Before True Light: The Awakening 2nd Edition

by Sarah Buchynski

The sun began to stretch its rays over the village. When the rays reached Izanami’s hut, she lazily staggered out of the warm comfort of her bed covers. Her eyes were still half-closed and puffy, but Izanami followed her morning routine. In front of a small mirror, which sat on a stand that was in desperate need of cleaning, Izanami brushed her hair and washed her face. She stopped and looked at herself and sighed. She put the mirror down so it could not reflect anything. Like any girl Izanami’s age, she was self-conscious about how she looked. In reality she was beautiful, but still she found fault with her appearance. Trying to brush out knots and make her long golden hair less wavy, she threw her brush across the room in frustration. On her way to retrieve the brush, Izanami was thinking that she should start a fire in the fireplace to warm up the hut and make something to eat. As she walked past the fireplace, Izanami subconsciously made a swiping motion with her hand in the direction of the wood in the fireplace. The wood started on fire.

  “Wha…what did I just do?” Izanami looked around. There was no previously-lit fire that she could have manipulated to absorb the flame and transfer it to her fireplace. Izanami peered out the window to double check. No fires anywhere. She stood, astonished, while staring at the burning fire. She was taught that, by the Laws of Conservation of Mass, something cannot be created from nothing. As far as she knew, she did not manipulate any trace explosive elements in the air and add oxygen to create combustion. The fire was created from nothing she could locate. Izanami sat on her bed. She knew she did not intentionally create a reaction; she would have been aware of such things.

  “Amyntas, care to explain this to me?” There was no answer. “Of course, you won’t answer me!” Izanami sarcastically yelled. Izanami leaned back onto the bed, with her feet still touching the floor. She blew strands of hair off her face as she stared up at the roof. The wood floor was cold on Izanami’s bare feet. Getting up to find a change of clothes, Izanami looked into her almost empty closet. Izanami changed into a cream-coloured pair of pants and a sleeveless black shirt. Her pendant rested gently on her chest. She bent down to put on her dark brown boots that went up just below the knee. Finally, the cloak was on and Izanami was ready for a new day. On her way out, she poured water on the mysterious fire to put it out.

  “Oh, good morning, Izanami. You are up quite early,” Artemis’s mother greeted her.

  “Good morning. Yeah, I woke up earlier than I usually do… but I have to get going, sorry.” Izanami gave a slight bow and continued walking towards the Red Mage Warrior training grounds. Once there, she planned to see if she could recreate the events that transpired just moments ago. Her feet shuffled across the stone pathway.

  Izanami reached the grounds. No one was there yet. It was the perfect time to try her experiment. She gathered some twigs and small branches from the surrounding trees, and then prepared for ideal conditions to set the wood on fire. Standing over the firewood, Izanami made the same swiping motion as before. Nothing happened. Putting her hands on her hips, she glared at the wood while thinking what she could have possibly done to start the fire. She closed her eyes. Sensing her surroundings, Izanami could conclude that there were usable trace elements in the air for combustion, but there still needed to be a source of ignition. A spark, some sort of energy that was needed by the reaction for combustion to be possible. There was no way that, in Izanami’s hut, there had been such a source, nor had she consciously created a combustion reaction, or any type of reaction.

  “C’mon, damnit, work!” Izanami kept swiping her hand over the firewood. Giving up in frustration, she kicked the pile of wood. Twigs scattered in all directions.

  “Izanami, are you okay? What are you doing?” asked a voice.

  “Oh… hi, Derrick… yeah, I’m okay,” Izanami said in embarrassment.

  “What were you doing?” asked Derrick.

  “Nothing, nothing at all; don’t worry about it,” replied Izanami.

  The Elder of Black Heka entered the training grounds next, followed by Zane. Zane walked towards Izanami.

  “Hey, Izanami…,” Zane took a closer look at her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing is wrong! Why does everyone think there is something wrong with me?! Can’t a girl just think without being asked if there is something wrong with her?!” Izanami yelled. By this time, the rest of the understudy Mages and Elders had entered the training grounds. Everyone stared at her. “Oh, thanks a lot, Zane. Now everyone thinks I’m crazy!” Izanami walked away from Zane and sat down under a tree next to the three storage buildings. She brought her legs upward towards her body and sunk her head into her knees.

  “Izanami, it is time.” Silently, Izanami got up and followed the Elder of Black Heka to the blacksmith work station where the Elder of Combat and Zane waited. “Izanami, Zane, today you will forge your first blade as a Red Mage Warrior,” said the Elder of Black Heka.

