Nawx (Project IzeBorn Book 1)

by Andrew Jones

  Nova shouted loudly as she forcefully nudged on his shoulders, "Atreyu!"

  Atreyu jumped from the sudden loud sound. He was sitting back against a tree, and his face looked as though he hadn't slept in a week. He was pale, with bags under his eyes, but he was not tired. Nova backed off, but she still was sitting on her knees right in front of him. She leaned her hand close to his face and let her thumb stroke his cheek aimlessly, obviously noticing his paleness. The look on her face grew a bit concerned.

  "Atreyu... You blacked out back there..." Nova muttered as she took her hand away from his cheek, as she finished observing him.

  He shook his head as he shut his eyes tight. He raised his hand upward to rub his head, as it looked to have been hurting him quite a lot. Standing on his feet slowly, he turned toward a dirt trail leading away from the village.

  "I'm fine." He responded.

  Her eyes followed him as she watched him stand up. She was still down on her knees for a moment as she listened to him. She sighed as she stood up as well, glancing back at his face once again.

  "You were just fine, though. We were escaping the village, and you just suddenly fell over."

  Atreyu seemed to ignore her as she started to walk forward. She sighed again, following behind him. The area slowly showed more trees. And the more they walked, the more trees there were. And they were tall trees, as well.

  This was known as the Forgetful Forest. The forest covered most of the world, but it was still mostly undiscovered. According to ancient records found throughout the land, even at the RoH's village, the land is known for people disappearing. Whether they go into disappear intentionally or not is still a mysterious. Maybe both. For the ones who do it intentionally, it is assumed that they go into the forest to commit suicide. It became famous since the forest house's a power that is unknowing to the beings of this land, a form of white magic. And most people had come to the theory that this white magic helped the people teleport to the New World. Nova often thought of the New World. It sounded like this picture perfect world people wanted. She had this feeling that the crueler the world was, the more their expectations of the New World would have been.

  As they walked, all they could see were the shining green from the leaves of the trees. The brown from the bodies of the trees. The leaves looked so lively here, and they believed that this part of the world held more life than anywhere else in the world despite this land having no source of human population.

  Atreyu jumped down a steep hill, spotting some things on the ground.

  "Hey, come check this out." He shouted at Nova for her attention.

  She quickly glanced over at him as she herself was observing the strangely open area. There were supplies on the ground, supplies of living order. There was a tent that laid on a blanket. A campfire that had recently been put out, as well. So recent that the burnt wood still materialized the black smoke from the flames that burned here.

  "You think someone was staying here?" He asked her as she approached his area.

  "Maybe." She knelt down to look in the tent, wiggling herself through the opened hole that served as an entrance.

  Atreyu gasped and began to panic as she entered the tent, quickly looking around to see if anyone was around.

  "Uhm, Nova! ... W-What are you doing in there!?"

  "Just browsing." Nova's voice was softly heard from inside the tent.

  The tent shook a bit every few seconds she was in there, and a lot of ruffling was heard. Atreyu's eyes widened at her surprising behavior of snooping.

  "For what!?" He whispered after he heard some bushes shaking behind him. His whisper was quiet, like a quiet yell as he was shaken and scared by the shaking bushes.

  "I want to know who's tent this is." She replied as she popped her head out of the tent to look at him.

  "NOVA!" He yelled more loudly than he was anticipating because she had scared him as her head popped out. "Get out of there this instant!"

  Nova blinked her eyes once at him as he yelled at her. She waited a few awkward moments before quickly popping her head back inside the tent. Atreyu's face grew red from his sudden frustration, but he took a deep breath. Maybe she found something interesting inside and she's investigating. Or maybe she found treasure and she's trying to gather as much as she could.

  He crossed his arms and walked around the open area for any more objects of interest. The bushes shook once again, it was like it was trying to get his attention. He narrowed his eyes as he approached the bushes. He thrust his hands into the bushes and moved the leaves out of the way, only to see nothing.

