Post by Zephyr Strife on Dec 27, 2010 8:49:01 GMT -5
This is my first finished piece. *nodnod* No critiquing, I just decided I'd post it. Read it and tell me what ya think. This is the prologue and chapters one and two. I'll post more if anyone's that interested. Anyways, I started this story when I was 14 and finished about eight months later after I turned 15. So it's old and it's probably not that good.
(In fact, I really hate it...)
Prologue:
“Garth Reiley! Come up and show us your project!” Mr. Pease called from behind his desk. He looked up from the check paper he was marking down his students on. His almost electric blue eyes twinkled as he lifted a hand to scratch his long silver hair, which was tied back with a hair band, carefully. He had a beard, but it wasn’t much of anything. Wearing a pair of jeans and a polo shirt, Mr. Pease was everything like the normal teacher in looks. However, his personality varied from confusing to very exciting. Often, the class had fun because he had a way of bringing the real world into his classes and it helped his high school students learn in his class. Most of the high school enjoyed talking with him outside of the classroom and school, too. Basically, these students were used to their, strange elderly teacher.
From the smack dab center of the classroom, row five, column five, a boy stood up. His bright green eyes and messy, dark brown hair looked just the same as everyday. A pair of khaki pants and a blue t-shirt, marked with a strange design of his own creation, made up his entire wardrobe, not including his tennis shoes. With a gaze full of creativity, he was often thought to be the easiest to pick on, and normally, he was. He’d turn sixteen tomorrow and, though he wasn’t smiling, he was extremely excited about it.
The rest of the class looked up at him expectantly as he turned around to face them. His projects for the class were interesting and mind boggling. The things he wrote were like different worlds all in a notebook or on a binder of paper. This time, in his hands, he was holding a thick binder, filled with paper. He opened the thick binder and flipped through some of the pages, as if reassuring himself he was ready for this introduction into his new idea. Glancing around the room again, he started with a wide smile.
“This two week Spring Vacation,” he began looking towards Mr. Pease momentarily, who nodded with a small smile. “I decided to write about a world I created a few months ago. It took a lot of work to think of the idea and the story behind the countries and places held in this new world. Troy and Krista knew about it, but they probably didn’t think I’d ever finish in such a short time. Always thought I’d give up after finding out how much work it was to create such a detailed work. But they were always able to help me when I asked for ideas.” He smiled when they nodded at him, both winking quite enthusiastically. His two closest friends and behind them, a younger student that was always with them as well. “And I don’t know about Pryce, but he was involved, too, I guess. He gave me a few pointers to help out with some of the city creations.” Pryce blushed behind Troy and Krista, who looked back with wide smiles.
Garth shook his hand and waved off the growing questions that were starting to rise. The din of noise died down at the gesture of his quieting wave and the students all looked forward again. For some reason, the class always found him the one to listen to. With his dreams, he had always found writing awesome. And when he showed off his stuff, his class usually held onto his speeches with wide eyes and gasps of awe. He was just interesting, he thought, but in fact, he was the laugh of the school. Though the class acted well, everyone else knew that Garth wasn’t the best person to become friends with. Heck, Troy and Krista, and even Pryce, paid for befriending the quiet, strange, author of a boy. At least, for the moment, he felt he could do anything and began explaining his story. Starting with some of the images he’d drawn.
“I’m not going to read it, it’d take way too much time, but I’ve been looking into publishing it for a long time. This story took me a very, very long time to plan and I hope to use it to start my authorship. That can wait, I think, though, because I’ve got other things I’d like to do before starting that journey.” He rummaged through a side pocket on the binder and pulled out a well-drawn picture of something, or someone. It was the main character of the story, a boy about eighteen in age, standing tall with a strong face and a sword in each hand. He had the brightest green eyes anyone could have seen and a mess of dark brown hair on his head that spiked in practically every direction. A set of white robes surrounded him, lined with silver and gold at the hems, marking a certain elegance about the being. The sheaths of the swords glittered in what seemed to be sunlight shining from one side of the paper.
“This is Mizutai Trellii,” he said, smiling at the fact the character looked somewhat like he did. There were those in the class that looked between the two, from picture to human and back again, nodding at the looks of both. It was easy to see they saw a resemblance in the image that they saw in Garth, himself. “He is really the prince of this world, New Earth, where my story is based. He doesn’t know anything about his past, being thrown into the future at least a thousand years, but by the end he’ll find out. He’s strong and wise, even for his age. And, I know that the name of this world might be a name some other people have used, but my world is really our world three thousand years into the future. I have everything planned out, even a huge map that I figured I’d keep at home. The story is based in the Luneani Woods, located in Wilryn, a forest covered country.”
Garth looked at the picture, happily, before putting it back and pulling out another. Already the class was in true awe of this feat no one had even attempted around these parts. They looked at the new picture expectantly, quite interested in this new idea.
This time, the image was a drawing of Garth’s dog, Blue. But, the hound mix had twists to him that made him different for the story. A modified side pack was hung over the dog’s shoulder, covered in pockets most likely filled with supplies for survival. He looked older and had a much smarter gaze in his brown-amber eyes. “Blue’s been added, and I know you’ve all met him before.” He looked happy about some of the fear that flashed through a couple people’s eyes, from remembrance of the time they did something stupid. They’d tried to approach the hound without acting slow and careful about it, resulting in an eruption of barking that sent all of the students into an uproar of laughing. “He’s got a few tweaks to his figure and an addition of items added to him, but he’s still the same. His shoulder pack is filled with small bits of food and a few herbs he can use to help Mizutai through their journeys. In the story, he can talk and read human, speak through thought, and has an array of attacks many would want to watch out for. One of them, he lunges and latches onto an enemy, biting as hard as possible with bone crushing pressure. He and Mizutai aren’t really far apart ever, and can be found together practically everywhere they go, just like me and my Blue.”
He shoved that picture back, carelessly, almost. He really didn’t like any of the other pieces of art compared to his next bit. “Now this next character,” he continued, brow furrowed with the effort of pulling out his next picture, “Is someone everyone might recognize.” He concentrated fully on the task at hand, leaving the class to whisper to each other in low voices. Their eyes were wide with the thought of how much work had been thrown into Garth’s story and about how much time it had to have taken him to finish in such a short time.
With a small muttering of ‘there it is’, everyone looked up and Garth pulled out a picture, carefully. He turned it around with utmost care, trying his best not to touch the drawing with his fingers while trying to give everyone a good view. The fine art and the gold bits that were drawn with a rare pencil even made Mr. Peace gasp in awe. The class was tempted to stand up and come see as Garth set his notebook down on the teacher’s desk and stepped closer. He shook his head to show he didn’t want anyone any closer to his hardest piece of work. The person had long, silver colored hair, tied back with a piece of gold silk near the bottom that made a loose pony tail. The white robes he wore were covered in even more gold and silver, Celtic knots wove here and there on the hems of the sleeves, and around the man’s neck was a gold and silver chain, which held a pretty jewel. It was colored with greens and blues, oranges and yellows, the occasional bit of red and purple even mixed into the fray. He had blue eyes that danced with electricity and power, and it even seemed as if, deeper in those pools, laid wisdom beyond the universe. This person had to be of some high importance. With a smile, he spoke of who the character was. “This is the Guild Master, Evergreen. Does anyone recognize him as someone else?”
In the back, two of the bullies of the school raised their hands, smirking evilly. They weren’t impressed with Garth’s works, and they didn’t like that he was having such a good time showing off. They figured the class was just bluffing as usual. “Yeah, I do,” said the first one, a rough seventeen year old named Will Harin. His greasy black hair looked like liquid oil in the light, his brown eyes glinting with envy and anger. His outfit consisted of torn black jeans and a black t-shirt, and to match, a pair of black shoes. The boy next to him, Greg Cryder, lowered his hand, a hateful smile on his face. He had a slicked back head of blond hair, with eyes the color of a poisonous green. He was wearing a white t-shirt, with his own pair of torn black jeans, as well as a pair of red Converse shoes. “It looks like our teacher. Whoopee! So special! How can we even resist the clapping held inside!” Will continued, sarcastically. However, instead of the usual laughing when he picked on someone else, he received glares for almost everyone. No one was impressed this time. None of the students smiled, nodded, or anything. This presentation was too much for that kind of behavior. Will and Greg quieted down, looking down at their fists with angry eyes. An embarrassment of this size had to be punished now. They weren’t going to let Garth get away with something this good. They’d be getting him back soon enough. It was almost the end of school. Then, their quickly thought out plan would be thrown into action. Without hesitation.
