The New Chapter 2
Van spent the night under the stars relatively close to the cave. He did not want to go in to see the old woman just quite yet. Something was telling him that once he did, he would be plunged into something much deeper than having to acquire his first summon. So much had happened in one day, he had a hard time falling asleep with all the questions brought up. The one that bothered him the most was of the enemy he was to face the next day. How did the sorceress know someone was coming for her? If she knew why didn’t she try and escape? Still, he was excited to get to test out his new summon.
While trying to doze off, a female voice interrupted his attempt, “You there,” it was not the masked woman, “do you know of the sorceress who lives in these parts? If so, I demand you take me there…”
“That’s not a very good way to get people to do what you want. Ask me again.”
“How dare you! I am Fiona, one of the five knights of Sanctuary, and it is your obligation to bring me to her.”
“What is Sanctuary?”
“Have you been living under a rock? It is the organization that runs the great city of Kiven. Our sole mission is to summon the all powerful Odin and bring prosperity to our state and the rest of the world.”
“What do you want with the sorceress?”
“We… I do not exactly kn… bring me to her!”
“You need to calm down. Your not going to get anywhere with that attitude.”
She took a deep breath, “I am sorry, I just really need to find her can you help me?”
He flashed a big smile at her, “That’s better! Lets go.”
While they were walking, he got a chance to check her out. She was pretty modestly dressed. She wore black tights, and had black high boots. She was clad in a white leather sleeveless vest with a v-neck color. What struck him most about her were her gloves. They were normal black leather gloves, but on the end were giant metal disks.
“What are those disks for?”
“Those are my weapons.”
“You punch people with them?”
“No, I push a button on my gloves, shooting them at my enemy.”
“You could punch someone with them right?”
“Of course, stop asking stupid questions!”
“Sorry…”
“Which way?” We were at a cross in the path.
“Left.”
“Left it is.”
They continued on in silence. Van had so many questions for her but was afraid of the possible scolding. He decided to just lead her to the sorceress, maybe she could help fight the enemy; she did have those projectiles.
After about 15 minutes of awkward silence, they came across the cave. The inside seemed different to Van than before. It seemed to be more alive, if a cave could be so much. Water was dripping of the walls, and a creek ran rapidly whereas the day before was dry. Nests or living animals now inhabited places where he has seen bones.
He had a feeling that Fiona was going to act stuck up with what she wanted with the sorceress, so he decided to make her wait a minute while he asked her some questions, mostly about the stone he found.
When he looked to where the old woman was the day before, he saw a beautiful woman lying on a lavender couch, “Sorceress?”
“Yes, but don’t call me that. Call me Uma.”
“Uma, are you the same person who gave me the sword yesterday?”
“Yes, of course.”
“You’re different.”
“I am the sorceress.”
He did not believe her at all. He must have come to late; she had to be the one who he was supposed to protect the old woman from, “If you’re the sorceress, why did I come to you yesterday?”
“You’re the one with the dreams.”
He was convinced, “Well, I went to get the summon, and I was aided by a woman. When she disappeared, she left this stone” he showed her the elaborately decorated jewel.
“Magnificent….”
“It was the same one my girlfriend had in my first village.”
“How can you be sure? There are a handful of these, you cannot be positive that it is hers.”
“A handful?”
“Yes, this is a stone of Odin.”
Van thought he heard Fiona gasp; she was obviously listening in, “Yes, when gathered, these are used to summon the god Odin. You have a very powerful relic on you.”
He was intrigued, “The only purpose of these stones is for summoning this god?”
“Not exactly, when combined they open a portal between our world, and the world of the unknown. The unknown encompassing those of memories, gods, the dead, the past and the future.”
“Memories? Could you find memories, and say, destroy them?”
“I assume so.”
“I think I have found an answer to my problem.”
She was shocked at his plan, “You plan to risk the peace of this world just so you can erase some dirty memories? The sword is enough to control them!”
He did not quite understand how the world’s peace would be at stake with the opening of the door to the world of the unknown, all he understood was that he had a chance to live a life where he did not have to rely on others, “What if it’s stolen? Then what? I go insane and destroy the world!”
She thought he was not quite that strong yet, “I wouldn’t go that far…”
Confused by that comment, he ignored it, “I am going to collect them, and I don’t care what you say.”
