“Mana – it is the raw form of magic, the energy that makes magic possible, generated only by sorcerers!” Bengushi explained.
“But that word… what was it? Where did it come from?” the girl asked, remembering herself making a strange and unfamiliar utterance. Even as she tried to recall it, she found that it slipped off the edge of her mind like her dreams did when she woke too suddenly.
“I don’t know…” Bengushi answered, his hand at his chin in deep thought.
“Clover, get a load o’ this!” Lex spouted in excitement, setting his palms to create another iceball. He strained to produce even a visible mist of ice energy, but he only felt a slight chill run though him.
“That’s how it is, Lex,” Bengushi told, “it takes practice. As you’re only beginning, you will produce ice energy at a buggingly slow rate, but that improves over time as you’d imagine. By tomorrow, you’ll be able to create an iceball in seconds!”
“Super! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”
“You two remember now, excessive use of mana or ice energy will lead to dangerous levels of exhaustion. If you push too hard, you’ll tap into your life energy and probably kill yourselves, so take it easy for now, okay?” The eyes of the three listeners widened at this. “Now good work everyone. That’s it for today! You’re dismissed!”
“Wow! I’m starving!” Lex gave out, his mind running on that delicious fish he had had moments ago. He rushed through the front door.
“Wait up!” Clover called, chasing after him giddily, rushing past Kyle.
Kyle looked up at Bengushi, noticing the marked change of expression on his face. His look of excitement and joy had morphed into a solemn look of concern and soberness. The old man walked toward Kyle, who was just turning away to go inside.
“Kyle!”
The teenager stopped and hissed under his breath, facing his grandfather. He watched curiously as the old man bent and took up the scabbard and sword and cased it. Then, he pushed the scabbard firmly on Kyle’s chest, pushing him back almost to fall. Kyle glared at the man with a fierce expression, which seemed to be reflected at him. “You’re still her big brother. I trust you won’t forget that,” Bengushi told him. “It is still your duty to protect not just her, but that boy.”
“Are you blind?!” Kyle blasted with what seemed like sudden rage, “They’re not even human! What can I do to protect them?! Didn’t you see--” Bengushi firmly pushed Kyle against the wall beside the front door as he tried to resist. Kyle gave up, seeing that Ben was stronger than him. The glare in Kyle’s eyes became fiercer by the second, and his teeth clenched tightly within his fast-shut lips.
“You will protect them, and guide them, and be their sense,” the old man said in a stern, quiet tone that Kyle grew to respect and acknowledge over everything else. He clenched his teeth tighter as Ben shoved the scabbard against him more forcefully. “This is your path. I trust you won’t get left behind.” Bengushi grabbed the boy’s tense right hand and slammed it against the scabbard. He grabbed the case naturally. “That look. Your eyes… I know them better than even you do, and I know what they’re trying to hide… Dare me and I’ll force them out,” the old man said. Kyle just continued to glare at the man. With suddenness, Bengushi grabbed and hugged him. He smiled as he heard his grandson sob. Then, Kyle pushed him off forcefully, his eyes still moist and a new look painted in them. He uncased the sword like a warrior, glaring at the old man with a look he proudly accepted.
“I will not be outdone.”
Chapter 2: The Awakening
Friendly hours soon led to sundown. With chatting and playing and all sorts of trivial things, the three felt like they’d known one another since forever. Dinner was done. Lex didn’t bother to ask what it was, the same way he felt no need to question his mother about the meals she had fed him. He just ate his fill and enjoyed. Bengushi had just retired to his room, after warning them firmly to head straight to bed and not to disturb him from his studies and meditation.
As Lex was jumping into bed, he began to find it strange again how long this dream of his was enduring, and how vivid and real it felt. He sat on his bed, his pillow in his lap and his back against the wall. Clover lay on her side, looking up at Lex. His heart fluttered as he looked down at her, and as her beauty forcefully came back to him. I’d really hate to wake up now. This sure beats that test I’m sure to flunk tomorrow… Maybe if I fall asleep now the dream will end… I better stay awake for as long as I can. Kyle stared up at the board roof, imagining himself in history books as the legendary swordsman who killed Trium. Still, the more he pictured it, the more impossible it became. He uttered a heavy sigh, then yawned, and closed his eyes.
