The Rostical Users - Sceldrant's Comet

by Michael Rogers

The Wise: "You risked and selfishly tried to expose our secret."

  Pepper: *She looked up towards the sound of the woman's voice and squinted her eyes, due to the light.* "Thy didn't selfishly expose the secret, it is true thy want to see the outside, but-"

  The Wise: "Pepper, punishment for this crime will result-" *She paused, sparking silence.*

  Pepper: "..." *She focused on her breathing, as she awaited the decision.*

  The Wise: "The outcome will be the loss your divine Remenistal." *An elderly man spoke with authority, causing Pepper to tilt her head to the other side.*

  Pepper: (What!) "Y-You can't."

  The Wise: "Too bad, we had high hopes for you. As one of The Sacred Knights and possible candidate of the chosen one-" *He paused in mid-sentence, as disappointment filled in his voice.*

  Pepper: "I say, give me a chance!"

  The Wise: "Don't you dare raise your voice in your current position."

  Pepper: "But-"

  The Wise: "In regards to the crime, when did you exit The Imperial Glacial Castle and through The Divine Path?"

  Pepper: "I didn't go through The Divine Path-"

  The Wise: "Lies! We will not ask again."

  Pepper: (They keep interrupting me.) "Thy was intending to leave on pure curiosity, thy had no reason to reveal any secrets-"

  The Wise: "The rules are the rules."

  Pepper: "The rules are stupid."

  *Several gasps echoed in the darkness, causing chatter to fill the divine room.*

  The Wise: "These stupid rules are the very reason nobody across the lands know of our presence!"

  Pepper: "But why?"

  The Wise: "Remember the incident that happened with Lorilei Gales."

  *Mutters reacted to the spoken name.*

  Pepper: "But thy'm not like her."

  The Wise: "This discussion has gone for too long."

  Pepper: *She frowned, as her crystal blue eyes suddenly shined gold.* (Too long-?)

  The Wise: "This sentence was inevitable, but we wanted to hear your side. Pepper, you will lose your divine Remenistal and will be banished from the city of Valhalla."

  Pepper: "I say, thy do not wish to leave!" *She shook her head, as her eyes started to glaze.* "W-Where?"

  The Wise: "To the place you desire so."

  *Pepper looked down to the white polished floors, forming fists.*

  The Wise: "We are not so cold hearted, you were one of the five members of The Sacred Knights-"

  *Whispers and mutters echoed in the growing silence.*

  The Wise: "If you somehow regain your divine Remenistal, then you may gain the ability to access Valhalla once again."

  Pepper: "Thy'm sorry, thy'm sorry-" *She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, with a twitching frown.*

  The Wise: "We have spoken. The adjustments will begin in twenty minutes."

  *Whoosh-like sounds echoed, as each member of The Wise flashstepped out of the chamber.*

  Pepper: "No." *She placed both hands on the floor and whimpered to herself.*

  *Sounds of high-heel-like footsteps walked towards Pepper and stopped.*

  ?????: "Pep-per?" *A woman dressed in pure white clothing leant down, placing her arm around Pepper.*

  Pepper: "Celest, they're taking me away."

  Celest: *She closed her eyes to hold back her tears.* "How long have they given thou?"

  Pepper: "About fifteen minutes now."

  Celest: "What is to happen?"

  Pepper: "They are removing my divine Remenistal and banishing me from Valhalla."

  Celest: (Pepper losing her Radiatons?) "Anything else?"

  Pepper: "They mentioned, if I somehow regain my powers-" *She shook her head and sighed.* "Whatever that meant, yeah?"

  Celest: (Thy see.) "With things happening down there, with the Consultants."

  Pepper: "The Consultants."

  Celest: "This is not a good time."

  Pepper: "What happened to Lorilei?"

  Celest: "She was powerful in Remenistal."

  Pepper: "..."

  Celest: "She used one of the forbidden Remenistal, so she was able to teleport herself right out."

  Pepper: *She silently stared at the ground.* "Thank you, Celest for everything-" *Gold dust-like swirls, blew out of her eyes.*

  Celest: *She watched Pepper's body become transparent.* (Her eyes have reverted back to their normal colour-)

  Pepper: "A-Argh-" *She grunted in pain, as her body started to disintegrate into tiny white orbs.*

  Celest: "It's happening-" *She whispered on her breath and stood up, taking a step back.*

  Pepper: "I say, it hurts-" *Her hands slipped, causing her head to hit the ground.* "Thy will miss-" *Her body burst into a pulse of white orbs, causing her voice to fade away.*

  Celest: "Pepper." *She took a moment to herself and sighed.* "Why?" *She whispered to herself and faced a door of pure light.* "Thy cannot believe thou broke one of the most sacred rules."

  *Celest walked towards the door and closed her eyes, blinded by the light outside.*

  Celest: *She stood on the ledge of a massive ancient-like castle.* (Thy will watch over you.)

  ----------

  *Tiny white orbs swirled from the sky and gathered on the ground, forming a human size silhouette. The light faded and revealed Pepper lying unconscious on the ground.*

  Pepper: *She gasped into consciousness and leant up.* "I say, where am I?" *She stood up and looked around in confusion.*

  ----------

  Lance: *He opened his eyes in a small bed, noticing stars through the cracks of old wooden panels.* (Stars?)

