by S. K. Ng
Ray knocked on Master Santlyn’s office door. He wondered what it was all about. Then he entered when he was told to do so. Inside, he saw that Master Santlyn was not alone. Senior Dencon was there as well. Master Santlyn gestured for Ray to be seated. Ray took the seat beside Senior Dencon, facing Master Santlyn.
“Test _ you will be taking your first of this soon, Ray; and you shall be needing a weapon,” said Master Santlyn.
“Weapon _ I shall indeed be needing one of it, master; but what of it?” asked Ray, puzzled.
Senior Dencon got up from his seat and retrieved a silver short staff from a weapons cabinet in the office. He then handed it to Ray. Ray examined it with great curiosity, but greater still was the curiosity of why he was being shown this weapon. He preferred the sword. That being said, he was reasonably adept at handling the staff as well. But what is going on? Why is he being shown this weapon?
“Staff _ of it, it is yours,” said Senior Dencon.
Ray’s eyes bulged in surprise. He kept shifting his gaze from Senior Dencon to Master Santlyn and back again to Senior Dencon.
“Staff _ of it, it was left with you when we found you all those years ago. Emblem _ of this, we recognise it not and know not what it means. Time _ it is of this that we return this weapon to you, Ray,” added Master Santlyn.
“Sorcerise _ we have taken the liberty to do of this to the staff so that you may use it for your upcoming test,” said Senior Dencon.
“Need _ all that you do of this now is a headband and a ruby to be used as your Reserver,” said Master Santlyn.
Ray was speechless. For several moments, he sat frozen.
“Staff _ did this of it belonged to my parents?” he asked finally.
“Staff _ of this, we think it belonged to your parents; but whose ever it was, it definitely belongs to you now. Sword _ however if you still prefer one of it for your test, we can go get you one tomorrow at Eastpeak,” answered Master Santlyn.
Ray kept staring at the silver staff, particularly at the emblem carved into it.
“Emblem _ so this is my family’s one of this!” whispered Ray to himself.
“Fine _ are you of this?” asked Master Santlyn.
Ray snapped out of his staring at the silver staff and nodded. Finally, he regained his composure and thanked both Master Santlyn and Senior Dencon. Then he excused himself and went back to his room with his silver staff.
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Questions of his birth and origin were haunting his mind once again. Who was he? Where did he come from? Who were his parents? Where are they now? Why did they give him up? What was the meaning of the emblem on his silver staff? It bothered him so much that he had hardly slept at all. And before he realised it, the rooster had already crowed!
The novices’ visit to Eastpeak was short and to the point. They were brought by Senior Dencon straight to the blacksmith where they picked out their weapons and headbands. Senior Dencon gave the blacksmith a large pouch full of large rubies to be set into the headbands that were chosen. The blacksmith got busy straight away.
Cutter Merrin chose a double handed curved sword, exactly like the ones used by Fallsian soldiers. Feather and the Dellix twins chose single handed curved swords and matching hunting knives. Only one of the novices chose a battleaxe. Then Radiance noticed that Ray did not choose a weapon and she queried him about it. He told her and Bloom about the silver short staff.
The Fire Elementhars left Eastpeak the very next morning. The novices were all very excited about the weapons that they had bought. They chatted loudly as they exchanged their weapons with each other for examination. Unlike soldiers who viewed their weapons as government issued tools, Elementhars viewed their weapons as highly personal items that were part of their identity and also their personal history and future undertakings. An Elementhar would not ever likely to part with or change his weapon; unless the weapon broke or was damaged beyond repair. So in essence, when an Elementhar chose a weapon, it was like as if he or she had chosen a partner for life.
Two weeks later, Ray and his group left Monune Ruby to undertake their first test. Together with Cutter’s group, they followed Master Santlyn out the gates of the monune and down the hill on foot. Checking their direction of travel against the sun, Ray noticed that they were heading in a westerly direction. Where could they be heading to? The Shadow Forest? North-western Falls? The Arid Plains? Ray had no idea. None of the novices did. Only Master Santlyn knew where they were headed, but no one had dared to ask.