“I suppose I cannot stop you; chances are, by the time you collect them all you will be able to stand a chance against the gods if they are released.”
Van was still confused, “Forget about it,” she said, “but you are going to need me to open the portal; I am one of the few who can.”
At that Fiona jumped out from her hiding place realizing why Sanctuary needed this woman; she pointed her pinwheels at Uma, “In the name of Sanctuary, sorceress, you are coming with me!”
Van was shocked, “Fiona is the one I am supposed to protect you from?”
“You know her? That’s sad, but it is your duty; you promised.”
“But…”
An odd fury overcame the sorceress, “Listen, if you want to be a spoiled little brat and undermine a gift from your father, I will take that sword away from you right now.”
“My… Father…!”
Fiona interrupted his chain of thoughts, “This is perfect! If you’re going to protect the sorceress, when I kill you, I can take your stone as well.”
“Fiona…” he looked at the sorceress, and then and Fiona.
“Shut up, the faster we do this, the faster I get home!” she stuck out her arms and shot the projectiles at him.
He drew the summoning sword, “Summon Goblin!” He quickly jumped out of the way, and circled behind Fiona without her noticing.
He found his spot behind her a perfect chance to use his fire attack, but could not remember how to use it. He tried “Summon Fire!” to no avail.
Her projectiles returned to her hands, “Your done,” she muttered with an obvious fury. She launched her body at him, swinging her gloves with the sharp blades attached. With the power of the goblin, he dodged all of her attempted blows with relative ease. She shot a projectile at him with her right hand; he dodged, watching it pass by his face. With his eyes watching the pinwheel, she used the opportunity to swing at him with her right hand. She grazed his face, striking blood nonetheless, and following her body through with a kick in the same spot she had originally cut.
He went flying from where her foot hit his face, but landed, ashamed from the blow. Getting frustrated, he felt the need to use his newest summon, “Summon Wolf-Beast!”
Fiona’s charge at him was stopped when she saw the humanity in his eyes lost after the summoning. He stared at her with vicious eyes. Van put his sword back into his sheath. His hands moved in front of his face to see that they were now claws.
He ran up to Fiona, claws ready to rip her to pieces. She backed up a little in terror so that he would not hit the vital points Van was aiming for. She put out her arm to defend, but ended up having the claws cut deeply into her forearm. She did a back flip to avoid him. She readied a counteraction with both pinwheels, when she saw that his claws were gone. Van was crouched on the ground, staring at the blood on his fingers.
Fiona found this a perfect time to try and capture the sorceress, “Uma, you’re coming with me!” She redirected her projectiles at the woman. Absolutely caught of guard, she was cut across the chest with both blades; they returned to their owners gloves.
Van stared at the injured sorceress, her hair dark hair covering her hunched face, slowly turning gray. Uma looked up through her hair to reveal the face of the old woman Van had spoken to the day before. Trembling, she took an amulet out of her pocket and dropped it onto the floor. She stared at Fiona with an utter hatred, “Father Time, return me to better days!” With that she disappeared into thin air.
Van did not want to fight anymore; he looked at Fiona and saw that she probably did not want to either, seeing as though the person she had come to capture had just vanished.
“I say we make a pact.”
She was not in the mood for talking, but she forced herself to answer, “What?”
“We both need these stones. I want to erase these memories of mine, and you need them for your organization. If we work together to gather the Stones of Odin, we can probably use them at the same time.”
“You’re pretty strong; I guess you can help.”
She picked up the amulet the sorceress had dropped; Van walked over to inspect it as well. It was stone with a frozen arrow on it. There were seven empty spots surrounding the arrow. The shape of the spot was peculiar. Fiona felt as though she knew something that would fit in the hole. She reached into her back pocket and placed an identical stone to that of Emma’s in the spot. She set it where the head of the arrow had been pointing. Suddenly, the amulet sprang to life. It started glowing, and the arrow frantically span around in circles; it stopped at Van. He was scarred, yet intrigued by the object. He reached into his pocket and took out Emma’s stone. He then placed it into another empty spot on the amulet. Once again it started spinning, and stopped; it was pointing north.