  *Lance found himself in a very small wooden shack, causing him to throw the sheets off.*

  Lance: *He stood up and staggered towards the wooden door.* (This room is tiny-) *He opened the door and nearly fell out of the tiny shack.* "Where-?" *He grunted to himself, as he looked around lost.*

  Ashton: "Glad to see you're finally up."

  Lance: *He looked towards the origin of the voice and noticed the party, sitting around a small fire.* "How long was I out for?" *He grunted and scratched his arm, while walking towards the fire.*

  Teresa: "At least fifteen hours."

  Lance: "Wait a minute-" *He placed his hand on his chest in shock, as he inspected the area.* "When that girl kicked me, I swear I heard one of my ribs breakin'."

  Alicia: "I healed them." *She proudly announced with a slight smile.*

  Lance: "Th-Thanks-" *He stood next to Ashton and stared into the fire.* "I guess."

  Ashton: "Lance." *He motioned his head for Lance to sit down.* "We were just discussing what we're going to do from here."

  Lance: "Oh, OK?" *He looked slightly disorientated, as he sat down next to Ashton.*

  Alicia: "I originally planned to get a ship and travel across The Great Coast."

  Teresa: "We would have been in walking distance to Surpreon."

  Alicia: "B-But since Mindy's subordinates are now patrolling the area, we will have to go around The Great Coast." *She reached for a nearby stick and drew lines on the sandy ground, describing what she meant.*

  Lance: "Wait." *He grunted with impatience and frustration.* "How did we end up in a forest? Wat happened to Mindy? And who's patrollin' wat?" *He prepared himself for other questions.*

  Teresa: "Alicia surprised us all by using an ice element Rostical on Mindy." *She spoke with an emotionless face, as she stared at Lance.* "The attack resulted in Mindy's demise."

  Lance: "Yea, I'm sorry wat?! It can use Rostickal?"

  Alicia: "Y-Yep-"

  Lance: "So why didn't ya use it from the start?" *He gave Alicia a feral look.*

  Alicia: *She paused and looked to the ground, feeling slightly intimidated.* "W-Well, I-I need this pendant to use Rostical-"

  Teresa: "If I can recall, Alicia went out of her way to heal you no? Such pointless babble is somewhat frustrating."

  Lance: "..." *He stared at Teresa, as if he didn't know what to say.*

&
nbsp; Teresa: "As I was saying to your previous question. Mindy is now dead due to Alicia's Rostical, we had to leave on short notice as other warriors were heading our way."

  Lance: "..." (Wateva.) *He looked away child-like, placing his hands over his head.*

  Ashton: *He looked down and observed Alicia's drawings.* "Alicia, you said we had to go around The Great Coast."

  Alicia: "Yep?"

  Ashton: "Why do we assume that the warriors will stick around? So why not wait, then take the boat?"

  Teresa: "That would be because of Mindy's death."

  Alicia: *She nodded her head in response.* "..."

  Ashton: "Why would that have such an impact?"

  Teresa: "Only a few selective Scoldrants are strong enough to kill a single digit captain. The Consultants usually inspect the area until the matter, or reason is resolved."

  Ashton: "So the Consultants will be sending more warriors to inspect what happened?"

  Teresa: "Precisely."

  Ashton: "What do you mean resolve the matter?"

  Teresa: "To eradicate the Scoldrant of course."

  Ashton: "Oh? But what if the Scoldrant attacked for defensive purposes?"

  Teresa: "Such a question we both know the answer to."

  Ashton: "Oh." *He looked down to his lap and formed fists.*

  Lance: "So ya sayin' we need to walk the long way?"

  Teresa: "Indeed."

  Lance: "How far?" *He moaned on his breath like a child.*

  Alicia: "U-Umm-" *She looked down to her diagram and back to Lance.* "We will need to go around The Great Coast, to the entrance of Maserio-"

  Lance: "Heh? Maserio? Sounds like a friggin' computer game."

  Alicia: (Compeutarh?)

  Teresa: "..."

  Alicia: "Maserio is the hottest and driest part on the continent."

  Ashton: (That's right, the elder mentioned that before-) "Please continue."

  Alicia: "After going through the entrance of Maserio, we will need to go through Gasher Hills and then to Surpreon."

  Lance: *He sighed and dropped his arms on his legs.* (So much walking, I'm already tired just thinking about it.)

  Alicia: "So we will head there in day break."

  Ashton: "That sounds acceptable to me."

  Teresa: "Due to the unfortunate circumstances, this is the best route to take."

  Alicia: "Th-Thank you."

  Teresa: "Hoh? I merely speak factual, there is nothing to be grateful for."

  *The party awkwardly stared at Teresa.*

  Ashton: "So, Alicia, since when could you use that power-?"

  Teresa: "Before the discussion commences, I have a proposal I wish to discuss with you all."

  Alicia: "Y-Yes?"

  Teresa: "I have taken the appropriate amount of time for thought, which has established this decision."