  On a table lay five chunks of crystal stones. One was black, like jet, and shimmered magnificently in the sun. The crystal stone next to it was crimson red. The vibrancy of the red stimulated a sense of burning passion, but also an eerie mysteriousness. A light blue crystal chunk shone and sparkled in the sun’s rays, inducing calmness and serenity. The next crystal was jade green. Gazing upon this crystal evoked impressions that differed between individual personalities. Finally, the fifth crystal was a stunning white. Its beauty captivated anyone who glanced at it, especially when the sun’s rays danced upon it.

  “Take your time, young ones. These crystals will act as the catalyst on your blade, but each has their own attributes. Only one of these crystals will be appropriate for you – only you can decide which one,” the Elder of Black Heka explained.

  Izanami stared at the five crystals. Her eyes scanned back and forth at each one meticulously. Both the Elders of Black Heka and Combat watched her closely and curiously. The other understudies came to watch as well. After several moments in silence, Izanami pointed to a crystal. She pointed to the red crystal. A fleeting reaction of shock came to all the Elders’ faces, but they quickly composed themselves before anyone noticed. The Elders turned in anticipation to see which crystal Zane would pick. After a few moments, Zane crossed his arms. A look of certainty was on his face. Zane gave one final look, and then pointed to a crystal. He was pointing at the blue crystal.

  “Ve…very good, young Mages,” the Elder of Black Heka stuttered. Seeing his father taken aback worried Zane – he had never seen his father act in this way. Izanami and Zane were then left alone with the Combat Elder while the other Elders ushered the understudies back to their places.

  The Elder of Combat cleared his throat nervously. “Izanami, Zane, today the two of you are going to be forging blades. Traditionally, the blade was a Red Mage Warrior’s trademark. The first thing you are going to do is design the shape of your blade on a piece of parchment. Once you are done planning, I’ll show you how to actually make the blade and attach the fragments of the crystals that both of you chose.”

  Izanami grabbed a piece of parchment, a pen, and ink. She took these materials and returned to the area under the tree, where she sat earlier. Once settled on the ground, Izanami lay on her stomach and began sketching out her design.

  “She’s quite the peculiar girl,” the Combat Elder chuckled to Zane.

  “Izanami has always had her own way of doing things. Some of her ways may seem odd, I suppose, but some are quite brilliant and effective. Well, at least for her…,” Zane replied. He then grabbed his materials and walked towards Izanami. “Hey, Izanami, uh… would it be okay if I sat here with you?”

  “I suppose so, who am I to tell you that you can’t?” replied Izanami.

  “Well, seeing as you’re kind of mad at me, I thought you might tell me to get lost or something,” replied Zane.

  “I’m not mad at you,” she replied, without lifting her head. Her main focus was on her sketch. She wanted the design to be just right. After an awkward silence between the two, Izanami let out a sigh and dropp
ed her forehead onto her parchment.

  Zane smiled and sat down next to Izanami. “Messed up, or do you no longer like your current design?”

  “A bit of both,” Izanami muttered, with her forehead still resting on her parchment. Zane nudged Izanami’s shoulder. She looked up at him. He was holding a few extra pieces of parchment and handed them to her. Izanami had a sheepish look on her face as she grabbed the parchment from Zane.

  “Izanami, we’ve been together… I mean studied together, since we were six years old and after all those years I think we can say that we know each other well. I know that you are very meticulous about details and are a perfectionist, so I grabbed some extra parchment for you,” said Zane.

  “Um… thanks Zane. I guess you do know me really well,” replied Izanami. Once again Izanami turned her attention to sketching her ideal blade. After about fifteen minutes of constant sketching and muttering to herself, Izanami asked, “Zane, what do you think of this?” Izanami lifted up her paper to show Zane her masterpiece.

  “Wow, Izanami, this is brilliant. It’s different, but brilliant,” Zane said in amazement. The blade shape was unique. It arced very gradually from the grip to near the end, curving inwards in a crescent-moon shape. At the tip, the blade turned sharply and tapered into a pointed end. The design was combined with a broad sword structure, so the actual blade would be fairly thick. Izanami had drawn a moderately-sized pommel. The pommel was spherical, and the metal was sliced into thin pieces and wrapped around the sphere, creating a spiral effect. The spirals were not only aesthetically attractive, but would also help to counterweight the blade. The guard also had this spiral design. The grip would be made from leather that was pre-soaked in jenx oil. Jenx was a type of snake native to the mountains near the village. When the oil from their scales dries, it creates optimal grip. Izanami’s sword was also designed to have a full length tang to help ensure the best possible strength overall.

  Izanami cleaned up all her materials from off the ground and went to show the Combat Elder her designs. Soon, Izanami began to forge her very first blade and sword as a Red Mage Warrior. From her studies at the primary Red Mage level, Izanami had already learned how to forge a blade. But, because a Red Mage Warrior’s blade incorporated the crystal shards, Izanami received a brief lesson.