A question that somehow evaded Lex’s mind earlier on suddenly came back to him. “Hey, what’s school like here?”
“School? Ha.” Lex looked over at Kyle, wondering if that could possibly be a silly question. “That’s a rich kid thing,” Kyle said, “for spoilt, snot-nosed brats who grow up thinking they’re better than everyone else.”
“You only say that ‘cause you don’t get to go to school!” Clover came in, dragging Lex’s attention, “You’re always like that – I can’t have it, so it’s not worth having!”
Kyle made another snicker that annoyed Clover. “Really the best way to look at things. When you reach my age you’ll probably start to think like an adult.”
“Please! You shouldn’t act like you’re that much older than me! You’re still a kid, too!”
Lex laughed at the trivial argument, feeling a kind of happiness that he never felt back home.
“Anyway,” Kyle continued, dismissing Clover, knowing how much that irritated her, “there’s general school that teaches just theory; basic science and history and government and stuff like that.”
“But the closest one’s in Metal City,” Clover said, sounding disheartened.
“How far’s that?”
“Well… the distance is not the issue,” Clover said. Lex looked down at his pillow, sort of understanding. “This village is so lame,” Clover complained, “hardly ever see the other kids, and the houses here are so far apart. I’d love to go to Magic School!” she said, grinning at the fantastic thought of it.
“Magic School?! Woah!”
“If only such things existed,” Kyle came in, ruining it for them both. “Sword school is much more realistic on the other hand,” he said, a small smirk on his face, imagining what formal training in the craft could do for him.
“Oh please! So boring! Magic School’s the best! I bet there’s a grand school of magic in Magma—”
“Clover!” Kyle blasted, frightening her and Lex. Lex looked over at him, at the furious look on his face.
“Remember what Magma Town does for a living. Their soldiers were the ones who…” He hissed, and drew the covers over him. “My chief objective is not to follow these damn prophecies and look for some dragon to appear from the skies… It’s to destroy those sons of bitches that killed my parents… When the time is right… I will burn that city to the ground…”
Clover sighed, like she was tired of hearing the same old thing, but Lex sympathized with how Kyle felt. He knew if anyone were to take his mother away from him, he certainly wouldn’t take it lightly, certainly not as lightly as Clover seemed to treat the issue at the moment. “So what about you, ever been to a school?” Clover asked.
“Five days a week! It’s a real pain!”
“What?! You must be pretty rich, then!”
“Ha! Nah, it’s a regular thing. I’d sure prefer a magic school, though! Or even an ice making academy! Imagine that!”
“But at least you get to see lots of kids every day, right?” The girl imagined such a life.
“Yeah, well if you put it that way it might not be so bad, but the work sure gets tough sometimes, and it’s all pretty dull – language and science and math and that kinda stuff – no magic or sword or ice. Huh?” Heavy snoring and sighs made Lex flash his head quickly.
Lex and Clover made muffled sniggers at the noisy sleeper.
“Wish there was some way I could convince him he sounds like a bear every night,” his sister said.
Lex yawned and lay on his back, then released a long sigh. “Woah, pretty tired myself,” he admitted.
“Yeah, me too… Today was definitely the best day ever,” Clover said. Lex looked over at the gorgeous girl in the green dress that fell just above her knees, unable to stop his smiling. “Why do you smile so much?” she finally asked, laughing a little. Lex wondered just how to reply. “Well, good night, Lex!” she bade, rescuing him.
“Good night, Clover.”
Even hours later, Lex lay staring up at the ceiling. The room was dim – the candles were out, and only a few rays of moonlight came down through the half-open window. The bed was quite cosy, but he forced his eyes open whenever sleep would try to draw him away. “Can’t… fall asleep,” he told himself, wanting to extend this dream for as long as possible. He dreaded waking to his drab reality. “Is this all really just a dream?” he contemplated over and over again, “Of course… None of this can be real… superpowers… magic… Me, saviour of the world…” he looked to his left and right at his sleeping friends. “Could my mind have created these persons who seem so real?” he wondered.