  "Strange..." He whispered, releasing his hands from the bushes and turned toward the tent again.

  Nova was popping herself out of the tent. She moved her hair out of her face and dusted all the dirt off her torso as she held a book in her hand. Atreyu frowned.

  "All that waiting for a book?" He asked, sounding a bit frustrated.

  She shook her head, "This is Drenawx's journal." She admitted as she read the inscription on the book's cover. "It says, 'Book III: Illusion'.

  "Who's Drenawx?"

  "I don't know, but Drakkar mentioned his name. He must've been here."

  "Well then, read what's inside it."

  Nova nodded as she opened the first page. Then the next page, and then the next. And she kept turning the pages faster and faster until she made it to the back cover.

  "Well? Anything interesting?" Atreyu asked, becoming somewhat curious.

  Nova shook her head, "Nope. All there is in here is a sentence on the front page. But it's in a different language, a more ancient language I think."

  Before Atreyu could react, he heard the shuffling of the bushes behind him again. He quickly ran back to the bushes and moved them to the side for a quick view, seeing a bright green light blind him. He screamed and fell backward, rubbing his eyes intensively. Nova gasped and rushed to his side. She glanced into the bushes to see a being within the green light.

  "You humans are so perverted!" The being shouted within a high toned voice.

  Nova tilted her head to the side as she peered through the bushes. It was a rare sight.

  "Is that you again, get your dirty ass mind outta here-!" The being shouted, stopping immediately after seeing Nova.

  The being flew upward with its little wings flapping with high speed. The wings also created little glitter that shines with the bright green aura that surrounded it.

  "I sense you're a female, are you not?"

  Nova blinked, an obvious sight of confusion on her part that she had done as she had her head tilted to the side. She nodded her head.

  "I also sense you are a gentle spirit, one who is curious for answers. Knowledge?" The being asks as it flying around Nova, then stopping in midair right in front of Nova's face. "I am a Fairy."

  The Fairy introduced herself as she gave a bow to Nova in the air. It was extremely tiny, but Nova could tell the Fairy's power and sense of observation was much larger than it's size.

  "A Fairy? Well, I am curious about thi-" Nova tried to speak as she took out Drenawx's Journal, but is quickly interrupted by the Fairy.

  "I am not the one you should ask the questions to. You should ask out Queen, she is 'all-knowing'. I'm as sure as a pickle that she'll help you out!" The Fairy answered with anticipation in her voice, trying to assure Nova. "You should come to our village!"

  Nova rubbed her arm nervously, not knowing how to react. She glanced back toward Atreyu, who was just getting back on his feet after his surprise attack.

  "Is... Is that man with you?" The Fairy asked, her hands laid to rest on her hips as she watched him.

  "What's that supposed to mean!?" Atreyu shouted.

  Nova stayed quiet as she looked away from him and to the ground.

  "My village doesn't allow males."

  "Why!?"

  "I... Eh, don't actually know. But it's a strict rule." She answered, looking back at Nova. "You may ask our Queen when.. Or if you decide to come?"


  Nova nodded her head.

  "Atreyu." She muttered, glancing over at him. "It's only to see if they can translate this writing in this journal."

  He sighed but nodded his head.

  "All right, I'll be right here then." He answered, sitting against a tree and stretching his arms like he was going to get some rest.

  Nova smiled at him, it was a little smile, but it was still as bright as a normal smile. She glanced up at the Fairy and nodded her head.

  "Okie, this way madam." The Fairy mumbled, flying into a certain direction while humming an odd tune while she flew majestically in the air, dodging the tree's branches like it was nothing.

  Journal Entry II

  The Flower

  The birds chirped. They sang the song of the eternal sleep. Passed down day after day, it seemed like there were more and more birds arriving every day.

  Were they purifying this place of its hidden darkness that laid within the bark of the trees?

