by Iaz Grant
“Yup! He’s this way follow me” She said bouncing around
Boe hopped over to the spherical house she had come out of and entered it, only briefly, returning with a knapsack and a large custom designed bow that she slung her shoulder letting the string from the bow press up against her chest. She raised her hand and pointed in the direction her nose was aimed at previously, she began to hop forward and Aero and Iliad followed closely behind. The three walked for a few hours making small talk about how Boe was named after the bow she wielded that grew in length as she grew in age. They stopped and built a small campfire to eat some food before they continued walking until they reached a part of the forest that was entirely made of frozen bamboo. It grew far above even Iliad’s head and each piece of bamboo continued the pattern of growing in rows that all the trees in the forest shared. It was in this region of the forest that Aero, Iliad and Boe encountered a beast they would have never imagined to exist: The Wampum Root.
Iliad brought the group’s forward pace to a halt. He had heard a strange noise somewhere not far ahead of them. He drew one of his muskets, which caused Aero to ready his hammer. Boe peeked over Iliad’s shoulder that she had been hiding behind as soon as they heard the noise. From deep into the shadows that filled the spaces between the frozen bamboo a pair of crimson eyes could be seen leering in the groups direction. A soft growl could be hears before the creature shot out of the unknown. Now running directly at Iliad was a creature that resembled a lion, a sleek body with strong legs, a massive tail that whipped back and forth with a small chunk of ice that lay frozen onto the end, its face resembles a large feline as well with sharp teeth that extended far out of its mouth, only its skin, instead of being fur like a lion’s would, it’s skin was the consistency of tree bark and throughout its body a complex system of vines tangled themselves from a mane that surrounded it’s face, down its large paws, which were equipped with thorn-like claws. This was the Wampum Root and ancient plant demon that was only a myth outside of this forest.
Boe quickly leaped high into the air, high enough to make Aero wonder if she was actually part rabbit, and when she reached the highest point in her jump, she grabbed her bow and maneuvered it around her shoulders to now hold it properly and when she did, a familiar white beam began to materialize around her. Aero watched on in awe as Boe summoned her Halo, this one a deep ocean blue color that matched Boe’s eyes. After the cerulean Halo appear around her she drew the string on the bow back and let out a command
“Water Arrows!”
Instantly, three small surges of rushing water that shaped themselves into arrows appeared loaded in Boe’s grasp. She let go of the string and sent the arrows flying toward the Wampum who was charging and roaring. One of the arrows landed just before its feet, which the Wampum Root jumped over easily, the second arrow just grazed the side of the Root’s face, barely scratching it, but the third arrow, landed perfectly in the mouth of the roaring creature, stopping it in its tracks. Iliad sprinted away from the group at a speed that made Aero have to squint to keep up with watching him. As he ran, a white glowing line began to materialize around Iliad now with a crimson red ring glowing around it. Iliad bit a frayed piece of rope that dangled out of the top of his musket, a small fire sparked to existence and burned through the length of the rope before Iliad yelled out a command with authority.
“Fire Shot!”
Suddenly a small orb that appeared to be made out of burning fire that glowed like lava shot from the barrel of the musket, followed by a steady stream of four more orbs each released as soon as Iliad pulled the trigger. Each of the orbs landed on the Wampum with a fierce explosion as it could be heard roaring. After the impact from all the shots left a small plume of smoke lingering over the area, the bright red eyes of the Wampum Root could be seen glowing again through the haze. Aero watched as the Root jumped high into the air above the smoke and let out a chilling roar before launching into an attack. The tangled mane of vines around the face of the creature began to slither around before they all spread apart and shot outward in all different directions. Each vine had a pointed end to it that could easily pierce flesh and one of those vines impales Boe through her shoulder causing her to cry out in pain before being suspended in air by the vine. A few of the other fines were chasing Iliad who was zigzagging in between the bamboo, trying to avoid the vines. The vines smashed through the frozen pieces of bamboo causing large shards of ice to fall violently all around Iliad, and when one of those shards managed to hit him in the face, it caused him to pause for moment, just long enough for one of the needle-pointed vines to impale him through the leg locking him in a crouched position holding his wound. Aero looked around at his injured comrades and began to wonder if he would ever be able to hurt such a strong beast when suddenly, the same voice Aero heard at the Enrollment Tournament began to speak out again.
“Kid, listen to me, you gotta move quick!” It said as Aero noticed large eyes appear on the end of his hammer again.
Aero looked up and saw two of the sharp vines ripping toward him. He performed a few acrobatic flips to escape the vines before rushing in for an attack. Aero ran quickly to get closer in range to the Wampum Root, he cocked his hammer to one side and let go a powerful swing following through with his entire body as the head of his hammer came smashing directly onto the lower jaw of the Root. It squeaked out in pain before roaring again, causing its vines that had impaled Boe and Iliad to raise high into the sky. Aero jumped back before the creature unleashed more sharp vines that spiraled and shot there different directions trying to reach Aero.
