“These kings seemed quite stupid to me,” Kyle said.
“They were,” they storyteller agreed, “and the people soon overthrew them for starting such a foolish war. To commemorate the great feast and the return of a time of peace, the brothers renamed their provinces the Twin Towns, and the people now celebrate Fish Day, a grand holiday and festival of celebration. Of course, I owe my life to my people, and in honour of what they did to save one lone child, I decided to teach the way of the sword to anyone here who is willing to learn.”
“Greetings, Master Chuck,” a girl interrupted, bowing slightly, “our class begins now.” Kyle looked up at the girl, unable to shift his eyes from her.
“Well, it was nice having you. Do come again,” the man bade them, rising. Others were already gathering for their session of training. The aspiring swordsman looked at the teacher, then back at the beauty, and a smile appeared on his face. The girl looked down at him with a straight face.
“You’re a good man, Master Chuck. You’ll certainly see me around.”
Chapter 6: Black Ice
Only a day later, Lex and Kyle were almost outside of the second Twin Town, which was amazingly, even confusingly similar to the first.
“Carrier!” Kyle flagged down the woman. He hissed as the woman continued at full speed. Kyle looked about.
“Look, Kyle, she’s stopping!”
The boys ran over to the halted carrier, a woman looking to be in her fifties or early sixties.
“We’re heading to Magma Town,” Kyle said.
“Good day, ma’am,” Lex greeted, nudging Kyle.
“How do you do, travellers,” she greeted.
“How far do you go?” Kyle asked.
“Zakashi Village.”
“Huh?!” Kyle hurriedly took out his map to confirm something. “I’m afraid you don’t understand,” the boy said, showing the woman the map, “we’re heading to Magma Town.”
“I understand quite well, fussy one—”
“Then why do I need to—”
“Ah, tourists I see! Let me tell you then, the point on your map labelled Smoke Hill is impassable.”
“What?”
“You’ll have to go the long way round.”
“We don’t have—”
“Smoke Hill is unsafe until the winter season. The heat that lies on the mount makes it a hazardous impasse.”
Kyle showed Lex the map in his hand, tracing the route through Zakashi Village with his fingers. “We can’t take the advised route, woman – we haven’t the time for that. We’ll climb over the mount. It’s only… eight or so miles, then Magma Town’s straight ahead.”
“Listen, youngster, it’s an impossible route. You’ll have to go around. The heat will cook you alive on that mountain!”
The tone in Kyle’s voice changed to that of fierceness and unbearable irritation. “Listen, woman! You just do your damn job! Take us to the foot of the mount! We don’t have time for any other route!”
The woman hissed, and signalled to them to get inside.
In just an hour, all signs of civilization were gone, and the terrain had become frighteningly rough. As time passed, the fresh air was evidently replaced by a warm mist. The heat increased as they progressed, and Lex began to breathe heavily. Kyle grabbed him firmly. “Getting weak already?”
“This is as far as I go!” the woman announced, and at her command, the horses came to a halt. “You might as well give me all your money, or it will just end up perished in your ashes.”
“Be off, now!” Kyle hissed, seeing she was further frightening Lex, and handed her a few silver coins. She quickly turned and disappeared into the foggy, dusty mist of heat. “We have quite a distance to cover in the heat, and it’s bound to get worse… When we move off, there’s no stopping ‘til we clear the mount,” Kyle said, looking at the shaking, already panting and sweating Lex.
“I’m ready. Let’s go,” Lex said with an unconvincing voice, nodding shakily.
As the travellers moved upward slowly on sharp, hot, jagged rocks, the mist thickened and the heat grew more intense. They breathed heavily, hardly speaking. Their hearts beat faster, and their shirts were soaked and heavy with sweat. Lex’s body sweat cool water constantly, enough to bathe him, but as his ice energy tried to keep him alive, he grew weaker and weaker. In time, he finally lost enough strength to fall.
The enduring swordsman turned to the kneeling boy. “We’re almost at the top,” he struggled to encourage, “we can’t rest here.” He grabbed Lex’s arm and pulled him up. The heat was so tense that they were sure they could see it. The hot gasses smeared their already foggy visions.