He sat up, leaning against the wall, fighting off the sleep that just wouldn’t let him be. A smirk of mischief lit his face, and he dismounted the bed quickly and quietly. He walked soundlessly past the snoring Kyle, and grabbed the cold knob. In little time, he was staring up at the blue light the silver moon managed to paint across the whole sky. Lex just noticed the eerie-looking, lifeless trees in the distance now plaguing his sight. The night wind was frigid, but this chill thrilled Lex, and gave him an indescribable sensation. He took the stance Bengushi taught him, creating that vacancy between his palms. He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them abruptly, his heartbeat increasing. He tried to ignore the grim, creepy feelings that tried to overshadow him, and looked down between his palms, regaining focus.
A short while passed, no more than half a minute, before icy mist was trapped in the small space between the boy’s palms. Lex looked down with bright blue eyes at the swiftly spinning mist. It grew denser by the second, and Lex could feel the tension swell. He kept his focus, steadily supplying the orb with more ice energy. “An iceball,” Lex said to himself. He looked up at the moon, frightened at the striking resemblance it had to the iceball. Lex’s eyes widened in panic as he felt vivid streaks of coldness flow from his heart, up through his shoulders and down his arms to his hands. As seconds passed, the energy in the iceball increased steadily, multiplying the density and power of the iceball. What?! He felt the ball begin to violently repel his hands. He grew tenser and strained in an attempt to keep the ball contained in his palms.
“Damn it… I can do this. I need to relax,” Lex told himself. He took a deep sigh, and managed to end his release of energy. He slowly and steadily brought his palms further from one another by tiny distances, calming the tension of the ball. He clenched his teeth as he felt a nasty chill rush up into his wrists and through his palms, and into his chest. He felt his heartbeat slowing, and he felt inside him grow numb. He watched the sphere as its rich blueness faded and it grew transparent and lost its denseness. “So I can absorb the energy I release…but why do I feel like I’m…” he shivered nervously. Just before, the chill of the night felt exhilarating and pleasant, and now his coldness felt dangerous. “…F…Freezing…?” He realized that he had absorbed the energy far too quickly, and his body was now paying the price. “Ben… Old man…” he muttered, shaking like the tongue of a fast-rung old-fashion school bell. His hands were still enveloped by some of the misty ice energy. He hugged himself, grabbing his shoulders tightly. He felt a stinging cold as ice energy manifested into solid natural ice around his arms. “Oh shit…” Thick ice rapidly spread everywhere, down his hands, up to his chest and neck. The bluish ice crawled and covered him entirely. In seconds, he was frozen altogether.
Long, tense seconds of sharp pains and deadly chill soon led to numbness, then unconsciousness.
Bengushi opened his eyes sharply, still sitting in his meditative position. Because of the state his mind was in, he was able to sense Lex’s ice energy. The aged man sprang up quickly, making a loud hiss. He burst through the children’s room door within a second. “Where’s Lex?” Kyle was just rising, rubbing his eyes sleepily, a grumpy mood ready to be expressed.
“He’s asleep, old man,” the annoyed boy said. But Bengushi had sensed a chilling danger.
“You two, get up!” the old man finally yelled, a sense of urgency, even panic in his voice. Clover woke, rubbing her eyes hazily, realizing that she was the only one left in the room.
Kyle and Ben had already reached outside to the horrid site. “Damn, he’s frozen solid,” Kyle said. The boy inside the ice was already looking very pale, even dead. His eyes were wide open and creepy-looking. Kyle clenched his teeth and made a heavy gulp, then with all the might he could find, ran up to the ice and struck it with his sword, close to Lex’s neck. Cracks ran through the upper parts of the slab of ice immediately.
“Keep it up!” Ben sounded, then dashed back into the house. Kyle smote the ice again, sending more cracks through it. With a desperate roar of strength, the third strike brought visible success, as a part of the ice broke off, exposing the left side of the boy’s face. Kyle slashed the ice from the other side, shattering more of it. His neck and head were free by now, and Kyle noticed his hardly audible stuttering and wheezing, his struggle to breathe. His head was drenched in water, and chilly white mist escaped his mouth in his spastic attempts to inhale and exhale.