Garth took his picture and put it back, just as carefully as he showed it. All was silent as he placed it back in the side pocket of the binder, eyes wide with the same awe as before. It was amazing what someone could do with extra time on their hands. The story would be perfect for publishing. The class broke out in a stream of claps, that lasted until the bell rang, at least five minutes later. Garth looked up at the clock, which read 3:20, the widest smile in the world on his face.
“You can continue tomorrow if you want, Garth,” Mr. Pease said, quite pleased with his student’s work. He was just as happy as Garth was, as well as proud of the boy. “I’m sure everyone will want to know more about your characters and your world. You can have the entire class tomorrow, which means our test is on Monday.” He smiled, thoughtfully, looking at the binder that held his Garth’s work. “You’ve done a good job. Make sure you show the principle. Mrs. Deryk will enjoy that quite a lot. There might be something she can help you with if you’re interested in publishing soon. She was an editor before she decided to teach.”
Garth smiled back, giving a nod. He hadn’t known Mrs. Deryk was an editor, and she could be very valuable in the time to come. He gathered up all the things on his desk, quickly, and worked his way into the busy hallway, where he guarded his binder with fiercely tensed arms. When he reached his locker he put in the combination as fast as possible, which he’d memorized just as fast as he had everything else he had to study. With his locker open, he pulled out his backpack and stuffed the many homework bits he had to do, then carefully placed his binder into it, closing the pack slowly. Holding it in front of him, he closed his locker and flipped the pack over his shoulder, checking to make sure it was in the right position. He didn’t want anything to be ruined by careless activity.
“There, time to go wait for mom and Blue,” Garth said, turning to leave. He looked up and down the school, watching the other students as they packed up and left. The hallways had emptied quite a bit, making it easy to move now, too. As he was heading towards the principle’s office, he was stopped, being shoved back a few steps. He glared at the person that’d done it.
“Think that was really funny, didn’t you,” Will asked, Greg at his side. Both were glaring at him incredulously. “You got a lot of attention today. That little binder of yours got us in trouble. We don’t like it, Greg and me. I think you deserve to pay.”
Greg lunged forward, yanking Garth’s pack away from his grasping hands before he could do anything to stop it. “Give it back!” Gar yelled, swinging a fist at the two. However, they moved back, digging through his pack for the one thing they knew they could hold hostage at a high price. “Got it, Will,” Greg said, pulling out the binder that held everything Garth had worked on in the last few months.
Will threw Garth’s bag back at him, opening the binder to look at the things inside.
“Don’t look in there! It’s not finished yet!” Garth yelled, running at them with one hand full. “Give it back!”
However, he was stopped when he went to catch his binder, which had been thrown at him. With it safely in his hands, he looked to see what the two had taken. In Will’s hand, all of the art that’d been stashed in the pockets of the binder were being looked through, and then crumbled. Garth could see the back piece was the one he’d so painstakingly worked on for so long. In Greg’s hand, a huge bit of the middle of the story was being read slowly before the papers were dropped and stepped all over with his dirty shoe, which made the pages unreadable.
Gar began to shake, not only from fury, but from fear of losing everything. His papers were all hand written and would take a long time to rewrite. The picture of the Guild Master had taken many, many late nights of planning and drawing before even the slightest bit of color was added to it. “Please, don’t!” Gar yelled, dropping his back and tackling Will. He scrabbled for the art he could still get and, as he got to his feet, grabbed the story from Greg. He took off down the hall, leaving his pack behind. There was nothing of importance in there to him at the moment.
He could hear the footsteps of Will and Greg running after him, leaving all their destruction behind them with Garth’s pack. Will was not only angry, but now wanting revenge for the punch Garth had laid into his cheek.
Why did I do that? I don’t usually do anything like that. Now I’m dead! Why can’t I just stop trying like that! Someone, SAVE ME! Garth’s desperate thoughts wouldn’t save him this time. Normally, someone would appear. He only had good luck he figured. But his luck had run out. Rounding a corner, the thundering footfalls behind him of his pursuers, he could see the back doors of the school. And there was his mom! He yanked the doors open, shoving his way outside and into his family’s truck, slamming the door. Just beyond the double doors, he could see the two glaring bullies, watching him as his mother drove off as quickly as she could. She’d seen the way her son had appeared.
After a long and silent drive away from the school, they’d stopped at a red light. Garth’s mother looked at him, her eyes concerned. “What happened? Where’s your backpack?”
Gar was staring ahead, tears streaming down his face, quietly. He hadn’t said a word since he’d looked through his binder to see all the damage. He gulped, wiping away the tears, though they just kept coming, and answered in a whisper. “Will and Greg didn’t like the idea of me getting all the attention for my hard work. They’ve ruined half of it and crumpled most of my art of the characters. I managed to save some of it.” He looked down at his hand, where eight sheets of drawing paper were. The one in the back, the one of the Guild Master, was torn at a corner and some of the charcoal was smeared. “And they even ruined part of my story. Greg took all those papers I had hand written on and smudged them beyond reading.” He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.
His mom looked utterly ticked. She was glaring into space. “We’ll just have to talk with the principal. She can help us here. There’s no way she’ll look over something like this.”
As the light turned green, Gar’s mom drove forward, slowly, like normal. However, today was different. Garth had put all his papers away and stuck the binder in the back of the truck. Blue snuffled at it, but laid down over it just the same. He was very protective of his best friend’s works. Not to mention his best friend. Garth looked up and to his right, out his window. All he could see was at the grill of a truck. “MOM!” he shouted, but the damage was done. It was too late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Emergency! Doctor quick!” Garth’s mom was standing beside the stretcher Gar had been brought in on. Blue had been tied outside. Hospital regulations. A man in a white coat appeared inside the curtain surrounded bed. He looked at Gar’s mom, who was sobbing over her son’s body. “Mrs. Reiley, you’ll have to wait in the front. We’ll come and get you if there are any changes,” he said, calmly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, then lifted her up. A nurse took her into the waiting room in the front of the hospital.
“It’ll be alright, Mrs. Reiley. Dr. Wenlend is the expert doctor of the hospital. He’ll do his best to save your son.” The nurse sat down with Mrs. Reiley, looking almost as white as the mother did.
Garth’s mother looked down in her hand, tears dropping onto the cover of the binder she’d taken with her. “He was so upset about this binder,” she mumbled to the nurse’s surprise. “A couple of bullies had ruined part of the work in here and taken all of his art. I couldn’t stand to see him in such a state. We talked before the light turned green and then the crash occurred. There was nothing I could to do stop it from happening. I couldn’t even reverse the truck. Blue was alright, but Garth……… He’s so……” She sniffled, eyes welling up immensely. “I couldn’t help……” she said, breaking into sobbing against the comforting nurse’s shoulder.
After awhile, Mrs. Reiley was sitting alone. It was only six o’ clock, but she felt as if she could sleep for days at that moment. She stood up and went outside to the payphone and called home. Mr. Reiley would be home by now. There was no way to contact him any earlier. It rang twice, then someone picked up. (Hello?) the voice said, sounding worried. “Hello, Trent,” Mrs. Reiley addressed her husband. She sniffled and her voice was thick with pain and sadness. “You need to come to the hospital. There was a crash today and…… and…… Garth’s……” She started crying again. From across the phone came (Alright, dear, calm down. I’ll be there in a minute. Let me get my keys. Calm down and wait for me, Trish.) There was a click and Trent had gone. Trish hung up and sat down next to Blue, who’d only received a scratch on his shoulder. He’d be treated when Trent left later on.