Lex soon felt Kyle’s hand grip his shoulder. Kyle released a heavy sigh and his muscles gave way, and he fell, hitting his head on a large rock, unable even to cry out in pain. Lex dragged him up so he could sit, panicking as blood seeped from the boy’s head.
“W—Water…” Kyle begged. Lex considered for a second, then put his palms together in his icemaking stance. He closed his eyes in focus for a while. He grew even weaker as ice energy flowed through his veins. When he opened them, he saw a creation he had never seen before. An orb of water wobbled suspended between his palms.
“Drink,” he offered Kyle. Icemaking seemed impossible in the terrible heat, but water was far more valuable at the moment anyway. Kyle attacked the water with a new found energy. He made heavy sighs as he devoured the cool water.
“Ahhh….” He held his head, sitting up properly, the pain from the fall just reaching him. Lex drank from the decreasing orb. He forced the production of more water and drank some more, then he washed his face with the bit that remained, and laughed weakly. Kyle nodded and smiled in gratitude. “Let’s go,” Kyle said, rising with a new energy, which allowed them to make it over the top of the mount in less than half an hour.
The heat was at its peak, and so was the opaqueness of the mist. They could hardly see before them. Almost jogging, they moved quickly down the slope. On moving down, Kyle made another sudden grab on Lex’s arm.
“What’s the matter?” Lex asked, turning to him.
“Look…” Lex looked before him, peering through the hot mist. “There’s someone there,” he whispered, agreeing with Kyle’s thoughts. They were sure they saw a man-like figure a few chains down. Kyle drew his sword, and they walked down the rocky slope cautiously toward the suspicious figure.
As they moved, the intensity of the heat and mist lessened slightly. They were now around five meters from whatever they were looking at. He appeared to be a man covered in metal armour from head to toe. The suit of metal was closely fitted, not like any armour any regular soldier would wear in battle. Lex was even tempted to believe that the man had metal skin.
“Who are you?” Kyle asked in approach, sword readied in hand.
“Are you two sane?” a rough voice came from the man clad in armour, “This heat is deadly.”
“Then why are you here?” Kyle asked.
“Can’t you tell? I am indestructible. Petty things like heat are of no consequence to one like me.”
Kyle noticed that the man’s very fingers were covered in the metallic coating.
“What the hell are you?” Kyle asked, sounding a little nervous.
“Something your sword cannot harm.”
“Are you thirsty, sir? I too am special,” Lex said, smiling faintly, knowing this man was not an ordinary man. He put his palms together, and pushed for as much power as he could find. This time, icy water formed in his hands.
The man stared at the water suspended between the boy’s hands with wide, shaking eyes, then they narrowed with a furious, fiery look. “Icemaker,” the man growled, clenching his fists. The man with the strange armour drew from his back a spear. Its tip looked like it could pierce through steel. Lex released the icy water and jumped back in fright. Kyle stepped before Lex quickly, making a strike at the obviously riled man. The man blocked Kyle’s sword with his arm, jabbing at him with his s
pear. Hard swings and jabs got Kyle into a panicky frenzy of dodging. A roar of rage his enemies could not account for accompanied each of his strikes. Kyle finally got a clear shot, making a sturdy jab at his foe, deflecting the armoured man’s attack with a swift hand movement. Kyle made a frightful pause as he noticed that his sword had no effect at all on the man’s silvery coating.
“Tell them who you will see in the next world that it was a man called Rhino that killed you,” the rough-voiced ruffian said, and firmly grabbed the blade of Kyle’s sword, dragging it from him easily with inhuman strength, flinging it behind him. Kyle stared into the fiery eyes of the indestructible man. Even his face was covered with the strange armour.
“I dare you! No weapons!” Kyle blasted nervously, “Let me see if you’re the Rhino I’ve been hearing about!”
Without giving much thought to it, Rhino sent his spear hurling into the dense, dusty mist. The man called Rhino sent heavy attacks at Kyle, who dodged each strike, keeping his composure, but he couldn’t see how he would win the battle in the long run. He simply could not damage the enemy. Wild, fierce attacks followed each other rapidly, with roars of annoyance that the previous had been closely evaded.
