with her bow and arrow, smiled wistfully as she used her Wood elemental to retrieve her arrow. After a while, he whispered a few words, and Alexavier, wielding the Wind Heart Stone, enhanced Zephyr's control over the wind and blew a calming breeze. He gave a smooth whistle, and the breeze lulled itself down as Zephyr kept an eye on Aceline's smooth movements. She isn't bad. Preia could learn a thing or two from her, if she'd bother to pick up Archery.

A trumpet sounded out, and Zephyr watched Aceline bound onto her horse, and galloped towards a man he guessed to be her father by the way she paid him the affectionate attention. He watched her carefully, then turned his attention to Alexavier as it began humming an octave higher than its usual hum. Zephyr frowned and unsheathed his sword again. It rose higher and higher until it pinpointed somewhere in the shadows, and sang through the air as it hit the ground. He heard Aceline's gasp, a loud whinny that sounded very familiar, and a gasp he knew all too well. His frown deepened as he gracefully jumped off the veranda and ran to where General Aceline was, and where his sword had landed. "Preia," he said quietly with a dangerous tone.

 

Preia gasped quietly when the Gaian general spotted her, cursing mentally. She winced when Zephyr strode into the shadows, his face completely serious as he spoke her name.

 

Swinging her leg over Night Runner's back and slipping down from her saddle, Preia looked at Zephyr with a completely open face; one filled with hope and excitement, as well as fear. "Please don't send me back Uncle Zephyr, I don't want to live my life locked away in Fayrie." She paused, looking away from her 'uncle' briefly before turning back to him, her eyes filled with a determined light.

"My parents want to keep me here forever! I'm 18, Uncle Zephyr, and yet they still won't let me venture even just outside the walls of Fayrie! I understand that they're worried because of what happened to Lillian, but she couldn't fight; I can! You're the one who taught me to use a sword; you're the one who gave me a horse who can run instead of one who only knows how to look pretty. I need to do this, I need to know what my limits are, but I'll never find out if I stay here!" She paused again, but for breath after her outburst, then looked away.

"Please Uncle Zephyr? This could be my only chance to live my own life."

 

"Zephyr," murmured Aceline as she listened to Preia's desperate wish. "I will take Preia away from these gates, and into Gaia. I see that you have taught her swordsmanship, and I will further her training."

"You are not a swordswoman, but an archer. You will do what is in your specialty!" roared Zephyr. Alexavier roared with him. His Wind rose around him and surrounded Aceline-- the general gasped.

"How dare you--!"

"I will not have this turn into a fight between us." He rounded on Preia, "You miss Lillian, don't you? We all do. And if I risk your life for your freedom, your parents will kill me. I am trying to save you, and yet you try and escape the luxurious life that we've provided for you!"

 

The wind rose higher as to match with Zephyr's anger, and then suddenly softened as he swept Preia in a hug. "Preia, I didn't mean to get angry. Please understand that I merely want to protect you." He took the control of his wind off of Aceline. "Is it truly what you wish, Preia? Will you sacrifice everything that you have here, just to be free?"

 

"I do miss Lillian Uncle Zephyr, but she would've wanted me to find my own way rather then be forced to live the life of a noble, made to marry whomever my parents deem worthy." This was said in a whisper as Preia returned her uncle's embrace, keeping her eyes shut lest her eyes decide to shed tears.

"I'm going to come back; but I need to at least see the places outside of Fayrie. I'd like to visit the Shrine of Etaine to offer prayer, but I'll be back. Just... don't let my parents worry too much, please Uncle Zephyr?" She looked up at the older elf, offering a small smile. She needed to do this.

 

"Please let me go Uncle Zephyr… Please?"

 

Zephyr gazed at Preia's hand clasping his, at Aceline who stood looking worried at him, then back at Preia's pleading face. Alexavier's guiding hum echoed through the open sky, the Wind Stone guiding Zephyr's emotions. It had never led him to a wrong decision before, and he thought, if he'd be the one that had told Preia she should see the outside world, then Ronin and Jamina wouldn't be so mad at Preia if--When! he strictly reminded himself--she got home to Fayrie.