“I… I… don’t understand…”
Fiona stared at it a little longer, and realized what it did, “It’s a compass! It will guide us to the stones!” Van was shocked by her rejuvenated passion, “With this we wont have to go by rumors to find the stones! Gathering them will be no problem now!”
He smiled at her, and she smiled back, “Partners?”
“Partners!”
While trying to doze off, a female voice interrupted his attempt, “You there,” it was not the masked woman, “do you know of the sorceress who lives in these parts? If so, I demand you take me there…”
“That’s not a very good way to get people to do what you want. Ask me again.”
“How dare you! I am Fiona, one of the five knights of Sanctuary, and it is your obligation to bring me to her.”
“What is Sanctuary?”
“Have you been living under a rock? It is the organization that runs the great city of Kiven. Our sole mission is to summon the all powerful Odin and bring prosperity to our state and the rest of the world.”
“What do you want with the sorceress?”
“We… I do not exactly kn… bring me to her!”
“You need to calm down. Your not going to get anywhere with that attitude.”
She took a deep breath, “I am sorry, I just really need to find her can you help me?”
He flashed a big smile at her, “That’s better! Lets go.”
While they were walking, he got a chance to check her out. She was pretty modestly dressed. She wore black tights, and had black high boots. She was clad in a white leather sleeveless vest with a v-neck color. What struck him most about her were her gloves. They were normal black leather gloves, but on the end were giant metal disks.
“What are those disks for?”
“Those are my weapons.”
“You punch people with them?”
“No, I push a button on my gloves, shooting them at my enemy.”
“You could punch someone with them right?”
“Of course, stop asking stupid questions!”
“Sorry…”
“Which way?” We were at a cross in the path.
“Left.”
“Left it is.”
They continued on in silence. Van had so many questions for her but was afraid of the possible scolding. He decided to just lead her to the sorceress, maybe she could help fight the enemy; she did have those projectiles.
After about 15 minutes of awkward silence, they came across the cave. The inside seemed different to Van than before. It seemed to be more alive, if a cave could be so much. Water was dripping of the walls, and a creek ran rapidly whereas the day before was dry. Nests or living animals now inhabited places where he has seen bones.
He had a feeling that Fiona was going to act stuck up with what she wanted with the sorceress, so he decided to make her wait a minute while he asked her some questions, mostly about the stone he found.
When he looked to where the old woman was the day before, he saw a beautiful woman lying on a lavender couch, “Sorceress?”
“Yes, but don’t call me that. Call me Uma.”
“Uma, are you the same person who gave me the sword yesterday?”
“Yes, of course.”
“You’re different.”
“I am the sorceress.”
He did not believe her at all. He must have come to late; she had to be the one who he was supposed to protect the old woman from, “If you’re the sorceress, why did I come to you yesterday?”
“You’re the one with the dreams.”
He was convinced, “Well, I went to get the summon, and I was aided by a woman. When she disappeared, she left this stone” he showed her the elaborately decorated jewel.
“Magnificent….”
“It was the same one my girlfriend had in my first village.”
“How can you be sure? There are a handful of these, you cannot be positive that it is hers.”
“A handful?”
“Yes, this is a stone of Odin.”
Van thought he heard Fiona gasp; she was obviously listening in, “Yes, when gathered, these are used to summon the god Odin. You have a very powerful relic on you.”
He was intrigued, “The only purpose of these stones is for summoning this god?”
“Not exactly, when combined they open a portal between our world, and the world of the unknown. The unknown encompassing those of memories, gods, the dead, the past and the future.”
“Memories? Could you find memories, and say, destroy them?”
“I assume so.”
“I think I have found an answer to my problem.”
She was shocked at his plan, “You plan to risk the peace of this world just so you can erase some dirty memories? The sword is enough to control them!”
He did not quite understand how the world’s peace would be at stake with the opening of the door to the world of the unknown, all he understood was that he had a chance to live a life where he did not have to rely on others, “What if it’s stolen? Then what? I go insane and destroy the world!”
She thought he was not quite that strong yet, “I wouldn’t go that far…”
Confused by that comment, he ignored it, “I am going to collect them, and I don’t care what you say.”
“I suppose I cannot stop you; chances are, by the time you collect them all you will be able to stand a chance against the gods if they are released.”
Van was still confused, “Forget about it,” she said, “but you are going to need me to open the portal; I am one of the few who can.”