“Lex!” Kyle called out, desperate for even a bit of help.
“I’m trying!” Lex clenched his teeth anxiously, as veins stood up in his arms and forehead, but all he could conjure up was cold water. The burst of strength Kyle’s adrenaline had given quickly faded, and his movements became slow and sloppy, and his judgement lost its accuracy.
“The swordsman, then the Icemaker,” Rhino taunted. He landed a heavy punch in Kyle’s face. The boy staggered back, his nose bleeding badly. Lex watched as Rhino grabbed on to the falling boy, feeding him another heavy blow, knocking him out cold. Rhino sent a heavy kick, making Kyle land and roll meters away on hot, sharp rocks, bleeding all over.
“No!” Lex bellowed, “Rhino!!” he cried hoarsely. His anger soon became a rage that seemed scarcely of Lex, and an unearthly roar came from his mouth, fully capturing Rhino’s attention. Kyle’s consciousness returned, but barely. With one eye cracked open, Kyle watched in bewilderment.
The faint blueness of ice energy that coloured the boy’s veins was replaced by an eerie blackness. Lex closed his eyes for a moment, then they were flung open with a frightening suddenness. Rhino stared at the boy’s eyes in utter fright. His eyes were purely black! The stunning, unnatural blackness glowed through the hot mist. Two energies flowed through the boy’s veins, one far superior to the other. Dark energy and ice energy flowed into a sphere in Lex’s palms, and the density of the purely black iceball tripled with each second that passed. Rhino stood frozen in fear, staring into the darkness that had overtaken Lex’s eyes. With a strength that was hardly his, Lex hurled the black iceball at Rhino. In a tiny fraction of a second, the iceball had blasted the armoured man, and his armour had become useless, obsolete.
Kyle rose to his feet slowly. Black ice, being far more powerful and parasitic than pure ice, in a hardly measurable moment, swallowed up the metal-bodied man. The ice was thick, and totally black, totally opaque. Kyle stared at the ice in wonder – he could feel a ghastly chill emanating from it. Then, his sights returned to Lex. The darkness from his eyes faded quickly, and he fell as dead.
“Lex!” a frightened, confused, worried Kyle called out, and rushed to his unconscious friend. “Lex!” He grabbed the boy’s head, lifting it from the hot ground. He placed his hand on Lex’s chest, then withdrew it, startled. His heart was beating at no less than ten times the normal rate, but he wasn’t breathing, not even slightly. Shit. This can’t be good. He grabbed up the unmoving boy and flung him over his shoulder like a heavy bag of sand, and down the rocky hill he ran. Now meters behind the fast-moving Kyle, the black ice that sealed Rhino wasn’t even slightly bothered by the tense heat. After about a minute of running, the heat had diminished to that of a normal terribly hot day. Still, the mist obscured his vision. Even through the mist, Kyle was sure he saw yet another person standing in the distance. He approached quickly, time being of great importance.
It soon became clear that the figure was that of a slightly taller than average man. His long, silver hair was quite a beauty as it fluttered even in the slight wind. He wore a mysterious overcoat that shrouded him. The handle of a sword jutted over his right shoulder. Kyle stopped as he reached the man. “Get outta the way, or help me get this boy some help!”
“Relax,” a nonchalant voice eased from the approaching man. Kyle managed to draw his sword even with Lex burdening him, his teeth clenched in annoyance and instant anger. The young man before him maintained his calm stance, not making any motion of defence or offence, obviously not fazed by Kyle or his C class sword. “Follow,” the man said, and turned around, beginning to walk, not seeming to be in much of a hurry. After a few seconds more of carrying Lex, who seemed to be putting on more weight by the second, Kyle became even more irritated, annoyed at his leader’s slow movement. The fact that he didn’t know where he was going was making things even worse.
“Where are you taking me?!”
Instead of answering him, the swordsman led him to a nearby cave, walking on a path Kyle would easily have missed.