 

"I will only let you go to 'see' outside of Fayrie... but you must have Aceline with you. Aceline, would you mind staying with us for a while?"

"I have my own family to tend to, Zephyr. I may be able to check with my Father's Star schedule-- my father may be a Blacksmith, but he has his way with stars. I only travel on days according to Father's Star schedule."

 

Preia grinned happily, flinging herself at her uncle and hugging him tightly. "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" she cried ecstatically, pulling back and leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. She spun and bowed politely to Aceline. "I thank you for considering it, General Aceline." Hearing whinnies coming nearer as well as the sound of a carriage, Preia looked up.

King Rai's carriage was heading towards the gates, surrounded by those of the traders. Preia could only assume that the young king himself was in the carriage. She turned and hugged Zephyr once more before turning and mounting Night Runner, taking the steed's reigns in her hands. "I guess it's time to say goodbye," she said quietly, smiling at her adoptive uncle.

 

"Preia!" stalled Zephyr, "Wait! She hasn't consulted her Star schedule yet. Aceline, could you--?"

Aceline winked at him, "Way ahead of you, Zephyr." Aceline whistled, and her Father looked up, remembering the signal he and Aceline had made whenever she wanted to consult the chart. He nodded from far away, and raised his most precious sword as he whipped out his chart. An enlarged version of it appeared, and though it seemed only like mere patterns of stars and numbers to untrained eyes, Aceline understood it perfectly. "Once the Raven perfectly aligns with the Northern Crown--that's tomorrow--and the Hunter aligns with its Larger Hunting Dog--oh, that's next week!" And she went on naming a few more constellations before she whistled again at her Father. He nodded, giving her the permission, making sure that he would tell King Rai where his general would be.

"Well Preia, you are indeed in luck. Since my Constellation Majors, the Raven, the Northern Crown, the Hunter, and the Larger Hunting Dog will be in the sky for this month, then yes. I will be able to travel with you. I will make sure, Zephyr, that she will be safe with me."

Zephyr smiled contentedly as he looked up at Night Runner, "Preia, Night Runner is a fine steed. Make sure that you do not waste his excellent quality. Otherwise, his mother will get mad at you." It was a running joke between them. Night Runner's mother, a white horse, Silverwind, was Zephyr's horse, and his father, a midnight-black horse, Silent Dash, was Zephyr's brother's, Bade's. As he watched the girl prepare herself for their goodbyes to be exchanged, he also gazed at Aceline as she mounted her own horse, adjusting her bow and quiver of arrows. Alexavier, she will take care of my darling, won't she? And Alexavier `nodded' in agreement as it hummed. "Oh, Preia..."

 

"We'll be fine Uncle Zephyr, and I promise that both Night Runner and I will work very hard to do our best, right boy?" the ebony stallion whinnied in agreement, snorting and pacing impatiently.

Preia smiled once more at her uncle, reaching down to grasp his hand once. "I'll see you soon," she promised

"Hiya!" Snapping Night Runner's reigns, the stallion bucked then galloped off towards the king's procession to come in by the back, Preia beaming quietly on her saddle, thrilled that she was finally getting to leave Fayrie for a bit.

 

Grinning, she turned once more just as she was about to pass through the gates, waving to her uncle and Aceline where they still stood.

"Bye Uncle Zephyr! See you soon! Come on General Aceline or you're gonna be left behind!" she called, the last part a joke as she disappeared through the gates.

"We shall see you upon return then, General Zephyr." Nodding to the elven general, Aceline turned and mounted her own steed, cantering off after the procession.

Zephyr watched until they were through the gates and out of sight, then turned towards the center of the elven city. "Time to keep the parents from panicking."

 

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When Rye awoke, he found Lila a few feet away from his bed, sitting on a chair with his sword in her hands.

"What are you doing?" he asked groggily, propping himself up on his elbows.

"You frightened me," she replied before standing up and walking towards him. She sat on the end of his bed and handed him the sword. "Mother gave that to me when we were young. She told me to give it to you when you came of age, but I guess I forgot."

From the bottom of the hilt hung a white, crystallized stone, on a short silver chain. Rye held it with his thumb and finger and watched as it reflected the sunshine around the room.