At that Fiona jumped out from her hiding place realizing why Sanctuary needed this woman; she pointed her pinwheels at Uma, “In the name of Sanctuary, sorceress, you are coming with me!”
Van was shocked, “Fiona is the one I am supposed to protect you from?”
“You know her? That’s sad, but it is your duty; you promised.”
“But…”
An odd fury overcame the sorceress, “Listen, if you want to be a spoiled little brat and undermine a gift from your father, I will take that sword away from you right now.”
“My… Father…!”
Fiona interrupted his chain of thoughts, “This is perfect! If you’re going to protect the sorceress, when I kill you, I can take your stone as well.”
“Fiona…” he looked at the sorceress, and then and Fiona.
“Shut up, the faster we do this, the faster I get home!” she stuck out her arms and shot the projectiles at him.
He drew the summoning sword, “Summon Goblin!” He quickly jumped out of the way, and circled behind Fiona without her noticing.
He found his spot behind her a perfect chance to use his fire attack, but could not remember how to use it. He tried “Summon Fire!” to no avail.
Her projectiles returned to her hands, “Your done,” she muttered with an obvious fury. She launched her body at him, swinging her gloves with the sharp blades attached. With the power of the goblin, he dodged all of her attempted blows with relative ease. She shot a projectile at him with her right hand; he dodged, watching it pass by his face. With his eyes watching the pinwheel, she used the opportunity to swing at him with her right hand. She grazed his face, striking blood nonetheless, and following her body through with a kick in the same spot she had originally cut.
He went flying from where her foot hit his face, but landed, ashamed from the blow. Getting frustrated, he felt the need to use his newest summon, “Summon Wolf-Beast!”
Fiona’s charge at him was stopped when she saw the humanity in his eyes lost after the summoning. He stared at her with vicious eyes. Van put his sword back into his sheath. His hands moved in front of his face to see that they were now claws.
He ran up to Fiona, claws ready to rip her to pieces. She backed up a little in terror so that he would not hit the vital points Van was aiming for. She put out her arm to defend, but ended up having the claws cut deeply into her forearm. She did a back flip to avoid him. She readied a counteraction with both pinwheels, when she saw that his claws were gone. Van was crouched on the ground, staring at the blood on his fingers.
Fiona found this a perfect time to try and capture the sorceress, “Uma, you’re coming with me!” She redirected her projectiles at the woman. Absolutely caught of guard, she was cut across the chest with both blades; they returned to their owners gloves.
Van stared at the injured sorceress, her hair dark hair covering her hunched face, slowly turning gray. Uma looked up through her hair to reveal the face of the old woman Van had spoken to the day before. Trembling, she took an amulet out of her pocket and dropped it onto the floor. She stared at Fiona with an utter hatred, “Father Time, return me to better days!” With that she disappeared into thin air.
Van did not want to fight anymore; he looked at Fiona and saw that she probably did not want to either, seeing as though the person she had come to capture had just vanished.
“I say we make a pact.”
She was not in the mood for talking, but she forced herself to answer, “What?”
“We both need these stones. I want to erase these memories of mine, and you need them for your organization. If we work together to gather the Stones of Odin, we can probably use them at the same time.”
“You’re pretty strong; I guess you can help.”
She picked up the amulet the sorceress had dropped; Van walked over to inspect it as well. It was stone with a frozen arrow on it. There were seven empty spots surrounding the arrow. The shape of the spot was peculiar. Fiona felt as though she knew something that would fit in the hole. She reached into her back pocket and placed an identical stone to that of Emma’s in the spot. She set it where the head of the arrow had been pointing. Suddenly, the amulet sprang to life. It started glowing, and the arrow frantically span around in circles; it stopped at Van. He was scarred, yet intrigued by the object. He reached into his pocket and took out Emma’s stone. He then placed it into another empty spot on the amulet. Once again it started spinning, and stopped; it was pointing north.
“I… I… don’t understand…”
Fiona stared at it a little longer, and realized what it did, “It’s a compass! It will guide us to the stones!” Van was shocked by her rejuvenated passion, “With this we wont have to go by rumors to find the stones! Gathering them will be no problem now!”
He smiled at her, and she smiled back, “Partners?”
“Partners!”