Trish didn’t have to wait long. Trent drove in driving their other truck. The family ran a farm and they used both trucks everyday. Trent parked and walked as quick as he could, hugging Trish when he got to her. “What happened, Trish? Where’s Garth?” he asked, looking at his wife and Blue. They’d been scratched up but Trish was cleaned up and Blue was just happy to see him. “Can we see him yet?”
“N-No,” Trish replied, turning towards the emergency doors. “But we should wait inside…” She wrapped an arm around Trent and pulled him along. Trent didn’t object, seeing as his wife was ready to collapse in his arms in tears anyway. Blue lay down under the bench to wait even more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trish and Trent were up all night. By morning, even Blue had grown worried and awoken from dreams even a dog shouldn’t have to endure. While Trent was out paying Blue some attention, Dr. Wenlend appeared from the door. He’d cleaned up as not to worry the parents of his patient. “Mrs. Reiley? Where is your husband? You can go see Garth now,” he said as calmly as he could. It was hard not to be shaken up by everything he’d had to work with. “Garth is in a coma but you may go see him now.”
Trish was on her feet in seconds. She bolted outside and explained the situation with Trent and the two left Blue, yet again, to go see how Garth was.
“I’ll come talk with you after that,” Trent said to Blue as he and Trish went inside. The two followed after the doctor, up two floors to the recovery level. Gar would be here for a long while.
As the door opened to the one bed room and both Trent and Trish could see where Garth was, their hearts sank. Their son was definitely sleeping. A mask covered his nose and mouth to ensure he’d keep breathing. IVs and needles were attached to his wrists and arms, feeding medicine into his blood. Trish was to the point where she would break down, but she held firm.
“How long do you suppose Gar will be like this?” Trent asked Dr. Wenlend, quietly. He had his arms wrapped tightly around Trish. The two were locked in a comforting embrace as they stared at the bed their only son slept in.
“It could be only a few days, or it could be a month. This is one thing I cannot be certain about,” the doctor replied. He turned and closed the door, leaving the parents to sit with their unconscious son. And sit they did.
After Trent had taken Blue home and Trish had gone in to school to explain the situation, the family sat in the room, quietly. Visitors came and left, but it didn’t change the thoughts both had on their minds.
Will Garth ever wake up?
Chapter One
A Newcomer to the Guild
It was midnight at the Guild of Warriors. The stars shone bright over top the large grounds and the apprentices and mentors all were asleep. Only the passing guards for that night made any movements. The garden, where the vegetables were grown, was bathed in the dim moonlight.
Suddenly, a bright flash broke into the darkness, covering everything around the garden with blinding light. The Guild Master, who was passing on his own rounds, was right next to the gardens when the light flashed. It had startled him at first, but as it died down he seemed to be transfixed on something. Two figures lay motionless in the garden's plants. A man of what looked like the age of nineteen and a mixed breed hound dog, both, were sleeping and unmoving in the night.
At first sight, the Guild Master could see these two beings weren't from anywhere around there. The boy, his spiky brown hair making him look as if he'd been scared, wore a silken shirt and a pair of fine cloth pants. Leather boots decorated his feet. His dog had on a strip of blue cloth around its neck.
The Guild Master stepped forwards for the young boy, but suddenly he stopped. The boy was awaking. Bright green eyes opened to the world, tired and half open. A hand reached up to the boy's face as the other pushed off the ground to set him up. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It was as if he was confused by his surroundings. Somewhere he’d been yet hadn’t been. He looked at the buildings, counting with his fingers and nodding at all the designs. Soon a small smile had crept onto his face. Then he looked at the dog at his side. He, himself, didn't seem to be injured but he did look frazzled by the sight of his dog.
Immediately, arms lunged out and pulled the hound to his side. "Blue, wake up," he said, softly. There's such care in his voice, the Guild Master thought. But, he shook the thoughts away when the dog didn't move. It seemed the dog had the injuries. Though unnoticed before, now it was clear the hound mix was bleeding. Blood had pooled around his chest and side. The boy leaned down, tears falling down his cheeks. "Blue……wake up……." he whispered again. But, still, the dog didn't move.
At this growing dilemma, the Guild Master set right to work. He jolted forward to the boy's side. "Hello, young man. Please tell me your name. I can help your dog here. I'm the Guild Master of this place. What was your dog's name? Blue, am I right?"
The boy had been startled by the Guild Master's first words, but the calm tone from the man by him relaxed him quite a bit. "His name is Blue. I'm Mizutai," he said. As he said his name, he looked more confused then before, like it wasn’t his name, but he knew it well. A name he’d called his own only in his dreams, maybe.
The Guild Master stared for a moment, interested in the boy's name and the reaction it’d been given, and then nodded kindly. "Okay, Mizutai. You must go hide right away. Into the trees with you. You're not supposed to be here. As for Blue, I'll get the caretaker of animals. Your dog will live in his care." A soothing smile crossed his face and he held his hand out. He gave Mizutai a small dagger. "Keep this safe and hidden," he said. "Now, hurry up. We haven't much time until the guards pass by and they aren't under my control at night."
Mizutai nodded, though he was reluctant to leave his dog's side. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving Blue with someone he didn't know. "Take care of him. He's my only and best friend," he said. He stood up and bolted into the forest. The Guild Master watched Mizutai for a moment. “He’s a very strange boy, isn’t he,” he mumbled, thinking quickly. “However, he might be the one we’ve all been waiting for. Perhaps he’ll stay here. He could be of use to New Earth.”
As he finished speaking, the Guild Master stood up. He headed for a small building on the grounds. With a small knock, he let himself in. Another man sat inside, a bit startled by the sudden coming of the Guild Master. He was on his feet and waiting for orders or at least to know the reason the Guild Master had come at such a late hour.
“Trouble Hawthorn. There's a dog in immediate need of help. Follow me, he's in the garden,” the Guild Master said, turning as quick as he’d come in and leaving.
The second man, Hawthorn, grabbed a back from the table next to him and was at the Guild Master's side in a second. He was lead off into the dim lighted night to the gardens. He worked into the night, and even into the morning, as the light filtered over his head. The Guild Master had gone off to his Dorm to do things of his own matter.
When Hawthorn had finished, he carefully picked the dog up and moved him to his hut, carrying his bag in his teeth with great difficulty. Something was happening, he knew. He laid the dog in one of the many pens that lined the huge building behind his home, then went to his hut. He went to sleep, having spent the night working.
Chapter Two
The Guild of Warriors
Sunlight showed first light over the trees at the edge of the inner grounds of the Guild. The fields, where the previous night's activity had taken place, were quiet. The vegetables had been fixed up, though they still looked as though something big had fallen on them. Dew glittered on the grass around the garden all the way to the wall of trees that separated the training grounds and fields from the inner grounds. The tall grassy fields outside the tree wall glittered with a thinner layer of dew.
Buildings stood all over the inner grounds. There were many small structures, and in the center of one line was an enormous building. It was the Guild Meeting Hall. Regal and jeweled, it stood tall in the pinkish morning sky. The first light of day hit its roof and flowed down as the sun rose.
One of the smaller buildings showed sign of movement. A young girl walked out of the door, stretching and yawning. She had long brown hair, tied up in the back and deep sapphire blue eyes. She seemed to be an apprentice of the Guild. Behind her appeared an older boy, his deep black hair and green eyes shining. They had the same mentor. A mentor had three apprentices at the most. And these two were just the trainees of one mentor. Many other boys and girls appeared behind them from other Dorms, flooding the grounds where the gardens lay. They were all headed for the Dining Hall, a large building opposite the Dorms and the meeting building.
From the trees, the boy, Mizutai, watched. He was hungry, but he had been instructed to stay hidden and he would. He hoped his dog was okay, but he was too afraid to leave the trees to find out how Blue was doing. His bright eyes watched with interest as the apprentices appeared from the Dorms and headed for the Dining Hall. They were all wearing strange clothes to him. White long sleeved robes that almost touched the ground. Well fitted sandals could be seen beneath the robe hems, and sometimes leather boots, much like his own.