  Ashton: "What is it, Teresa?"

  Teresa: "If there is no inconvenience, I wish to travel with you all, as a party. I have calculated my knowledge in a lot of aspects could serve you all greatly."

  Lance: "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have had that epic plan to defeat Mindy."

  Alicia: "Tee hee, ever since we met you, you have helped us a lot." *She smiled with an approving nod.*

  Ashton: "Unacceptable, you had to ask?"

  Teresa: "Excellent, although-" *She watched the fire dance in front of her.*

  Ashton: "Although?"

  Teresa: "Now that a single digit warrior is down, the Consultants will be sending several strong warriors."

  Lance: "So? Who cares."

  Teresa: "So we must be on guard."

  Alicia: "What do you mean?"

  Teresa: "The Consultants even out the experience in warriors."

  Lance: "Aye?"

  Teresa: "For instance, an area with two captain ranking warriors would have low numbers in the area."

  Ashton: "While an area with low ranking warriors will have more numbers?"

  Teresa: "Precisely."

  Ashton: "Acceptable." (She knows a lot of information.)

  Alicia: "So, Ashton, your question."

  Ashton: "Yes." *He faced Alicia with a curious face.*

  Alicia: "Okay, I will tell you all about me-"

  Lance: "Sigh." *He sighed and looked away.*

  Alicia: "Twenty years have past since I was born-"

  Lance: "Wow-" *He rolled his eyes and sighed.*

  Ashton: "Lance, not now."

  Lance: "Wateva."

  Alicia: "My mother and father were killed by warriors."

  Ashton: "My condolences."

  Alicia: "Th-Thank you." *She paused and slowly exhaled.* "When I was about seven years old, I was attacked by a Scoldrant. I was playing where I first met you both."

  Teresa: "At the age of seven? Surviving an attack at such a young age is quite rare, I am intrigued to know what happened."

  Alicia: "W-Well, it grabbed me and pulled me deep into the forest, there was a lake and it tried to drag me in. I was so scared and I kept screaming, but no one heard me."

  Ashton: "Frightening."

  Lance: (Attention seeker.) *He stared past Alicia with a bored expression and sighed.*

  Teresa: "Please explain to the party how you survived the attack?"

  Alicia: "I remember screaming as loud as I could, wanting it to stop. So I closed my eyes and felt the Scoldrant stop pulling on my leg."

  Ashton: "Good grief, so the Scoldrant just attacked you for no reason?"

  Alicia: "Yep. I opened my eyes and I looked down to see my pendant glowing, it was an aqua colour."

  Teresa: "The colour of the pendant is trivial."

  Alicia: "S-Sorry-" *She took a quick breath to continue her story.* "When I looked at the Scoldrant I noticed it was completely frozen, even the water around it."

  Teresa: (She has the ability to heal? She was able to use Rostical at the age of seven? If the Consultants found out about her, things may get complicated.)

  Alicia: "Well I pulled my leg back and its arm snapped off like a twig."

  Ashton: "Like a twig?"

  Alicia: "And its claws dug deep cuts around my ankles, so I placed my hand over it."

  Ashton: "Like a normal reaction."

  Alicia: "Y-Yep, and a bright light blinded me."

  Ashton: "From the sun?"

  Alicia: "No, my pendant. When I opened my eyes, the pain was gone and all that remained were scars."

  Ashton: "That must've been very scary."

  Lance: "The only thing that's scary is her horrid story telling, aye." *He chuckled and smirked to himself.*

  Ashton: (Lance..) *He sighed, slowly shaking his head.*

  Alicia: "It was really scary and that wasn't all. That very night I found out our village was due to be taxed. Like every other village, we were taxed a few days earlier so we obviously didn't have enough to pay."

  Ashton: (Terrible.)

  Alicia: "A-As a result, half of the village was slaughtered."

  Ashton: "Unacceptable, you can stop if you wish?"

  Alicia: "N-No, it's fine. Thank you." *She watched the wood splinter away, causing her to stare into the fire.* "Later that night, my mother rushed in covered in blood. She said she found me on a rock near Concern's Gate."

  Lance: "Found? How did ya mum know where to look then?"

  Alicia: "My mother and several other villagers were heading back from Surpreon after stocking up on several items. My mother said something forced her to look where I was."

  Teresa: (So exploring the village's past will not explain the origin of her healing powers?) "Tcch-"

  Alicia: "She later caught up with the villagers and they never really questioned it. She also told me, that I was already wearing this pendant when she found me."

  Lance: "That was borin'-"

  Alicia: "And that's how I found out about my powers."

  Ashton: "Incredible."

  Lance: "Wait, so that means the people that got killed in the village weren't ya real parents?"


  Alicia: "No, but that's not the point."

  Lance: "Great, then there's more creatures like Alicia runnin' around."

  Teresa: "Actually, she would be like them. They can not be Alicia if they are of older age."

  Lance: "W-Wateva."

  Ashton: *He sighed and focused his attention to Alicia.* "This might be a stupid question, but do you know your real parents?"

  Alicia: "N-No I don't." *She lowered her head and stared at the pendant.* (Lance's lame jokes are starting to annoy me.)