Master Santlyn and the novices travelled in a westerly direction for three weeks and then in a north-westerly direction for another two. They travelled silently and when they camped, they did so silently as well. The only time they ever spoke to each other was when Master Santlyn gave out orders or instructions and the novices asked technical questions or gave replies to his questions. This was so because part of their test was to simulate the loneliness and isolation of a Travelling Patrol. And Travelling Patrols were part and parcel of an Elementhar’s life. This was also the reason why the journey must be made on foot and not on horseback or by horse-drawn cart. The journey was part of the test.
At the end of their travel, the Fire Elementhars reached the town of Westgap in North-western Falls Province. As soon as they set foot in the town, they knew something was amiss. The townsfolk were gloomy and sad all the time. And there was fear in their eyes. And yet when the townsfolk laid eyes on the Elementhars, they leapt with joy and shouted excitedly the words ‘Elementhars! Elementhars!’
“Observe _ do of this of their facial expressions and their reactions, for these are the signs that the town is suffering from a demon attack,” stressed Master Santlyn.
“Understood!” replied the novices simultaneously.
Master Santlyn took the novices straight to the town hall. From a distance they could hear the wailing of womenfolk and angry voices of men. Master Santlyn did not wait to be invited in. He merely knocked on the door a few times and then stepped in. Everyone in the town hall stopped and turned to look at the Elementhars. Master Santlyn introduced himself and explained the purpose of why he was there. The people in the hall cheered. Some felt relieved. A few, however, were sceptical. Master Santlyn told the novices to ignore the sceptics. He told them that there would always be sceptics, but they must never be allowed to stop an Elementhar from fulfilling his mission.
Master Santlyn walked up to the town mayor. From him, the Elementhars found out what had happened. There was a Secondary Demon preying on the people of Westgap. This demon fashioned itself as Lord Drainer. Ray understood that it was a name chosen to put fear into people. In this case, the name ‘Drainer’ meant that the demon liked to ‘drain’ people’s soul. But all demons devoured human souls by draining them into the demons’ own souls. Ray was taught long ago that all demons chose names which were meant to be scary, but not necessarily logical. This was partly due to their over-sized ego. And it was also due to the need to put fear in people so that they were easier to be preyed upon. Lord Drainer had already killed thirty of the townsfolk. The townsfolk had sent out riders to Monune Sapphire to engage the services of the Water Elementhars, so they were surprised to see that Fire Elementhars arrived instead.
Master Santlyn informed the mayor that he had received an emergency message from the Water Elementhars via homing pigeon with regards to the town’s problem. He also informed the mayor that he was here instead of them because he had to conduct an examination for his novices. He also assured him that should the novices fail to kill the demon, he would personally engage the demon and kill it himself. Either way, Lord Drainer was soon to be dead. The mayor nodded his head to signal that he understood, and more importantly, that he approved. And with that, the Fire Elementhars were hired to kill Lord Drainer. The price was 100 gold coins.
Master Santlyn brought the novices to the cheapest inn in town and checked them in. Then the novices gathered at Master Santlyn’s room for a briefing. The elimination of L
ord Drainer was to be Ray and the Dellix twins’ test. Ray was put in charge of his team. Then Ray and the twins were asked to come up with a plan in one hour. Then Ray was to brief everyone on what the plan was. Master Santlyn was to then rate their plan. If they were to fail the planning stage, they were considered to have failed the test. If that was to be the case, then Cutter and his team would to take over instead.
After an hour, Ray’s team came up with a plan. The plan was for Ray to wait at the northern end of town and Radiance to wait at the southern end of town. Bloom was to climb to the roof of the tallest building and keep a lookout for the demon. Upon sighting the demon, she was to send out a weak Heat Burst towards the position where she expected the demon would land. Ray and Bloom would then follow Bloom’s Heat Burst and head towards that point.