Ben and Clover finally reached the scene, each with two torches, fuelled by dry wood and paper. “Lex!” Clover cried, tears already rushing down her cheeks. As the fire slowly melted the ice, Kyle attacked it fiercely with his blade, chipping the ice and sending massive cracks through it.
“Stand clear!” Kyle commanded, then stepped back and made a profound strike, taking the remaining ice apart completely. Clover dropped her torches and caught the falling Lex, who felt colder than a dead man. His body felt stiff like rubber. He was in a fit – his shaking frightened Clover even more than his chilliness and stiffness. He was panting with wide eyes that stared up at the crying Clover. Ben grabbed the shaking boy from Clover and rushed inside with him, taking him straightway to his own room, and put him on the bed. Then, the old man quickly stripped the boy of his shirt and pants, which were dripping wet, and wrapped him up in the blanket he was lying on. Kyle and Clover looked on from the doorway. Clover was still shaking and crying, but Kyle was certain his grandfather would sort things out.
Lex, now curled up in the blanket, was shivering less robustly, and was breathing much easier. Clover finally entered the room, walking slowly toward Lex. Her crying seized. She gently touched his cold face, and he exhaled deeply, and his shivering calmed almost completely. “Lex,” she whispered, and he became still.
Seems the shivering has subsided, Kyle thought. Clover left the room quickly.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” the boy kept muttering.
“What did I tell you, boy?!” Bengushi blasted, rising from beside him. His face was even more wrinkled than usual, and his eyes flared with anger. “You could have bloody hell killed yourself out there! What if we didn’t come to save you from your folly?! Your blood would have been solid in moments, and that would have been it!”
“I’m sorry…” he sobbed, closing his eyes. Bengushi uttered a heavy sigh, then all of a sudden, to Lex’s surprise, started laughing. Lex opened his eyes and looked up at the laughing man in confusion.
The man rested his wrinkled hand on Lex’s forehead. “How do you feel?”
“I’m alright… Just a slight headache… Still a little cold on the inside.”
Clover entered the room again, rushing past Kyle with a mug of hot chocolate. Lex
sat up and slowly took the mug from the smiling girl. He held on to her hand gently; it took some of the chill from his. With his other hand, he brought the mug to his mouth as he sat up properly, still wrapped in the blanket, and started to sip.
“Thank you,” he uttered in another sigh, one of relief and warmth. “Old man Ben, Clover, Kyle, you saved my life… I’m sorry… for causing so much trouble.” He took another slurp of the delicious chocolate.
“I’m just glad you’re alright,” Clover said softly, sitting on the bed beside Lex.
“What can I say? That’s what I do,” Kyle came in, then blew on the tip of his sword, smirking away.
“You should be thanking Lex! You finally find some good use for that thing!” Bengushi joked. They all took a good laugh. Lex was more interested in gulping down the hot chocolate, though. He was sure it was melting the ice inside him.
“Alright, you two – off to bed now,” Bengushi said, “Lex will soon be in.”
“Good night, grandpa,” Clover bade, rising from the bed, “g’night, Lex.”
“Night Clover, Kyle,” Lex said.
“In the morrow,” Kyle said, his sleepiness returning to him forcefully, like he didn’t just slashed through a block of ice to save a dying Icemaker.
“Straight to bed, now!” Bengushi said. Clover turned and smiled at Lex as she left the room. “So,” Bengushi began, “how’d you quite get around freezing yourself?” the man asked, curious. Lex took another drink of the chocolate.
“It got pretty cold, and I … hugged myself… Ice just started to spread all over me,” the boy recalled.
“Elemental ice is truly powerful,” Bengushi said, imagining the process that took place within Lex and on the surface.
“Thanks for saving my life, old man Ben,” the boy insisted, unable to get over it.
“I am only honoured, Lex. You will be saving the lives of billions! You should understand and accept that your destiny is greater than you can even imagine. You will journey far and wide with Kyle and Clover; they are your family now… She’s a good girl… pretty too!”
The Seventh Spirit Page 4