"What is this?" he asked.

"She never said. I guess it's a good luck charm of sorts. She just told me to give it to you."

Rye smiled slightly, at the gift his mother had left him. He left Lila and Raelin's house early that morning, not quite sure where he was going or what he'll do once he got there. He just knew that he wanted to live a meaningful life.

 

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Nakamura and Ishikawa rose out of the shadows in an alley inside of town and threw their hoods on.

"We buy as much provisions as we can before we get caught. Hopefully we won't get noticed and we won't have to destroy this town," Ishikawa said, walking out of the alley.

"Easier said than done: These Neko-Jin, they're not all as stupid as they look," Nakamura said, reaching into one of the many bags of gold he held under his cloak and pulling out a handful of gold.

Ishikawa walked up to a food cart and dropped six gold coins in the vender's hand and grabbed six bags of rice, three chickens, and a sack full of fruit.

Nakamura found a merchant selling care ware and stopped to get a few whetstones and three dagger belts with the daggers included.

Ishikawa met up with Nakamura, and they planned to leave when a young boy stopped in front of them.

"What?" Nakamura asked, waiting for the kid to respond. The child merely looked at Nakamura and smiled, before running past him. But the child clumsily tripped over Nakamura's cloak and pulled the hood off his head.

"Oh God, Demons!" a woman yelled, pointing at Nakamura and Ishikawa.

"Damn," Ishikawa whispered, pulling off his own hood.

"Here we go. Another town," Nakamura said, pulling Morthoseth from its hiding place under his cloak, Ishikawa doing the same to his sword.

 

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Ka-Rosu traveled North-East after his 'reunion' with his 'brothers' and looked at his map.

"Just five more miles," Ka-Rosu muttered before looking at the road.

"This is taking forever," The impatient demon shouted.

Ka-Rosu stomped one foot on the ground and caused a large boulder to rise. Ka-Rosu tapped the rock gently and broke off all the rough edges. Once Ka-Rosu finished with his sculpting, the boulder looked less like a rock, and more like a stage coach.

Ka-Rosu climbed into the stone coach and commanded it to move forward, which it did with great speed.

"Now it should take no time at all to reach this town," Ka-Rosu said to himself, stretching out and enjoying the ride.

 

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"Maybe we'll have better luck if we go to Fayrie?" Ishikawa asked, sitting on the ground and rubbing his feet.

"Perhaps," was all Nakamura said, looking out across the plains.

"And why do we keep walking? We can shift through the shadows instantly, wouldn't that be better?" Ishikawa asked, not really used to walking everywhere.

"Perhaps," Nakamura said again.

"Are you listening Mura?" Ishikawa asked, looking at his comrade with a slight grin.

"Perhaps."

"You are the crappiest demon I've ever run into. Your skills are less than lacking and you have no disci..." Ishikawa began, but Nakamura turned and kicked his friend down into the dirt.

"Watch your mouth," Nakamura said with a smile, helping his friend to his feet.

"Let's go to Fayrie," he suddenly said, causing Ishikawa to throw his hands up.

"That sounds like a plan," Ishikawa said, grabbing his friend again. "We can check out all the Fayrie girls while we gather info about our master's whereabouts," Ishikawa said with a grin.

"I should've figured that's why you wanted to go," Nakamura said before sinking into his shadow.

"Cheater. No head starts!" Ishikawa shouted, diving into his own shadow.

 

Ka-Rosu arrived in Fayrie shortly before his two companions and wandered about the city a bit. Not exactly looking too much different than Neko-Jin, he had no problem walking around without being discovered.

Ka-Rosu searched through the town's market place, looking for anything that could be of use to him and his comrades.

"I wonder if Ishikawa or Nakamura could use batwing in any of their concoctions," Ka-Rosu said to himself.

"Actually, batwing is mostly used for spells of covertness," a voice replied from behind Ka-Rosu. The tall man, not knowing how to react, turned around with his fist leading the way. His attack was a powerful one that would decimate any elf or neko-jin, if it had been aimed at an elf or neko-jin.