  The trees stood high; they were the guardians of the forest after all. They would keep you hidden from anyone who may be attempting to do harm to you. But they might also be hiding the one who may harm you as well.

  There are two sides to a leaf. They may look the same, but there is always one side of the leaf that may appear to be darker, more broken up. These leaves represented the lives of the vast trees that grew out of nowhere from the nonexistent soils of this land. They had a magic that showed a bright light. But within the light, there was a darkness in its shadow.

  I remember seeing my first flower. It was beautiful. The leaves struck out with it's shining and embraceable color. I thought the pink color of its leaves represented the light the world lacked. Could this flower have stolen the world's light?

  With my little hand, I went and grabbed the flower. But I was struck off guard as a piercing pain ran into the soft skin of my palm. The thorns of the flower sensed my presence. It made an attempt to kill me, but not from self-defense. The thorns represented the flower's darkness. They took their space underneath the flower's beautiful leaves.

  I didn't move my grip away from the flower. But I felt as though I was entwining with the flower itself. My blood poured out of my wounds from my cuts and onto the flower's stem.

  And I watched as the thorns of the flower devoured my blood and demanded more.

  The flower trusted me. It trusted me to provide it life. I fed the flower my blood.

  I tore off the flower from the ground. The stem hung down lifeless. It needed blood immediately. But it needed new blood, more mature blood.

  This flower's image was the birth of this world. How beautiful the world was that we missed out on. How the world can blossom into a beautiful flower like this one. It gave me the purpose to believe.

  It directed me to its food source. What it will take for the flower to continue it's blooming outside the ground, without the power of the world's core, the soil.

  My mother shot me a smile as I entered our home. Her smile was beautiful, it was beautiful like this flower. She seemed surprised to have seen this flower in my hand and assumed I had picked her this flower. She slowly took the flower from me, grunting from the sudden pain from the flower's thorns.

  I rubbed my thumb along the palm of my hand, feeling the intensity of the pain as my skin ran over it. A drop of blood would fall to the floor, creating a perfect circle underneath me.

  My mother opened her hand to see the thorns had grown. The thorns grew inside her wound from her cut. They were feeding off of her blood, her life, and made their way into every inch of her body.

  Her eyes darkened, she drooled a little bit. But I made sure to clean up her drool with a napkin. She'd wince from the pain eventually, but her body would then twitch as her skin slowly grew darker. And darker. And darker.

  Her skin wrinkled. I could see the shape of her bones underneath her skin, and the movements of the thorns moving through her body.

  Not a drop of blood dripped from her body when the thorns came out of her wounds. The thorns decreased in size, returning to normal. The flower shined brighter, and the leaves increased in numbers as it blossomed a bit bigger. It was becoming healthier.

  I stood there, with no emotion on my face as I watch my mother on the ground sucked to death. She looked lifeless like she had gone rotten. But the flower spoke to me. The flower said that it'd be there for me as long as I was there for it.

  A friendship I could not understand or feel.

  Verse V

  A Radiant Pact

  The forest seemed to grow darker as Nova followed the Fairy through the forest. The Fairy would occasionally turn left, and then right, and even u-turned at some occasions. It was like this forest was one big maze, another of the tree's puzzles it had reflected, perhaps. The area soon grew dark, pitch black. And she was starting to get lost.

  The Fairy flew toward her, and sat on top of her head, crossing her legs as she sounded like she was moping.

  "Humans are a letdown, I assume you are not one of them?" The Fairy asked, watching as Nova would trend through the darkness of the forest aimlessly.

  "I-... I'm not sure." She answered hesitantly.

  The Fairy did not answer. She jumped off Nova's head and grabbed onto her hand, guiding her forcefully toward a different direction. Nova gasped, she felt she was tripping and stepping over a lot of unseen objects on the ground. Making her topple over every given second.

  "Will you hold on! Are you in a hurry!?" She asked.