Mizutai was amazed by such different clothes. He watched as the first boy and girl talked to each other and turned, heading in a different direction. The girl held a bow, its red wood glimmering with an unseen power, and a quiver across her back. The boy had his hand on the hilt of a long sword, sheathed, but still elegant. They were heading for another building he hadn't noticed. It was taller than the other Dorms, but shorter than the huge Meeting Hall. The Guild Master's study. They headed past that, still, and towards the edge of the trees opposite him. The girl disappeared through the tree wall, followed by the boy after he looked to make sure the coast was clear. The hole they went through couldn't be seen, even after they left.
Mizutai turned his gaze back to the Dining hall when they disappeared into the land beyond. His stomach growled at him and he closed his eyes, hands grabbing hold of it. "Man, I'm hungry," he muttered. Something rustled near him and he turned to see the Guild Master walking down the path by the forest. Mizutai stood up straight and looked at him as the Guild Master stopped in front of him. "I hope you slept as well as you could," he said.
Mizutai nodded. "Better than I usually do," he replied. He smiled and pulled himself from the trees. "Is Blue ok?" he asked right away.
The Guild Master nodded. "He's fine. The caretaker, Hawthorn, has him in his home, caring for him. He takes care of the dogs for the Guild, as well as the other animals we have here. I told him about you and he thought it would be better if you stayed with a couple of our apprentices like you were really a part of the Guild. I said it was up to you, but I think it is a good idea. No one would know you weren't one of us. It's a great disguise while your dog is getting better. You could even become a part of the Guild if you worked for it. I can't give you one of the keys, you'll have to make your own, but I can give you one of our weapons. That would make you look like you belong here. What do you think?"
Mizutai looked towards the Dorm where the boy and girl had appeared from. "I think it's a good idea. I'll stay here until I can leave and I'll make my own key. But, I won't stay after that unless there is something I must absolutely stay for. As for weapons, I'll look for one that I find good enough to use while I'm here. It would be good to train with weapons again. My skills could be worked on while I'm resting undercover here. I thank you for allowing me to stay." Though he didn’t even know he could fight or had any weapon skills, he bowed his head, grateful that such kindness could be found here. But, he did feel irritated that he wouldn't be considered a member of the Guild until he proved himself worthy of it. He had to make his own key and act as if he were a member, even if he weren't. He lifted his head again to look at the Guild Master.
The Guild Master looked at him with interested eyes, one eye brow raised at the young man's offers and requests. "I guess you must know what you're doing. I'll take you to get your weapons now while the rest of the apprentices are at breakfast. We'll get you an outfit made and you can go into the forest to get wood. After your key is made, you are not to go in there. It is off limits to the apprentices." He looked into Mizutai's eyes with seriousness. "I mean it," he said.
Mizutai nodded. "I understand. I do have one of the houses I would like to stay in, if you don't mind my request." He looked over to where the boy and girl had come from and pointed. "I want to stay with those apprentices," he said.
The Guild Master looked, a small smile crossing his face. "Did you see them today?" he asked.
Mizutai nodded as he looked back. "Yes, I saw them. They seemed to be nice to me," he replied.
The Guild Master looked back at him. "That is fine. You can stay with Kira and Tace. They are adventurous and love to learn. I think you'll fit in well with them. Your mentor will be Master Catalpa. I'll send him word. You'll also be caring for the gardens alone for awhile. You did crush the lettuce. When you've proven yourself, I'll call you a member, even if you don’t stay. Come along. We need to get you some clothes and a weapon. When you get a weapon, you have to test it out. There are certain members here that are experts at all the different weapons. You'll fight one of them to see which you handle the best. You try them all to see if you are good at more than one, and if you are, you choose which you want." He nodded and lead the way to another of the buildings.
Mizutai followed along, though he didn't like the idea of becoming a member even if he didn't stay. He was reluctant to do as the Guild Master said, hearing all he had.
When they reached the outfitters’ building, the Guild Master opened the door. Mizutai followed him into the building. He looked towards two people, a man and a woman, sitting to the left. They were the outfitters. The Guild Master nodded when they bowed their heads and said, "Guild Master." It seemed that was how the members of the Guild showed they knew their leader. "This boy here needs an apprentice outfit," the Guild master replied.
The two looked at Mizutai. "Isn't he too old to be a starting apprentice?" the man asked. He and the woman didn't seem to think he would be able to become an apprentice here.
The Guild Master shook his head. "No, he'll be fine. Now, if you don't mind, get him an outfit." He looked a little taken aback by their question, but there was no anger. He just seemed a bit wondering.
The man nodded and they both took hold of Mizutai, pulling him forward to a stand. They pushed him up on it and threw a robe on him. They fitted it, lengthened it, and stitched it to his size. All the while, Mizutai was standing on the stool, waiting to be finished with this bothersome task.
When they were done, Mizutai looked as if he were supposed to be there. He looked at his new outfit, over top his old, with a confused look. He seemed to be irritated, as if he'd been in this position of a guild before, as if he'd already done all of the training before. As if he didn’t even know he’d gone through all the training and didn’t understand why he thought he had before.
The Guild Master saw this and kept it in mind as he pulled Mizutai down from the stand. "Does it feel okay?" he asked, looking the boy up and down.
Mizutai nodded. "Yes, it's fine," he replied. He held his arms out and looked himself over, taking in his new look.
The Guild Master turned and started to leave. "Thank you. We'll be off now," he called back.
Mizutai followed after him, glancing back at the fitters and nodding his thank you. They left and headed for a building to the right. The weaponry. The Guild Master opened the door to his building and walked in.
"It's time for you to get your weapons. I'll leave you here." He turned and shut the door behind him, leaving Mizutai in a room with five men. They looked at him. "Hello. What's your name and what would you like to try first?" one of them asked. He smiled at Mizutai.
Mizutai looked at him. "I'm Mizutai. What do you have for me to try?" he said. He looked at the other men in the room before returning his gaze to the first man that spoke.
The man looked around at the other men. "We have double swords, long swords, staves, and long bows and arrows. The spell stones are only to be given to special apprentices the Guild Master requests," he said. He looked back at Mizutai. "So what do you want to try first?" he asked again.
Mizutai had been thinking about it while the man was talking. "I'll try the bow first," he decided.
The man nodded and stepped out from where he was. "I happen to be the master archer. In this, you'll have to hit the target in the center as many times as you can with a quiver of arrows. There are twenty-five arrows so you have to try and get twenty-five bulls eyes." He picked up a bow, studied it, and handed it to Mizutai. "This bow will do well for you right now. Step up to the line and loose. The faster and more bulls' eyes you get, the more likely you are to get this weapon out of the four." He stepped back and waited, watching the young man with inquisitive eyes.
Mizutai did as told and stepped up to the line. Knowledge of the weapon flooded his mind and he worked on that alone. He aimed for the mark and loosed. The arrow made a perfect hit, right on the bulls eye, and Mizutai drew another arrow from the quiver. He released again and again, hitting the mark on every one.
The master archer stared in awe, just as the others did. "He's better than even me," he muttered. He stepped up as Mizutai released the last arrow, hitting the bull's eye again. He took the bow and the quiver from Mizutai and looked at the others. "Head to the next one you want to try," he mumbled, turning and walking to put the weapon away.
Mizutai headed for the Staff next. He didn't know what to expect from this one. The master of staves stepped forward and handed him a staff, one the right size for him, and pulled out his own staff. "In this test, you'll have to fight with the staff and get me down. If you can get me down, without falling yourself, you'll be a good candidate for this weapon. These staves can be used for elemental fighting, but only older Guild members know any of that. Now, go!" The man lunged forward, staff swinging through the air towards Mizutai.
Again, Mizutai blocked the attack and swiped into the master's side with a hard blow without needing to think about what to do. It came natural to him and his fighting was expert. The master of staves staggered back, balancing in time to get another blow to his own staff. He swung again, but Mizutai took the hit with his hand, grabbing hold of the wooden stick and pulling it clean out of the master's hands. He took both staves and jammed them under the master's legs. Then, pulled back and the master of staves fell to the ground. Mizutai swirled the wooden staves in his fingers before planting them in the ground and smirking at the master. Cheeky for someone who didn’t even understand how he’d received such excellent skills.