"A little edgy are we not Ka-Rosu?" Ishikawa asked, Nakamura chuckling lightly from behind him.

"I thought you two were going to..."

"We were discovered...again," Nakamura said his head hanging low under his hood.

"Well, there's a lot of stuff here that should help out a lot," Ka-Rosu said, trying to bring his friends spirits up.

"You two look for what you will. I'm gonna find me a faerie," Ishikawa said, starting to walk away. Nakamura reached out and firmly grabbed his friend's arm.

"We must find our master. We need the proper materials before we can properly summon him if he is in fact dead. If not, we still need the proper materials in order to find his location," Nakamura explained, letting go of Ishikawa's arm.

"Fine! But after we get everything, we're finding ourselves some girls and we're gonna have fun!" Ishikawa nearly shouted.

"Actually, there's a tavern nearby that exercises a truce among the races. I'm not sure if that stands true for demons, but it's worth a shot," Ka-Rosu explained.

"Stop changing the subject!" Nakamura roared, alerting several people on the street.

"Shh!" Ka-Rosu pressed his finger to his lips in an attempt to silence the infuriated shadow. "Alright, we understand your point."

Nakamura, furious about his companions' leaned back attitudes, grabbed them both and pulled them down an alleyway.

"Look." Nakamura said, revealing a spot on his arm to his comrades. They both gasped in horror at what they saw.

"If you two took the time to inspect your own marks, you would've known that we are quickly running out of time." Nakamura said angrily.

The mark on Nakamura's arm was a seal that allowed the three to walk freely passed the gates of Malo. But spending as much time outside of Malo as they did, their marks had begun to fade away just like Nakamura's. The mark was the head of a devil embraced by a black flame that lightly flickered against their skin as if it was really aflame. But the flame had begun to die and the devil began to age, looking more like a wraith now than a demon.

"Do you understand now? We must hurry," Nakamura said with a tone of finality in his voice.

"So what do we need?" Ishikawa asked, putting his lecherous tendencies on hold.

"For the summoning spell we need toadstool, plume of an owl, a bull's horn, mermaid's hair, and skull of a redcap. For the locator spell, we need eye of a toad and a fairies wing," Nakamura finished.

"A faerie wing? How the hell are we supposed to buy that? We're in a town full of elves, I'm sure they won't be willing to part with a wing for any price," Ishikawa said.

"Don't worry. I'll get the wing." Nakamura said with a grin. "You two focus on the other ingredients,"

 

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"I got the toad's eye, the owl's plume, and the redcap's skull," Ishikawa said, placing the ingredients on his lain out cape.

"I got the mermaid's hair, the bull's horn, and the toadstool," Ka-Rosu replied, laying his items next to Ishikawa's.

"Where's Nakamura?" Ishikawa asked.

"Right here," Nakamura said, rising out of Ka-Rosu's shadow.

"You got the wing?" Ka-Rosu asked, looking around to make sure no one saw them.

"Yup. You should've heard her scream. It was like the nectar of a perfectly ripened fire fruit." Nakamura said, before extracting a large yet delicate wing from the inside of his cloak.

"So what are we gonna do first?" Ishikawa asked, eyeing the ingredients on the cape.

"The locator spell. It'll point us in the direction of Master Takematsu. The summoning spell is just incase he's dead we can summon him back to life, if only for a few days," Nakamura said, holding a thin needle in his hand. He took the toad's eye and impaled it on the needle, before gently tearing a section of the wing and crumpling it in his hand. Nakamura whispered a few words to an unseen force and dusted the eye with the Faerie wing dust. The eye instantly began to swivel from side to side before it looked east.

"So that's how it works," Ishikawa said, watching in awe.

"And it's simple," Nakamura said. "Come on. Master is east from here." He told his 'brothers'. They all looked around one last time, and than disappeared into their own shadows.

 

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Starting to get more into the plot now; what're those demons up to?! Find out next time, and thanks for reading!

 

Amariahellcat

 

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*grins* Eesh! I had to edit your endnotes, too! XD That's “for,” hon, not “foe.” Anyway.

 

With respect and all that jazz,

 

I remain,

 

Snowy