“Listen, your gonna have to use that same move that you just saw Iliad use!” The hammer yelled out to Aero with its thick accent. Aero gave the pair of eyes on the hammer a ridiculous look.
“How are you talking?!?!” Aero yelled out while flipping around the trajectory of the vines, dodging each one gracefully.
“I’ll explain later, just pay attention and focus. You remember that Fire Shot you just saw?” The hammer asked
“Yeah but…I don’t know how to use Fire Halo magic yet.” Aero replied while weaving through frozen bamboo
“I know kid, I know, but listen: If you can create an orb of grass energy like Iliad’s Fire shot, you can take this thing out.”
Aero wondered if he could create such a technique on the spot, without ever having practiced it before. One of the vines raced toward Aero that he sent flying in the opposite direction when he whaled it with his hammer. Aero visualized the technique the hammer suggested and when he did, his Halo began to appear around him. Aero let out a yell, which caused his Halo to glow bright as he dug his feet into the ground beneath him. Aero extended his arm and opened his hand wide as a small green orb began to appear and grow in his palm. Once it reached the size of a cannonball Aero cranked his hammer far behind his shoulder ready to unleash a heavy swing before shouting out the name of his new attack.
“Grass Bomb!”
Aero let loose a magnificent swing as his hammer rammed into the glowing orb of energy. And like a home run hit from a baseball player, the orb launched at great speed in a straight line straight into the face of the Wampum Root. As Aero watched the orb make contact with the creature a large explosion boomed sending shockwaves his direction. The vines that were stuck in Iliad and Boe had retracted and they both feel from where they were suspended from with a loud thud. Aero ran up to Iliad who was getting up slowly.
“Ha! You did it kid, that was pretty good!” The hammer said as Aero watched the large eyes fade away from the face of his hammer. He made his way to Iliad and helped him up as Boe hopped over to them.
“Are you guys okay?” Aero asked with concern as Iliad nodded his head
“Yeah I think I’m good!” Boe answered holding her hand over her shoulder wound.
Iliad rose to his feet as he began to walk over to the Wampum Root while Boe began to cheer for Aero.
“You really did it Aero, that was amazing!” She said with joy
Aero and Boe walked over to the body of the Wampum Root and when the got close enough, Iliad grabbed Aero’s arm and placed his hand on the top of the dead creatures back. Iliad kneeled down in front of Aero and him square in the eyes.
“People who can use Halo magic, have a gift Aero. We’re tapped into to 1000’s of years of knowledge and power and it’s our duty to pursue the understanding of this mystical power. To gain more Halo’s and use new kinds of Halo magic, your going to have to absorb life energy from ancient life forms, sometimes, they’re animals and creatures like this, sometimes ancient plants or spirits, all with energy, that when you absorb, teach you secrets of their power. This creature, will grant you a Fire Halo like mine, with it, you will be able to learn and create fire techniques. But you must remember, this is a right of passage, it’s what we’ll be doing for the next 6 years out here.” He finished
Aero listened to each word carefully as Iliad explained this sacred transfer of energy. He looked to Iliad with determination and assured his mentor.
“Make no mistake, Iliad, I will not fail you, I will learn all there is to know about Halo’s and there true power.”
Iliad and Aero shared a nod of their heads while Boe chuckled gesturing Aero to continue the process.
“Now Aero, visualize the fire you will harness, and absorb this Wampum Root’s secret knowledge!” Iliad said with excitement.
A bright sapphire-colored light began to glow between Aero’s hand and the carcass of the Wampum Root. Aero could feel his insides electrify with energy sending surges through his body. As the glowing light intensified a red stream of energy could be seen shooting up Aero’s arm as the body of the Wampum Root slowly began to fade away leaving shining orbs of light that floated around Aero. After a few more seconds of the light glowing, the process was complete and the body of the Root was nowhere to be found. Aero looked at his own hand in amazement, he could feel the strength and the agility of the Wampum Root, now existing within his own power.
Boe let out a loud “Alright!!!!” while jumping up and down cheering again for Aero. This was the true beginning of his journey.
His journey to understand all there is to know of this magnificent Halo magic.
Boe, Iliad and Aero shared in a group laugh and a brief celebration before they were interrupted. From high in the night sky a screech could be heard that followed the appearance of a gigantic winged creature that resembled a monstrous pelican that looked to be made of bone. The massive creature flapped its wings sending gusts of wind down toward the three celebrating warriors.
