23Part I: How It All Began
Chapter 8: Phoenix Embers
SunJewel
'Here I am once again...' Lia plodded along the forest, the silence ringing in her ears. The familiar feeling of loneliness crept back into her, as her only company were the tall thick trees.
'I wonder how the others are doing... Hope they're safe... (A/N: lol... love the irony)… heh… never got to say bye ...well it was for the best...' With her head lowered she continued on, her tousled locks of white hair covering her (first in a lifetime) solemn face.
She had to get out of the enchanted forest to find her close relatives to help her. Aunt Cerea was the only person she ever considered living with. Lia ached for warm shelter, plenty of food and care, and a hot steaming bath. The thought of food sent her stomach in a grumbling frenzy.
Suddenly a sound that was between a squeak and a meow woke her up from her bothersome thoughts.
Lia whirled around, trying to locate the sound.
'Crap, forgot about the creatures that live here...' Her eyes widened with panic and fear as she looked up.
There, up on a branch, was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen.
It had the graceful frame of a cat, but its ears were long and floppy, trailing all the way down to its blue paws. It had three long tails similar to the design of its ears. Its fluffy white fur ruffled by the gentle breeze and in the middle of its forehead was a blue diamond-shaped patch of fur. On its back were miniscule blue wings, which fluttered as it looked at the baffled human down below. Its clear, sky blue eyes looked curiously down at her.
And just as sudden as it appeared, it jumped down with a graceful swoop, right towards the girl who was dumbfounded standing still, waiting for the impact...
xWhit3StaRx
Elvira, still trembling fearfully on the ground and clutching her bruised ribs, screamed and struggled to her feet just as the Naseh ruthlessly plunged his talons into the Mage's waiting stomach. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks, mixing with the blood flowing from the gash on forehead as her eyes darted nervously to a rusting shovel laying casually on a crooked shelf.
She grabbed it and, after steadying herself, took a few shaky steps towards the huddled mage and the Naseh. The scene in front of her blurred slightly and she paused to quickly brush away some more blood. Pain was distant to her now and she set her heart on the one task in front of her. She brought the shovel above her head and, with a shaky breath, plunged the sharp, ragged edge as deep as she could into the dark shadow below.
SunJewel
Lia winced, her eyes tightly shut and her body tense, waiting for the impact that awaited her. After a couple of suspenseful seconds, she cracked open one eye. She was shocked to see the winged cat thing on top of her head sniffing her about. Its slender paws scuffling her already ruffled hair.
"Mewk!" It fluttered off her tousled hair and came face to face with the puzzled Lia and licked her nose, its little warm tongue rough but gentle.
"Hey! Wh-what..!?.." She laughed out of relief, which earned her another lick on the nose.
"Hey! Not everything's bad in this forest after all..."
The benign creature did couple of back flips in the air, it's floppy ears waving about comically, causing Lia to laugh again.
"Come on... you can accompany me along the way if you want..." She hesitantly held out her arms as if to embrace the winged creature.
It swooped down with shocking agility and plopped right down into Lia's awaiting arms, nuzzling her nest of white tangles.
Giggling, she walked away from the area, her arms full of soft and silky fur. She lifted the creature up towards her face and said, " I'll name you...umm... Skatch!"
Skatch licked her on the nose again.
xWhit3StaRx
The Naseh stood over Elvira, his eyes flaming and the rusty shovel anchored awkwardly in his hand. "You thought I couldn't hear you coming?" He grinned wickedly. "My darling El..."
A ruthless kick followed by a groan. "I have to say though...standing up again after that? Not too bad. It's a shame to waste a meal like you..." The Naseh leaned over her, throwing the shovel to the side and grabbing her chin with his forefingers. Her eyes lolled back as he tilted her head up. "Don't get any more bloodied up, eh? I don't like dirty food..." With a rough shove that sent her teetering ino unconciousness, he stood up and moved on to Surin.
Fenrir
The scene seemed to flicker in and out for the young mage; everything was so surreal. Was he dying? Or was he already dead? The only thing that was clear to him was that voice... Whom did it belong to? Where was it coming from? Pain had completely overtaken him. It dulled his senses, and made every part of his body scream for an end, for death.
The voice... It persisted relentlessly, commanding him to rise, to live... Who was he to trust? What was he to follow? His own burning desire for oblivion, or this strange voice...