After meeting up at the point where the demon was going to be, Ray would be the first to engage it. He was to distract it as long as possible so that the twins could move in to kill it from the side or from behind. This was decided so because Ray was the strongest amongst the three of them and the function of the distracter was the hardest to be carried out.
As for the contingency plan, Bloom was to execute a powerful Heat Burst at the demon if it decided to fly away. The resultant injury would leave a blood trail that they could follow. Should the demon turn out to be too powerful for them to handle, then they would try to lure it away from the town before disengaging it. Should they need to retreat, Ray was to distract it so that the twins could retreat, and then they would leap-frog backwards while executing Heat Bursts after Heat Bursts until they all got away.
Master Santlyn was quiet for awhile after Ray had finished his briefing. Ray’s plan was simple, and battle required simple planning because things would get chaotic during the battle itself and confusion would set in if the plan was too complex. Finally, Master Santlyn nodded his head. Ray and the twins passed the planning stage.
Night came, and Ray and the Dellix twins were in position. The full moon was out. Ray was happy. It meant that Bloom would have good visibility to sight the demon. Then he saw a weak Heat Burst soar through the sky, which looked like a shooting star but only much closer. The hunt was on.
Ray runs in the direction of Bloom’s Heat Burst. After a quarter of an hour, he sees the demon. It is perched on the roof top of a row of houses. Ray takes aim, and executes a powerful Heat Burst right at the demon’s chest. The spell knocks the demon backwards and off the roof. Ray runs towards where the demon fell.
“How dare you!? I am Lord Drainer! I am the drainer of the souls of men, women and children! How dare you attack me!?” says Lord Drainer as it sees Ray running towards it.
“Identity _ mine of this is Ray Iddell, and I shall end your existence tonight!” says Ray.
Ray takes the time to examine the features of Lord Drainer. It looks human, except for it fangs and greyish skin. It has a pair of black, leathery wings and its nails are long, sharp and hard, almost bone-like in appearance. It is dressed like a Fallsian merchant, which means it was probably one before it was converted. It also means that this demon would not be very battle-capable, for it was never a warrior or a soldier before. Nevertheless, it is still a dangerous creature and Ray understands that he must not take things for granted.
The slit on Lord Drainer’s forehead opens. It shoots a Dark Orb towards Ray. Ray dives to the ground sideways and rolls back up on his feet. He executes a Heat Burst towards the demon’s face. The Heat Burst slams the demon squarely in the face, blinding it and knocking it back a few steps, straight into Radiance’s sword. It yells out in pain as Radiance’s blade protrudes from its chest. It seems that Radiance has arrived just in time to sneak up behind the demon. The battle is looking good for the novices so far.
Lord Drainer turns around with a force so powerful it pulls the sword right out of Radiance’s grip. It attempts to strike at her face with its bony, claw-like fingernails. She slides backwards and dives out of the way as Ray executes another Heat Burst at the demon, this time hitting it squarely at the back of the head. It stumbles a few step and spits out black blood from its mouth. It turns around and faces Ray again.
Lord Drainer eyes Ray with the look of anger and hate. Its red eyes glow dim red, and looks just like lava from a volcano. Then it does something unexpected. It leaps into the air towards him and flaps it leathery wings. Lord Drainer dive-tackles him to the ground. Radiance’s sword, which is still stuck in the demon’s torso, cuts Ray’s left quadriceps. He screams out in pain, and struggles to push the demon’s face away with his silver staff. It tries to take a bite at him. He presses the centre portion of his staff into its mouth. Demon saliva drips on his chest. The demon begins sinking its claw-like fingernails into Ray’s shoulders and arms. He screams out in agony, but succeeds in holding on to his staff and keeping the demon’s fangs away.