The master of staves stared up at him, wide eyed. "He's better than me with staves and the master archer? That's strange……" he mumbled. He stood up again and took both staves, replacing them to their rightful places. "Head to the next."
Mizutai headed for the Long Sword. The Master Swordsman just watched him come over, afraid to do anything with the powerful boy. He shook his head and gave Mizutai a long sword, still sheathed. He picked up his own and stepped out. "In this test, you have to show me how good you swing your sword, while you make sure you don’t get hit. These swords aren't sharp, but they will give you some good bruises. Make sure you block as good as you can and try to give me a hit. No stabbing because these swords can still do that." He unsheathed his sword and lunged forward, the long sword falling down towards the unarmed Mizutai.
Mizutai unsheathed his sword with great speed, tossing the sheath to one side. He swung up and knocked the sword away from the Master Swordsman, then, he swung to the side and laid a blow on the man's side. The Master Swordsman fell to the ground, his sword dropped and he grabbed his side. There wasn't an injury, but Mizutai had given him a good blow. He grabbed his sword again, after a long pause, and stood up. Mizutai lunged forward, swinging at him again. The Master Swordsman swung at him on the opposite side. Mizutai blocked it with unmatchable speed and laid another blow into this other side. At this, the Swordsman stayed down and looked up at Mizutai. "You're good. But, I'll tell you now that no one is better than the Double Swords Master." He stood up and grabbed his sword, taking the sheath and sword that Mizutai handed him.
Mizutai headed to the next weapon, ready for the challenge. He stood in front of the muscular man. The Double Swords Master held out a set of double swords and pulled out his own. "This is the final weapons test. In this, you'll have to use both swords to get me in a position that I would not be able to escape in battle, one that if I were in it would mean absolute death. Now, get in position because I'm coming!"
Mizutai had only seconds to block the first two blows. He swung the dull Double Swords at the master and hit his side and arm. The master winced, but swung in his next blow. Mizutai took a strong hit on the arm, one that did make him bleed from the force of the blow, but he blocked the other. He ignored the searing pain, though he winced at first, and swung a blade into the master's leg. The master fell to his knees and Mizutai crossed his blades in front of the master's neck. A position of absolute death. Just as the master had instructed, he thought. Mizutai lowered his swords and stepped back. All eyes fell on the young man. He was more powerful and skillful than them all, not to mention, he hadn't even tried elements. If he combined the elements with a weapon, he would be unstoppable.
The Masters all gathered together and talked in private, Mizutai unable to hear their words. When they were done, one of the masters walked forward and left the building. Mizutai watched him, but turned back around when another of the masters walked forward. "What weapon do you wish to have, Mizutai? You have proven that you can have any of the weapons," he said.
Mizutai looked up, his mind already set. "I want the Double Swords." He waited for the next master's words.
The Double Swords Master stepped forward and nodded. "Then you will have Double Swords. I will work on the best Double Swords I’ve ever created. I will inform you when they are finished." He bowed his head, followed by the other three.
Mizutai just watched with confusion. Was this something they were supposed to do if beaten by one? he thought. He shook his head and turned as the door opened again and the Guild Master and the weapon master that had left walked in.
The Guild Master looked at Mizutai with a smile, his arms crossed in his robes. "I hear you've out skilled our masters. I want to see your use of spell stones. Maybe you'll be the one we've been looking for, Mizutai." He nodded to the Master of Spell Stones.
The last master stepped forward and handed Mizutai a bag of crystal-like stones. There were four kinds. One looked like it had flames burning inside the crystal case around it. Another looked like it had wind blowing against a tree in its depths. The other two had what looked like ocean waves and water in it and plants growing in the small gem. Even small leaves could be seen in the one of Earth. They all had specific elements.
Mizutai looked up at the Guild Master. "What do I need to do?" he asked, interested in this new challenge.
The Guild Master looked at the Master of Spell Stones. "You are to get him into a state that he cannot move. You have to get him blocked up somewhere, or on the ground into a position he couldn't move from. I do warn you that the Master of Spell Stones is the best of our weapon masters. He isn't easy and he won’t go easy on you." He smiled wider and stepped back against a wall, the other masters following suit. They all looked out at Mizutai and the Master of Spell Stones.
At once, the fight began. The master grabbed a stone and threw it. It was well aimed, hitting Mizutai with a blast of heat. A fire stone. Mizutai winced at the searing heat, but pulled out his own stone and threw it. This stone blasted a fierce wind into the master. He was blown back, but he stayed on his feet. Mizutai looked down into the bag of stones. He grabbed two. A wind stone and a fire stone, from the looks of it. He threw them both at the same time into the master, who didn't expect such a combination. The searing heat blasted by the wind made a harsh hit and he fell to the ground.
Mizutai smirked at the master as he scrambled to his feet. The master glared at Mizutai with a hidden anger. This boy was good, far better than anyone in the Guild. The master looked into his own bag and grabbed two stones, throwing them at Mizutai with a great force. Mizutai jumped out of the way, causing the stones to hit the wall. The wall grew plants that glowed with a fiery light. "An earth and fire stone, huh?" he muttered. He grabbed two stones out of his and smiled, throwing them at the master. They hit and the man froze in place, like ice. Mizutai turned to the Guild Master. "Does that count as unable to move?" he asked.
The Guild Master saw the combination and nodded. "You are a great fighter and your skills rank past the entire Guild's. You'll still have to stay an apprentice, but at least you know how to fight. I do request that these fights stay secret from the rest of the Guild. And Mizutai? Act as if you haven't any training in the skill of fighting. It wouldn't be good to show that kind of fighting skill right now." He smiled and looked at the other masters. They bowed to the young man and returned to their posts in the weaponry. The Guild Master, then, turned and walked out the door, heading for the Dorm of the two apprentices Mizutai wanted to stay with.
Mizutai bowed back to the masters and turned to follow the Guild Master. They walked across the grounds to the small building. It was starting to get dark around the grounds when they entered. It seemed that when the Guild Master left Mizutai to get his weapon, he was getting the Dorm set up for Mizutai's staying.
Mizutai saw the boy and girl from earlier that day. They were both sitting in armchairs by the large table in the center of the room, eating. They turned around at the sound of the door opening. "Guild Master," they both said, standing and bowing their heads.
The Guild Master waved a hand. "Please stand up. It's time for you to meet your newest acquaintance, Mizutai. He'll be in your apprentice group," he said, holding a hand out towards Mizutai to show he was it.
The boy and girl stood up and nodded. "I'm Kira," the girl said, smiling. She looked over at the boy.
The boy didn’t smile but still responded. "I'm Tace. Nice to meet you," he said. He nodded and looked at the Guild Master with a little confusion. "Isn't he too old to be training? He looks like he should already have graduated into a Hero."
The girl nodded as the Guild Master spoke. "He's going to be training with you while his dog is getting better." He smiled at the two interested apprentices.
Kira smiled back. "Ok, Mizutai. You'll be comfortable here. We have the best home." She grabbed Mizutai's hand and bolted off, leaving Tace and the Guild Master.
The Guild Master chuckled to himself. "She'll keep him busy. He needs to get his mind of his dog, anyway. And after that…………" he muttered, shaking his head. He looked towards Tace. "Make sure she doesn't keep him up. He starts training tomorrow." He turned and walked out of the building.
Tace looked after him before turning and heading after Kira and Mizutai. He found them in the sleeping room. Kira was showing him where he was sleeping and everything else he would need to know about the Dorm.
Kira was pointing at her bed. "This is where I sleep. I'm across the room from the boys. You're on the other side with Tace." She pointed over there. Seeing that Tace had come in she ran over to him.
Tace smiled at his friend. "I see you've already shown him everything, Kira. Thanks," he said. He looked over at Mizutai, who was older than both of them. "So, Mizutai, what weapons were you good at?" he asked, with a smirk. He didn't think the boy was good.
Mizutai thought of what the Guild Master had told him. "Actually, I got to choose what weapon I wanted. I'll be using Double Swords," he replied.
Tace and Kira stared at him, but soon recovered. "Ok, what quality weapon will you get? I bet you got okay metals like hardened aluminum or copper," Tace said, getting a tone. He didn't take kindly to others better than him.