He heard a shrill scream. Surin, perhaps. He wanted to find the source of the cry, but his eyelids did not obey him, fighting back fiercely as he tried to open them. The voice, which could now be clearly identified as young and female, pleaded for him to get on his feet, to protect his companions.
'I don't care for these people...' he told himself. Still, the voice endured. Using his hands, Talio pushed himself from the ground, and braced his back to the stone behind him for support. His breathing had gotten considerably lighter, and his wounds had stopped bleeding to a certain extent. She told him that she would help him fight, would help him live. She said for him to draw his blade, to take up arms for his companions.
The Naseh laughed. This was completely pathetic. Even the half-sunnyu had fallen so easily. Worshipped and respected? They were completely worthless creatures, retaining their reputation only with propaganda and feeding off the idiocy of their populace. Soon, he would dine on the angelic flesh of those holy "angels."
He walked to the semi-conscience body of the sapphire-haired girl. She seemed to be in a complete state of distress, tossing and turning her head as if she was experiencing a nightmare. Cruelly, the Naseh kicked her in the side and in the head, savoring the small gasps and grunts she still made. A horrified Elvira trembled in shock at the sinister display. A voice suddenly rang out, echoing throughout the small cavern.
"Furor Lux!" Talio yelled with his right arm out stretched. A glowing green glyph appeared in front of his hand momentarily, and then shattered. The shards metamorphosed into small blue orbs, which converged upon the Naseh. Time seemed to slow down, and for a brief moment, everything had an odd blue tint.
Talio had an expression of utmost concentration. A loud shrieking of wind soon followed, and dozens of impossibly quick consecutive lightning bolts shot from the mage's hand to their intended target; the unsuspecting Naseh. Without any time to project a strong resistance, the Naseh was blown back in to the wall behind him, screaming. The smoke cleared, and the Naseh once again emerged. His hair was singed, and ash and scorch marks covered his body. His eyes were blood red, and his expression was one that would terrify even the most hardened warrior.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!" the Naseh screamed with renewed fury. The mage stood his ground, but something was off about his appearance. His eyes were hollow, and his expression unreadable, his movements seemingly possessed. He flung both arms to the side, and the air around his hands seemed to be drawn towards them. A bright flash illuminated the dank cavern and temporarily blinded all of them.
In his hands he now held two sinister long swords. They were completely composed of lightning, a brilliant violet in color. Both were identical, with shining pommel jewels, and a short, but elaborate, hilt incorporating many spikes and with a shining gem where the handle met the guard. The blade itself had teeth cut into it near the hand guard but flattened out into a lethally sharp edge. The Naseh charged forth, claw outstretched, ready to impale the irritation once and for all.
Talio parried the claw with his left blade, and lashed out with his right. The Naseh was forced to jump backwards, barely avoiding a fatal wound to the neck. The mage came again, swinging his swords in a lethal dance. First came a low horizontal slash, neatly jumped by the clawed creature. Then came a quick vertical slash that he was forced to parry. The Naseh overpowered the mage, trying to regain control by throwing the mage off his balance. However, his plan backfired when the second blade came in a diagonal slash, which the Naseh could not avoid.
He screamed as the sword left a large gash across his left chest and shoulder. He stumbled a bit, but soon was forced into the rhythm of combat, dodging, parrying, but without any time to launch a counterattack. The slashes and thrusts came unceasingly, and the mage always seemed to be well guarded, not receiving a scratch as of yet. The Naseh, however, had already obtained many deep wounds, and knew that he had to turn the tides of the battle around. He found his golden opportunity after the mage had attempted a thrust with his right sword.
The Naseh grinned wickedly, and sidestepped neatly to the left. This was it. He made a thrust of his own at the mage, but his claw never reached its target. The blade of lightning, which had preformed the thrust, was now buried in the Naseh's side. He crumpled. He had never felt this immense a pain before.
The Naseh looked at his assailant with fear now, more than hatred. With one final croak, he fell to the ground. His grotesque talon shrunk back to his normal hand, and he lie bleeding on the cold, hard stone. There was now a glowing purple sword pointed at his throat. He knew he was about to die.
"Sis..." the Naseh croaked. "Help me... I don't... I don't want to die... Please... Please...! Sis, don't let him kill me!" Tears streamed down his cheeks.
xWhit3StaRx
Elvira watched in utter horror as the Naseh crumpled to the ground, pleading for his life.