The heat inside the cave wasn’t nearly as stifling as the blanket of hotness outside. Kyle uttered a heavy sigh, placing Lex as gently as possible on the floor of the cave, his sweat washing down on his friend. Kyle felt Lex’s heartbeat again. He sighed in relief; it was only about the twice the regular rate. Kyle looked up from the lying Lex at the man at the entrance of the cave. The man took from his pocket an ordinary-looking green leaf, and crushed it in his left palm. It made a thick green paste. The cloaked man walked up to Kyle and crouched by Lex. He dipped his middle finger into the paste and wiped it under Lex’s nose. “Give him a quarter minute,” the man said.
“Who are you?” Kyle asked.
“Blade,” the young man replied, a slight hint of pride and honour in his voice, like he had somehow earned the name, or wore it as a title he was worthy of. Heavy coughing made Kyle flash his attention back to Lex. His friend’s eyes opened slightly. They were a bit red, and his vision was blurry. He sat up, facing Kyle, immediately wiping the bad-smelling herbal paste from his top lip, a confused look on his face.
“You had me worried there, kid!” Kyle turn to look back up at the man he had just met, but this ‘Blade’ was already long gone.
Chapter 7: The Magmalian Queen
“I’m tellin’ you, man! Your eyes just went pure black! I think you even floated a little! Then BAM! In two seconds you made this… black ice! When it hit Rhino, it just swallowed him up! So black you couldn’t even see through it!”
“And then I blacked out,” Lex said, not sounding very enthused.
“Yeah, and this ‘Blade’ guy, he woke you up with this weird herb!”
Unbelievable… This thing inside me… Lex held his belly, trying to imagine a powerful demon spirit living inside him. I finally get to use its power and I can’t remember a damn thing!
“Damn, it was… I dunno, unreal!”
It was after hours of tiresome walking, with short breaks at infrequent intervals to rest a little, that they had finally seen some sign of civilization again. There were a few small houses huddled together. Kyle rolled out his map, his face wrinkled and one eye squinting a bit. “This can’t be…” He approached what seemed to be a small village, which was unaccounted for on his trusty guide. “Hello there,” the swordsman greeted an old, sick-looking man, but the man ignored them – he didn’t even look at them. On further observance, they realized that the people in the little settlement were not only poor, barely able to afford the basic necessities, but most of them were seriously ill.
“Are you travellers?” a frail voice asked as a woman walked up to them slowly with a rod holding her up. There were no youngsters about it seemed, only sick old people. Quite a dismal place.
“Yes ma’am,” Kyle answered, “we’re head
ing to Magma Town. How far from here is it?”
“Magma Town…” the woman grumbled, and slowly walked away with her cane, which seemed at least as old as her.
“Kind sir,” Lex greeted another man, who seemed to be just reaching old age. He sat on a low stool with a stick in his right hand, and the same despondent look was on his face.
“Hello, young man,” he greeted, now looking like he was trying to offer a smile. But it seemed a smile had become difficult to produce.
“Are you… blind?” Lex asked, looking at the man’s grey eyes that didn’t quite focus on him.
“Yes, I am,” the man said, and his faint quarter smile seemed to disappear.
“We’re travellers,” Kyle told him.
“So you wish to find the great Magma Town then I suppose,” the man answered, with a slight snicker that wasn’t quite depicting anything good.
“Do you know where it is?”
“Just continue. It’s only a few miles north.”
“Thank you, sir.” Kyle said, and walked off.
“What is this place?” Lex asked the man in a whispery tone that showed the blind man his expression of wonder.
After long seconds of waiting, there was finally an answer. “We were cast out from Magma Town…”
“Outcasts?” Lex asked in obvious concern.
“The great Magma Town… doesn’t welcome… everybody.”
Kyle turned and looked back at the man. His words made Lex pity him, but it only fuelled Kyle’s hatred for Magma Town. Again, they looked around at the sick, old, poor, dying people.
“Most of the outcasts migrate after being thrown out… Not everyone can. Unable to work or build, we few here take refuge at these shacks built by previous outcasts who now live in other lands, or who have…”
The Seventh Spirit Page 11