Mizutai looked down as he spoke. "The craftsman told me that I'd have the best blades in the guild." He couldn't look the young apprentices in the eye, feeling guilty that he was better than them, even if they'd been training for most of their lives.
Kira and Tace looked at each other, awestruck. Kira looked at him with wide eyes. "You must be really good, then, huh?" she said.
Mizutai looked up at the two and nodded. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked them, quietly.
Kira immediately nodded, smiling. "I can keep a secret!" she exclaimed.
Tace wasn't so sure. He stared at Mizutai with squinted eyes before he finally nodded. "What is it, then?" he asked.
Mizutai looked towards the door to make sure no one was coming in. He glanced back at the two. "I'll tell you right now that I'm not from around here. I don't know where I am, yet I feel I’ve been here before. I don't recognize any of the trees or plants. I don't know what you train for here. I don't know what I'm supposed to do." He looked down again, a hand covering his face. "I don’t know what to do, now," he said.
Kira looked at him with a sorrowful face. "I'm sorry that I can't help you find your way home. But, I can help you while you're here. Tace and I will get you used to it here so that you can act like you're training, and like you know what you're doing."
Tace gave her a look that said, 'Don't bring me into this.' But, Kira glared at him. "Yes, you'll be helping," she said.
Tace glared back at her, but crossed his arms and nodded. "Fine, I'll help," he muttered.
Mizutai nodded his thanks and looked back towards the table. His stomach growled as he did. Kira smiled and took his arm again, leading him over. "It's time for supper. Enjoy!" she said.
Mizutai sat down and took a plate. Tace watched him from the next room, glaring. He didn't like Mizutai in the least bit. This boy came here, taking his friend and out matching him with the art of fighting. He sighed and walked out, sitting down by Kira and eating, himself. They all ate in quiet until Mizutai yawned. He was tired after all of the things that happened today.
Kira looked at him and pointed. "Go to bed. You're starting your training tomorrow, Mizutai," she said.
Tace nodded his agreement. "Yeah, the Guild Master told me to get you to bed tonight. Go on."
Mizutai stood up and walked into the bedroom without another word. He took of his robes and hung them over the end of his bed before climbing in and falling right to sleep.
Not to long after, Tace and Kira followed suit and went to bed, too. It would be a long day tomorrow for Mizutai. He had a lot to learn.
(In fact, I really hate it...)
Prologue:
“Garth Reiley! Come up and show us your project!” Mr. Pease called from behind his desk. He looked up from the check paper he was marking down his students on. His almost electric blue eyes twinkled as he lifted a hand to scratch his long silver hair, which was tied back with a hair band, carefully. He had a beard, but it wasn’t much of anything. Wearing a pair of jeans and a polo shirt, Mr. Pease was everything like the normal teacher in looks. However, his personality varied from confusing to very exciting. Often, the class had fun because he had a way of bringing the real world into his classes and it helped his high school students learn in his class. Most of the high school enjoyed talking with him outside of the classroom and school, too. Basically, these students were used to their, strange elderly teacher.
From the smack dab center of the classroom, row five, column five, a boy stood up. His bright green eyes and messy, dark brown hair looked just the same as everyday. A pair of khaki pants and a blue t-shirt, marked with a strange design of his own creation, made up his entire wardrobe, not including his tennis shoes. With a gaze full of creativity, he was often thought to be the easiest to pick on, and normally, he was. He’d turn sixteen tomorrow and, though he wasn’t smiling, he was extremely excited about it.
The rest of the class looked up at him expectantly as he turned around to face them. His projects for the class were interesting and mind boggling. The things he wrote were like different worlds all in a notebook or on a binder of paper. This time, in his hands, he was holding a thick binder, filled with paper. He opened the thick binder and flipped through some of the pages, as if reassuring himself he was ready for this introduction into his new idea. Glancing around the room again, he started with a wide smile.
“This two week Spring Vacation,” he began looking towards Mr. Pease momentarily, who nodded with a small smile. “I decided to write about a world I created a few months ago. It took a lot of work to think of the idea and the story behind the countries and places held in this new world. Troy and Krista knew about it, but they probably didn’t think I’d ever finish in such a short time. Always thought I’d give up after finding out how much work it was to create such a detailed work. But they were always able to help me when I asked for ideas.” He smiled when they nodded at him, both winking quite enthusiastically. His two closest friends and behind them, a younger student that was always with them as well. “And I don’t know about Pryce, but he was involved, too, I guess. He gave me a few pointers to help out with some of the city creations.” Pryce blushed behind Troy and Krista, who looked back with wide smiles.
Garth shook his hand and waved off the growing questions that were starting to rise. The din of noise died down at the gesture of his quieting wave and the students all looked forward again. For some reason, the class always found him the one to listen to. With his dreams, he had always found writing awesome. And when he showed off his stuff, his class usually held onto his speeches with wide eyes and gasps of awe. He was just interesting, he thought, but in fact, he was the laugh of the school. Though the class acted well, everyone else knew that Garth wasn’t the best person to become friends with. Heck, Troy and Krista, and even Pryce, paid for befriending the quiet, strange, author of a boy. At least, for the moment, he felt he could do anything and began explaining his story. Starting with some of the images he’d drawn.
“I’m not going to read it, it’d take way too much time, but I’ve been looking into publishing it for a long time. This story took me a very, very long time to plan and I hope to use it to start my authorship. That can wait, I think, though, because I’ve got other things I’d like to do before starting that journey.” He rummaged through a side pocket on the binder and pulled out a well-drawn picture of something, or someone. It was the main character of the story, a boy about eighteen in age, standing tall with a strong face and a sword in each hand. He had the brightest green eyes anyone could have seen and a mess of dark brown hair on his head that spiked in practically every direction. A set of white robes surrounded him, lined with silver and gold at the hems, marking a certain elegance about the being. The sheaths of the swords glittered in what seemed to be sunlight shining from one side of the paper.
“This is Mizutai Trellii,” he said, smiling at the fact the character looked somewhat like he did. There were those in the class that looked between the two, from picture to human and back again, nodding at the looks of both. It was easy to see they saw a resemblance in the image that they saw in Garth, himself. “He is really the prince of this world, New Earth, where my story is based. He doesn’t know anything about his past, being thrown into the future at least a thousand years, but by the end he’ll find out. He’s strong and wise, even for his age. And, I know that the name of this world might be a name some other people have used, but my world is really our world three thousand years into the future. I have everything planned out, even a huge map that I figured I’d keep at home. The story is based in the Luneani Woods, located in Wilryn, a forest covered country.”
Garth looked at the picture, happily, before putting it back and pulling out another. Already the class was in true awe of this feat no one had even attempted around these parts. They looked at the new picture expectantly, quite interested in this new idea.
This time, the image was a drawing of Garth’s dog, Blue. But, the hound mix had twists to him that made him different for the story. A modified side pack was hung over the dog’s shoulder, covered in pockets most likely filled with supplies for survival. He looked older and had a much smarter gaze in his brown-amber eyes. “Blue’s been added, and I know you’ve all met him before.” He looked happy about some of the fear that flashed through a couple people’s eyes, from remembrance of the time they did something stupid. They’d tried to approach the hound without acting slow and careful about it, resulting in an eruption of barking that sent all of the students into an uproar of laughing. “He’s got a few tweaks to his figure and an addition of items added to him, but he’s still the same. His shoulder pack is filled with small bits of food and a few herbs he can use to help Mizutai through their journeys. In the story, he can talk and read human, speak through thought, and has an array of attacks many would want to watch out for. One of them, he lunges and latches onto an enemy, biting as hard as possible with bone crushing pressure. He and Mizutai aren’t really far apart ever, and can be found together practically everywhere they go, just like me and my Blue.”
He shoved that picture back, carelessly, almost. He really didn’t like any of the other pieces of art compared to his next bit. “Now this next character,” he continued, brow furrowed with the effort of pulling out his next picture, “Is someone everyone might recognize.” He concentrated fully on the task at hand, leaving the class to whisper to each other in low voices. Their eyes were wide with the thought of how much work had been thrown into Garth’s story and about how much time it had to have taken him to finish in such a short time.