  Throughout the entire morning, and most of the afternoon, Izanami worked on the pattern-wielding process by adding several layers of different metals and the crystal shards. Altogether there were sixty layers. At the end of the sword, just past the guard where the blade would be thicker, several layers of nickel were folded together with red crystal shards, manganese, and tungsten for ultimate strength and efficiency of the blade. At the crescent moon portion of the blade, layers of the red crystal shards and silicon were folded together to enhance the flexibility and hardness. The silicon could also act as a conductor when performing reactions. Molybdenum was used throughout the entire blade. This was to assist in keeping the blade’s hardness consistent at higher temperatures, which is crucial for a Red Mage Warrior since their reactions can travel through the blade.

  The other understudies were beginning to leave, as well as the Elders. At this time, Izanami was preparing the forge. Coals began to burn and the temperature rose quickly. Izanami fed the blade to the flaming coals. Within moments, an intense orange glow slowly crawled across the length of the blade. Long into the night, Izanami repeated the motions of pounding the blade with a hammer and reheating it. After many hours, Izanami’s eyes grew heavy and soon darkness filled her vision.

  “Hey, Izanami… are you okay?” a familiar voice gently asked.

  Izanami slowly opened her eyes and spoke in a groggy voice, “Zane?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. Were you at the training grounds all night?” he replied.

  “Yeah, I had to finish it.” Izanami pointed to a table at the blacksmith work station. Her sword was complete. The red crystals infused into the metal alloy shimmered magnificently in the increasing sunlight. “Is it morning already? I meant to go home, but it was just such a nice night. I could see millions of stars, even a few shooting stars. So I just wanted to gaze up at the sky for a bit – but I guess I fell asleep,” Izanami stood up from the ground and rubbed her eyes.

  The other understudies began to enter the grounds, along with the Elders. They were astounded at the detail and perfection of Izanami’s sword. Most understudies would not be able to create such a masterpiece in their first attempt. The Elders’ suspicions about Izanami grew. After the day’s studies, they concluded that they would bring these suspicions to the Grand Elder, for it was not just their observations of Izanami – they could also sense an uncertainty in the wind. Something was not as it should be. The balance of harmony and life was beginning to shift in the outside world.

  “Grand Elder, I and the other Elders thank you for allowing time for the Council of Elders to meet on such short notice,” the Elder of Black Heka courteously said.

  “What business do my friends need to bring to my attention?” the Grand Elder asked.

  “Well, as you know, about a month ago our young Mage, Izanami, had demonstrated some tremendous talent within the Arts. Since the time she awoke from her coma, all four Elders have been observing her. I must say that her understanding of the Arts is highly unnatural when compared to the other understudies. She is still learning, but she can perfect her new knowledge almost instantaneously,” the Elder of Black Heka explained.

  “Not only that, all four of us saw that sword she forged. Not even I, with all my years of experience, could have created something that skillfully,” the Elder of Combat added.

  “It is true that young Izanami is excelling in her studies at an abnormal rate. I’ve also noticed that she has been lost in thought. Perhaps she can sense a disturbance in the balance as well, or maybe something else. Euclid, has your son Zane mentioned anything to you about Izanami?” the Elder of White Heka asked.

  “Hmm… yes, there was something. He said that she has been acting strangely as of late. Also, does the name ‘Amyntas’ mean anything to you, Grand Elder?” said the Elder of Black Heka.

  “The white Chimera awakens after nearly 1000 years… what does this mean?” the Grand Elder softly spoke.

  “Grand Elder?!” all four Elders spoke in disbelief.

  “Light and darkness struggle in one final clash…while the earth withers in ash….unless balance returns. Raining from the heavens… the light descends. Raining from the tears of many…the ultimate sacrifice…the ultimate punishment…only to return once more in the battle to end all battles…,” said the Grand Elder.

  “Grand Elder, is that really…?” the Elder of Herbalism began.

  “A prophecy that has already been set in motion four thousand years ago… but this is only half of the prophecy,” answered the Grand Elder.

  “What can we do? We do not know the second half of the prophecy so we do not know what to expect,” the Elder of Combat said.

  “Grand Elder, in light of these transpiring events I have something to add. Izanami has chosen the red crystal and Zane the blue. It cannot be coincidence. None of the other understudies chose the red or blue. But more importantly, when the two are chosen together by two people that are close to each other… Izanami is protected by the legendary white Chimera, but she has Zane as her guardian here in the land of mortals. Shall we let them know their intertwined destiny?” the Elder of Black Heka timidly asked.

  “Perhaps it is time to enlighten young Izanami and Zane before the curse begins to spread throughout the land once more,” the Grand Elder declared. He looked over to the other Elders. “Maybe it is best not to leave them in the dark, but to guide them to the light.”

  Chapter 10