And more fluidly than ever, Aero, Iliad and Boe jumped into individual offensive stances as they began to unleash a series of powerful attacks each glowing different colors, each in unique shapes and forms causing different kind of explosions and lights to fill the mysterious landscape that was known as The Frozen Forest with bright flashes of color and power. And for the next 6 years, the trio would remain deep within the labyrinth of the Forest, training each other to physical and mental extremes, conditioning themselves to be more and more powerful each and every day and night that passed. Only to return to the School for Halo Arts 6 years older, where Aero was to compete in The Senior Tournament, the final assignment for any student within the curriculum of the school. It was there that Aero would finally see what the other students of the school, including Marcel, were capable of.
Though for each night Aero trained, he slept, and for each night he slept, he dreamed a dream he was all too familiar with. The ancient memories of a sleeping ancestor reoccurred with consistency, soon to unlock untold power within this optimistic boy.
END OF BOOK 1
EPILOUGE
6 YEARS LATER: THE SENIOR TOURNAMENT BEGINS
The thunderous roar of hundreds of people cheering could be heard for miles as the bright sun reached its peak in a pale blue sky above The School For Halo Arts. Today was quite a special day in the traditions of the school. Every 6 years a new group of students eager to win the tournament, which served as there final assignment in each students curriculums, and prove there superior knowledge of the mystical art of using Halo magic. Only the top 4 students were allowed to compete in the tournament and if they won, they were granted enrollment in the Higher Education Dojo, which was a gigantic martial arts training facility isolated on an island far away from any other land. This year those contestants were some of the most talked about students in the entire history of the school.
There was Marcel, said to be a prodigy in swordplay and quite the cunning young man. He had the highest grades in all of the subjects throughout his 6-year course at the school and was known for his mean demeanor, as well as a highly analytical mind, which made Marcel an expert tactician both in and out of a fight. Marcel had waited for this day for 6 years to see Aero as he made his debut to the school grounds, having been trained privately by Iliad.
As well as Tally and Tessa two twin girls who served as one competitor due to there tandem style of fighting while using Light and Shadow Halo’s, they were in fact, the only students capable of using such magic and they did so in a cooperative way that made them quite the adversary in a battle.
There was also an expert marksman who used many kinds of Gun magic that utilized different elemental bullets fired from an array of guns, a student of high marks and test scores he stayed mostly to himself and was sometimes called Bullet based of his special magic.
And finally, there was Aero. In the 6 years since Aero stunned everyone with his early victory during the last Enrollment Tournament, rumors and myths began to circulate around the school about the young boy. Some were convinced he was too mentally unstable to follow school rules, so he was exiled. Others believed that he was some ultra powerful beast who was taken away for testing. But none of these rumors were true, no; Aero was just a gifted boy who showed a unique kind of potential that a warrior named Iliad thought could use some direction. Deep within a dangerous maze of trees called The Frozen Forest, Aero, along with Iliad and a beautiful archer called Boe trained intensely day in and day out to become the best fighters they can be. They vigorously studied a large spectrum of martial arts together and taught each other the Halo techniques they had created. And now, each dressed in identical beige overcoats, witch matching insignias on their backs, Aero, Iliad and Boe stood bold, ready to unveil themselves amongst the students and crowd that was cheering louder and louder. The volume of the excited onlookers kept increasing as a man in a tuxedo stepped out onto the large stage that had been erected specifically for this tournament. The man had a microphone in his hand and sunglasses o that were so dark, that it was impossible to see his eyes behind their tint. He began to speak into the microphone, which squealed with feedback for a moment before the man’s enthusiastic voice began to play through speakers around the stage.
“HELLO LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!! WITTHOUT FURTHER ADO LET OUR FIRST MATCH BEGIN!!! TALLY AND TESSA VS AERO!!!! ” He hollered quickly before running off of the stage almost instantly.
Two young women could be see walking up the steps to make their way to the stage. The both had light grey hair, which when the sun beamed down on, looked more like silver than anything. They were dressed in traditional kimonos’ that each had yin and yang symbols as well as black and white color schemes. The ladies waived to the crowd and hugged each other as they prepared for the fight.
From the opposite side of the stage, Aero approached slowly. He removed his overcoat to reveal a much older, but not very different looking Aero. Though he did now have a white beanie that contained the puffiness of his hair his facial features remained the same. His eyes still glowed with a passion and determination though he had traded in his fuzzy brown sweatshirt for a black jacket that had a series of belts lined around the sleeves and the chest area. He was wearing jeans that still fit snugly around his legs and still
had his trusty hammer attached to his back. He gave the crowd a wave and a confident smile that was accented by a small stripe of bandage that lay on his cheek. The crowd erupted even louder as dozens of people began to move closer to the stage.
The stage was set and the Senior Tournament was about to begin. Marcel watched on as he awaited his chance to fight Aero if he could win this round. Iliad and Boe moved through the crowd until they reached the corner of the stage that Aero was closest to. The Dean of the school took his seat on a ceremonial throne that oversaw the tournament while the announcer ran his way to the side of the stage where he used a large drumstick to strike a giant gong, its loud ring symbolized the official beginning of the match.