With a small muttering of ‘there it is’, everyone looked up and Garth pulled out a picture, carefully. He turned it around with utmost care, trying his best not to touch the drawing with his fingers while trying to give everyone a good view. The fine art and the gold bits that were drawn with a rare pencil even made Mr. Peace gasp in awe. The class was tempted to stand up and come see as Garth set his notebook down on the teacher’s desk and stepped closer. He shook his head to show he didn’t want anyone any closer to his hardest piece of work. The person had long, silver colored hair, tied back with a piece of gold silk near the bottom that made a loose pony tail. The white robes he wore were covered in even more gold and silver, Celtic knots wove here and there on the hems of the sleeves, and around the man’s neck was a gold and silver chain, which held a pretty jewel. It was colored with greens and blues, oranges and yellows, the occasional bit of red and purple even mixed into the fray. He had blue eyes that danced with electricity and power, and it even seemed as if, deeper in those pools, laid wisdom beyond the universe. This person had to be of some high importance. With a smile, he spoke of who the character was. “This is the Guild Master, Evergreen. Does anyone recognize him as someone else?”
In the back, two of the bullies of the school raised their hands, smirking evilly. They weren’t impressed with Garth’s works, and they didn’t like that he was having such a good time showing off. They figured the class was just bluffing as usual. “Yeah, I do,” said the first one, a rough seventeen year old named Will Harin. His greasy black hair looked like liquid oil in the light, his brown eyes glinting with envy and anger. His outfit consisted of torn black jeans and a black t-shirt, and to match, a pair of black shoes. The boy next to him, Greg Cryder, lowered his hand, a hateful smile on his face. He had a slicked back head of blond hair, with eyes the color of a poisonous green. He was wearing a white t-shirt, with his own pair of torn black jeans, as well as a pair of red Converse shoes. “It looks like our teacher. Whoopee! So special! How can we even resist the clapping held inside!” Will continued, sarcastically. However, instead of the usual laughing when he picked on someone else, he received glares for almost everyone. No one was impressed this time. None of the students smiled, nodded, or anything. This presentation was too much for that kind of behavior. Will and Greg quieted down, looking down at their fists with angry eyes. An embarrassment of this size had to be punished now. They weren’t going to let Garth get away with something this good. They’d be getting him back soon enough. It was almost the end of school. Then, their quickly thought out plan would be thrown into action. Without hesitation.
Garth took his picture and put it back, just as carefully as he showed it. All was silent as he placed it back in the side pocket of the binder, eyes wide with the same awe as before. It was amazing what someone could do with extra time on their hands. The story would be perfect for publishing. The class broke out in a stream of claps, that lasted until the bell rang, at least five minutes later. Garth looked up at the clock, which read 3:20, the widest smile in the world on his face.
“You can continue tomorrow if you want, Garth,” Mr. Pease said, quite pleased with his student’s work. He was just as happy as Garth was, as well as proud of the boy. “I’m sure everyone will want to know more about your characters and your world. You can have the entire class tomorrow, which means our test is on Monday.” He smiled, thoughtfully, looking at the binder that held his Garth’s work. “You’ve done a good job. Make sure you show the principle. Mrs. Deryk will enjoy that quite a lot. There might be something she can help you with if you’re interested in publishing soon. She was an editor before she decided to teach.”
Garth smiled back, giving a nod. He hadn’t known Mrs. Deryk was an editor, and she could be very valuable in the time to come. He gathered up all the things on his desk, quickly, and worked his way into the busy hallway, where he guarded his binder with fiercely tensed arms. When he reached his locker he put in the combination as fast as possible, which he’d memorized just as fast as he had everything else he had to study. With his locker open, he pulled out his backpack and stuffed the many homework bits he had to do, then carefully placed his binder into it, closing the pack slowly. Holding it in front of him, he closed his locker and flipped the pack over his shoulder, checking to make sure it was in the right position. He didn’t want anything to be ruined by careless activity.
“There, time to go wait for mom and Blue,” Garth said, turning to leave. He looked up and down the school, watching the other students as they packed up and left. The hallways had emptied quite a bit, making it easy to move now, too. As he was heading towards the principle’s office, he was stopped, being shoved back a few steps. He glared at the person that’d done it.
“Think that was really funny, didn’t you,” Will asked, Greg at his side. Both were glaring at him incredulously. “You got a lot of attention today. That little binder of yours got us in trouble. We don’t like it, Greg and me. I think you deserve to pay.”
Greg lunged forward, yanking Garth’s pack away from his grasping hands before he could do anything to stop it. “Give it back!” Gar yelled, swinging a fist at the two. However, they moved back, digging through his pack for the one thing they knew they could hold hostage at a high price. “Got it, Will,” Greg said, pulling out the binder that held everything Garth had worked on in the last few months.
Will threw Garth’s bag back at him, opening the binder to look at the things inside.
“Don’t look in there! It’s not finished yet!” Garth yelled, running at them with one hand full. “Give it back!”
However, he was stopped when he went to catch his binder, which had been thrown at him. With it safely in his hands, he looked to see what the two had taken. In Will’s hand, all of the art that’d been stashed in the pockets of the binder were being looked through, and then crumbled. Garth could see the back piece was the one he’d so painstakingly worked on for so long. In Greg’s hand, a huge bit of the middle of the story was being read slowly before the papers were dropped and stepped all over with his dirty shoe, which made the pages unreadable.
Gar began to shake, not only from fury, but from fear of losing everything. His papers were all hand written and would take a long time to rewrite. The picture of the Guild Master had taken many, many late nights of planning and drawing before even the slightest bit of color was added to it. “Please, don’t!” Gar yelled, dropping his back and tackling Will. He scrabbled for the art he could still get and, as he got to his feet, grabbed the story from Greg. He took off down the hall, leaving his pack behind. There was nothing of importance in there to him at the moment.
He could hear the footsteps of Will and Greg running after him, leaving all their destruction behind them with Garth’s pack. Will was not only angry, but now wanting revenge for the punch Garth had laid into his cheek.
Why did I do that? I don’t usually do anything like that. Now I’m dead! Why can’t I just stop trying like that! Someone, SAVE ME! Garth’s desperate thoughts wouldn’t save him this time. Normally, someone would appear. He only had good luck he figured. But his luck had run out. Rounding a corner, the thundering footfalls behind him of his pursuers, he could see the back doors of the school. And there was his mom! He yanked the doors open, shoving his way outside and into his family’s truck, slamming the door. Just beyond the double doors, he could see the two glaring bullies, watching him as his mother drove off as quickly as she could. She’d seen the way her son had appeared.
After a long and silent drive away from the school, they’d stopped at a red light. Garth’s mother looked at him, her eyes concerned. “What happened? Where’s your backpack?”
Gar was staring ahead, tears streaming down his face, quietly. He hadn’t said a word since he’d looked through his binder to see all the damage. He gulped, wiping away the tears, though they just kept coming, and answered in a whisper. “Will and Greg didn’t like the idea of me getting all the attention for my hard work. They’ve ruined half of it and crumpled most of my art of the characters. I managed to save some of it.” He looked down at his hand, where eight sheets of drawing paper were. The one in the back, the one of the Guild Master, was torn at a corner and some of the charcoal was smeared. “And they even ruined part of my story. Greg took all those papers I had hand written on and smudged them beyond reading.” He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.
His mom looked utterly ticked. She was glaring into space. “We’ll just have to talk with the principal. She can help us here. There’s no way she’ll look over something like this.”
As the light turned green, Gar’s mom drove forward, slowly, like normal. However, today was different. Garth had put all his papers away and stuck the binder in the back of the truck. Blue snuffled at it, but laid down over it just the same. He was very protective of his best friend’s works. Not to mention his best friend. Garth looked up and to his right, out his window. All he could see was at the grill of a truck. “MOM!” he shouted, but the damage was done. It was too late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Emergency! Doctor quick!” Garth’s mom was standing beside the stretcher Gar had been brought in on. Blue had been tied outside. Hospital regulations. A man in a white coat appeared inside the curtain surrounded bed. He looked at Gar’s mom, who was sobbing over her son’s body. “Mrs. Reiley, you’ll have to wait in the front. We’ll come and get you if there are any changes,” he said, calmly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, then lifted her up. A nurse took her into the waiting room in the front of the hospital.