"Sis, please!" He begged, flipping weakly over on his stomach and crawling slowly towards her frigid body. "Please..." Blood spilled from the opening of his once more human mouth and his eyes were wide in terror. "Don't let him kill me..." The bloody fangs and ruthless hunger for death was gone.
Elvira was frozen. Confused, scared, and worried at the same time. For a moment she did nothing and said nothing as the Naseh dragged itself closer and closer to her. When it was a foot away, she whimpered and drew back along the wall, ignoring the pain in her ribs and the pounding headache caused from the gash on her forehead. Frightened tears continued to trickle down her muddy cheeks.
"Sissy...sissy, please..." the Naseh pleaded.
"...Al-Alair?" she managed. "Alair...ar-are you...o-ok...now?" The truth was, she didn't want to know. She would die if Alair had been eaten by the Naseh and replaced.
"Yes, sissy...I'm back...please...don't let him...don't..." He was crying, too, now, but there was a nauseous feeling in her stomach that told her something wasn't right. He looked like Alair all right. Bony, small framed, tousled brown hair. He was even the right age now! Which…for some reason seemed odd to her. But it wasn't that. There was something else missing from that description. And suddenly it hit her.
"Red..." Elvira whispered in a horrified voice. "Your eyes are red."
xInSaNexBlOoDyxPrInCeSs
'What was that?' was the first thought that popped into her mind. Something wet was on her foot.
Slowly Surin opened her eyes and immediately glanced down at her foot to find the pale skin covered with crimson blood. She made an 'eww' face and then passed her fingers gently over the wound, watching it miraculously heal.
Then she jumped to her feet with her memory slowly reviving. The mage...over there. Elvira...Over there. And the Naseh...He'd changed, for certain. Elvira seemed to think so as well, for she watched him with worried eyes, but she froze after a moment.
"Red..." she whispered, obviously terrified. "Your eyes are red."
With a shrill cry that seemed inhuman, the Naseh swiped at Elvira's ankles. With a scream and blood sprouting from the wound, she limped as fast as she could over to another corner of the cave, leaning against the wall.
Surin put her hand forth again as the Naseh looked toward her, not Elvira, but the blue-haired girl herself. He growled deeply and rushed in her direction. 'My phoenix,' she thought desperately, 'my phoenix...'
Surin remembered, finally. She lifted her arm into the air and cupped her hand, closed her eyes. Her long blue hair floated off her shoulders, and then she uncurled her right hand.
Out of her palm flew a bright-eyed phoenix, whose flaming tail brushed the grotesque Naseh's head, scorching it. With a howl of rage, the Naseh rushed at the holy bird, attempting to swipe his claws at it, too. The usually forgiving phoenix looked upon him with eyes mixed with fury and mercy. Then, when Surin opened her eyes, the phoenix flew down, scorching the Naseh's body, not just his head.
xWhit3StaRx
The Naseh was, obviously, dead, but it wasn't over yet. Light seemed to sprout as its body melted into mere ashes and drifted, ever so slowly, to the ground. And suddenly, the ashes were gone, replaced by a shiny, silvery liquid. The group watched in fascination as the droplets of silver began collecting together into the shape of...a human?
When it was finished, there was another flash of blinding light and the liquid was replaced with a boy's body. A sparkling clean one, without a scratch or bruise in sight. His brown, shiny hair was tousled and his skin was tanned, but creamy and smooth. His tattered clothes were too big for him, but gave him a cute, boyish look that Elvira had adored all her life. All that wasn't in view were his eyes, but she knew, without looking, that they'd be emerald.
Elvira, who had been leaning tiredly and fearfully, against the wall, supported only by her will to live, crumpled to the ground. Blood leaked from the numerous scratches and bruises she had acquired during from the fight and mud and dirt caked her skin, but she ignored it all. Slowly, slowly she crawled towards the green-eyed boy who she knew for certain would never open those beautiful eyes again.
Elvira took him into her arms, cradling his head against her chest, and cried as much as her heart would allow. She cried until her eyes were nearly swollen shut and until her throat was parched and red. "Sleep Alair..." She whimpered now and then, clutching the limp body to her like a treasure, "It's ok now..." With her face buried in his feathery hair, she closed her eyes and swallowed her remaining tears.
"Sissy's here..."