  The Fairy stopped, and so did Nova. The area was lightened by different colors, a variety that gave a sense of bliss. Nova stared at the trees in the area were converted into small tree houses for other Fairies. They flew all around, you would see a circle of a certain coloring flying in every direction. The lights remained the same white coloring, however.

  A few Fairies flew toward the two, observing as their wings flapped a little faster. Nova could think that they were either afraid or timid because of her arrival. Fairies were strange. They are territorial, but they were acceptive. It was rare for them to speak to outsiders, let alone let them into their village. They are almost an extinct species, after all. Their magic resides as one of the most powerful, next to the Dragoona's power. But they prioritized in white magic, such as healing. There's even a medicine named after their magic, "The Fairies Magic Touch."

  The fairies crossed their arms. One of them even waved their hair, giving a hinting sense of their snobby personality.

  "A human?" The middle Fairy asks, raising an eyebrow as she watched them.

  "Yes. I brought her here, is that a problem?" The Fairy accompanying Nova talks back.

  "Not at all, Evol."

  The three Fairies fly off toward one of the treehouses, allowing Nova and Evol their peace.

  "So, that must mean you're Evol, right?" Nova asks, glancing at her.

  Evol shrugged her shoulders, "Name's are unnecessary. But yes, it is."

  Evol proceeds deeper into the Fairy village. More and more Fairies seem to pass Nova as she walked pretty quickly. She felt like she was in a beehive, and the Fairies were the bees. They weren't as peaceful as they looked or gave off. They can be equally as aggressive as a Dragoona, even when not having an upper hand in battle. Nova knew she had to be careful and watch the words she used. She could sense the Fairies watching her.

  A large tree stood in front of their way, in front of the tree was a larger Fairy with two Guardian Fairies just beside her. Nova would've guessed that the bigger one was the Queen Evol was talking about. Evol turned back to her before approaching the Queen.

  "Please watch your words in front of her, she can be a bitch when the moment comes." She whispers into Nova's ear.

  Nova nodded her head and approached the Queen. She glanced up at Nova, having sensed her arrival even before she entered the village.

  "A human? No wonder why I smelt of disgust. Why must you be present?" The Queen asks aggressively.

  "The Queen has given her order!
Speak your name properly and show her the way to solution afterward!" A guardian Fairy shouted over as she materialized a spear in her hands.

  "I am Nova. I am here only to receive a quick answer. I did not mean to disrupt any of your arrangements." Nova answers, hiding away her nervousness.

  The Queen suddenly looks intrigued. Her wings attempted to flap, and she had gained some air off the ground. But she quickly fell back down on the ground, looking pretty mad once again.

  "You come here in order to ask a question? Who is responsible for revealing our existence's whereabouts?!" The Queen yelled as she threw her fists into the ground.

  "It was me, your highness." Evol appeared outside of Nova, sounding a bit ashamed of herself all of a sudden. "I thought we could help her out... After all, I don't think she's a human."

  The Queen raised an eyebrow, hearing how Nova could possibly not be the disgusting human she had sensed a while ago. The rest of the Fairy population hid or looked distracted as they gazed and eavesdropped on the sort of private meeting between them. She looked to have returned to her more relaxed state again, but she wasn't completely convinced that she was not a human.

  "You mean to tell me that she could be a Machina? Only someone so stupid would want to mimic humans and replace them."

  "I just wanted to see if you can read the Ancient Language... Just a line." Nova interrupted, as she pulled out the journal from her pocket.

  The Queen looked angry as she was suddenly interrupted, but she stopped and gave her full attention to the journal in her hand.

  "That journal, whose it belong to?" The Queen asks, becoming strangely excited about the journal.

  "It was Drenawx's... I think. I found it in his tent just outside this village."

  "Oh? You know of Drenawx?"

  Nova looked down at the brown, beat-up journal in her hand and nodded her head. She gazed up at the Queen again with a face with a lack of emotion.

  "I do... I just don't know how, or why." She replied, with no emotion in her voice either.