Heat Bursts after Heat Bursts slam into Lord Drainer’s head. Bloom has arrived, and together with her twin, are trying desperately to knock the demon off Ray. The impact of the Heat Bursts are blinding, and Ray has no choice but to close his eyes tightly. Seeing the demon getting weaker, Bloom takes a chance and sprints forward towards it. She bends down low and swings her sword horizontally and slices at the top half of its head. Her cut is deep, and black blood sprays out from the resultant wound. The demon slumps and loosens its grip. Ray rolls halfway to his right and pushes the demon body off him. Then he rolls a few times to his left just to get away. He takes in a deep breath, closes his eyes, and let out his breath slowly. It is over, and he is glad.
The Dellix twins run towards Ray. They fear the worst has happened. Radiance checks Ray’s wrist for pulse. Bloom kneels down and places her ear in front of his nose and mouth and listens for breathing.
“Dead _ I am not yet of this,” says Ray so suddenly that the twins got startled.
“Move _ do not do of this, Ray; for we need to treat your wounds,” says Bloom as she begins to cut off pieces of Ray’s shirt to get to his wounds.
Radiance does the same as her twin with Ray’s pants to get to the wound on his left quadriceps.
Suddenly, Lord Drainer comes to life and shoots a Dark Orb at Bloom. Ray grabs his silver staff and absorbs the attack just in time. Radiance grabs her sword and starts shooting a series of Heat Bursts at the demon. Bloom joins in the attack with Heat Bursts of her own. Ray struggles to get up and manages a Heat Burst or two before collapsing back to the ground.
Lord Drainer falls to the ground from the barrage of Heat Bursts released by the twins. Bloom runs forward and swings her sword to chop off the demon’s head for good measure. The demon gives out a final scream before its head got detached from it shoulders and rolled to the side.
The twins went back to attending to Ray’s wounds. Using her Elemental Sorcery skills, Bloom generated heat from her fingertips to cauterise Ray’s shoulder and arm wounds. Radiance did the same with Ray’s left quadriceps. Ray screamed out in agony as the twins worked their cure.
A quarter of an hour later, Ray was strong enough to stand up. Master Santlyn, who stayed hidden in the shadows all along, stepped out and approached Ray and the twins.
“Congratulations! Pass _ you three have done of this! Rest _ now let us go get some of this,” said Master Santlyn as he helped Ray along.
The three novices and their master made their way back to the inn. Both Bloom and Radiance were totally exhausted and walked with heavy feet. Ray was drained and in pain; and he walked with a terrible limp. The novices were so exhausted that they went to their rooms immediately and collapsed onto their beds. They fell asleep instantaneously.
The Fallsian sky was nearly dark when Ray and the Dellix twins woke up from their sleep. They were asleep since just after midnight, but they still felt tired. Their bodies were aching all over and felt lifeless. Ray’s wounds were hurting a lot. But somehow they managed to drag their bodies out of their rooms and made it downstairs to the inn’s restaurant and joined Master Santlyn and the others for dinne
r.
Dinner was a quiet affair. Ray and the twins would have loved to celebrate and regale their classmates with the details of their test, but they were mindful that their classmates had not taken their test yet, and the simulation of isolation and loneliness for them must continue.
The next morning, Master Santlyn and Cutter’s group bid Ray and the Dellix twins goodbye. Master Santlyn and the others continued on their journey westward to search for a Secondary Demon. Once they were out of sight, Ray and the Dellix twins stood facing each other in a triangle, bowed to each other, shook each other’s hands, hugged each other and jumped for joy; except Ray of course, who could not jump as his wounds were still too painful. Two hours later, they began their journey home to Monune Ruby.
It took three and a half weeks for Ray and the Dellix twins to arrive home. Ray’s wounds held them up significantly. But thanks to the twin’s healing skills, by the time they arrived at Monune Ruby, he was already almost fully healed.
A month later, Master Santlyn and Cutter’s group returned. Cutter’s group had passed their test as well. But Cutter was severely injured and was brought home on a stretcher. Because the journey home constituted part of the test as well, Feather and the other novice had to drag Cutter all the way home on the stretcher. They were severely exhausted by the time they walked past the gates of the monune. There was no smile or any sign of cheer on their faces, just severe exhaustion; and later on an expression of relief when they could finally stop and call out for help.