“It’ll be alright, Mrs. Reiley. Dr. Wenlend is the expert doctor of the hospital. He’ll do his best to save your son.” The nurse sat down with Mrs. Reiley, looking almost as white as the mother did.
Garth’s mother looked down in her hand, tears dropping onto the cover of the binder she’d taken with her. “He was so upset about this binder,” she mumbled to the nurse’s surprise. “A couple of bullies had ruined part of the work in here and taken all of his art. I couldn’t stand to see him in such a state. We talked before the light turned green and then the crash occurred. There was nothing I could to do stop it from happening. I couldn’t even reverse the truck. Blue was alright, but Garth……… He’s so……” She sniffled, eyes welling up immensely. “I couldn’t help……” she said, breaking into sobbing against the comforting nurse’s shoulder.
After awhile, Mrs. Reiley was sitting alone. It was only six o’ clock, but she felt as if she could sleep for days at that moment. She stood up and went outside to the payphone and called home. Mr. Reiley would be home by now. There was no way to contact him any earlier. It rang twice, then someone picked up. (Hello?) the voice said, sounding worried. “Hello, Trent,” Mrs. Reiley addressed her husband. She sniffled and her voice was thick with pain and sadness. “You need to come to the hospital. There was a crash today and…… and…… Garth’s……” She started crying again. From across the phone came (Alright, dear, calm down. I’ll be there in a minute. Let me get my keys. Calm down and wait for me, Trish.) There was a click and Trent had gone. Trish hung up and sat down next to Blue, who’d only received a scratch on his shoulder. He’d be treated when Trent left later on.
Trish didn’t have to wait long. Trent drove in driving their other truck. The family ran a farm and they used both trucks everyday. Trent parked and walked as quick as he could, hugging Trish when he got to her. “What happened, Trish? Where’s Garth?” he asked, looking at his wife and Blue. They’d been scratched up but Trish was cleaned up and Blue was just happy to see him. “Can we see him yet?”
“N-No,” Trish replied, turning towards the emergency doors. “But we should wait inside…” She wrapped an arm around Trent and pulled him along. Trent didn’t object, seeing as his wife was ready to collapse in his arms in tears anyway. Blue lay down under the bench to wait even more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trish and Trent were up all night. By morning, even Blue had grown worried and awoken from dreams even a dog shouldn’t have to endure. While Trent was out paying Blue some attention, Dr. Wenlend appeared from the door. He’d cleaned up as not to worry the parents of his patient. “Mrs. Reiley? Where is your husband? You can go see Garth now,” he said as calmly as he could. It was hard not to be shaken up by everything he’d had to work with. “Garth is in a coma but you may go see him now.”
Trish was on her feet in seconds. She bolted outside and explained the situation with Trent and the two left Blue, yet again, to go see how Garth was.
“I’ll come talk with you after that,” Trent said to Blue as he and Trish went inside. The two followed after the doctor, up two floors to the recovery level. Gar would be here for a long while.
As the door opened to the one bed room and both Trent and Trish could see where Garth was, their hearts sank. Their son was definitely sleeping. A mask covered his nose and mouth to ensure he’d keep breathing. IVs and needles were attached to his wrists and arms, feeding medicine into his blood. Trish was to the point where she would break down, but she held firm.
“How long do you suppose Gar will be like this?” Trent asked Dr. Wenlend, quietly. He had his arms wrapped tightly around Trish. The two were locked in a comforting embrace as they stared at the bed their only son slept in.
“It could be only a few days, or it could be a month. This is one thing I cannot be certain about,” the doctor replied. He turned and closed the door, leaving the parents to sit with their unconscious son. And sit they did.
After Trent had taken Blue home and Trish had gone in to school to explain the situation, the family sat in the room, quietly. Visitors came and left, but it didn’t change the thoughts both had on their minds.
Will Garth ever wake up?
Chapter One
A Newcomer to the Guild
It was midnight at the Guild of Warriors. The stars shone bright over top the large grounds and the apprentices and mentors all were asleep. Only the passing guards for that night made any movements. The garden, where the vegetables were grown, was bathed in the dim moonlight.
Suddenly, a bright flash broke into the darkness, covering everything around the garden with blinding light. The Guild Master, who was passing on his own rounds, was right next to the gardens when the light flashed. It had startled him at first, but as it died down he seemed to be transfixed on something. Two figures lay motionless in the garden's plants. A man of what looked like the age of nineteen and a mixed breed hound dog, both, were sleeping and unmoving in the night.
At first sight, the Guild Master could see these two beings weren't from anywhere around there. The boy, his spiky brown hair making him look as if he'd been scared, wore a silken shirt and a pair of fine cloth pants. Leather boots decorated his feet. His dog had on a strip of blue cloth around its neck.
The Guild Master stepped forwards for the young boy, but suddenly he stopped. The boy was awaking. Bright green eyes opened to the world, tired and half open. A hand reached up to the boy's face as the other pushed off the ground to set him up. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It was as if he was confused by his surroundings. Somewhere he’d been yet hadn’t been. He looked at the buildings, counting with his fingers and nodding at all the designs. Soon a small smile had crept onto his face. Then he looked at the dog at his side. He, himself, didn't seem to be injured but he did look frazzled by the sight of his dog.
Immediately, arms lunged out and pulled the hound to his side. "Blue, wake up," he said, softly. There's such care in his voice, the Guild Master thought. But, he shook the thoughts away when the dog didn't move. It seemed the dog had the injuries. Though unnoticed before, now it was clear the hound mix was bleeding. Blood had pooled around his chest and side. The boy leaned down, tears falling down his cheeks. "Blue……wake up……." he whispered again. But, still, the dog didn't move.
At this growing dilemma, the Guild Master set right to work. He jolted forward to the boy's side. "Hello, young man. Please tell me your name. I can help your dog here. I'm the Guild Master of this place. What was your dog's name? Blue, am I right?"
The boy had been startled by the Guild Master's first words, but the calm tone from the man by him relaxed him quite a bit. "His name is Blue. I'm Mizutai," he said. As he said his name, he looked more confused then before, like it wasn’t his name, but he knew it well. A name he’d called his own only in his dreams, maybe.
The Guild Master stared for a moment, interested in the boy's name and the reaction it’d been given, and then nodded kindly. "Okay, Mizutai. You must go hide right away. Into the trees with you. You're not supposed to be here. As for Blue, I'll get the caretaker of animals. Your dog will live in his care." A soothing smile crossed his face and he held his hand out. He gave Mizutai a small dagger. "Keep this safe and hidden," he said. "Now, hurry up. We haven't much time until the guards pass by and they aren't under my control at night."
Mizutai nodded, though he was reluctant to leave his dog's side. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving Blue with someone he didn't know. "Take care of him. He's my only and best friend," he said. He stood up and bolted into the forest. The Guild Master watched Mizutai for a moment. “He’s a very strange boy, isn’t he,” he mumbled, thinking quickly. “However, he might be the one we’ve all been waiting for. Perhaps he’ll stay here. He could be of use to New Earth.”
As he finished speaking, the Guild Master stood up. He headed for a small building on the grounds. With a small knock, he let himself in. Another man sat inside, a bit startled by the sudden coming of the Guild Master. He was on his feet and waiting for orders or at least to know the reason the Guild Master had come at such a late hour.
“Trouble Hawthorn. There's a dog in immediate need of help. Follow me, he's in the garden,” the Guild Master said, turning as quick as he’d come in and leaving.
The second man, Hawthorn, grabbed a back from the table next to him and was at the Guild Master's side in a second. He was lead off into the dim lighted night to the gardens. He worked into the night, and even into the morning, as the light filtered over his head. The Guild Master had gone off to his Dorm to do things of his own matter.
When Hawthorn had finished, he carefully picked the dog up and moved him to his hut, carrying his bag in his teeth with great difficulty. Something was happening, he knew. He laid the dog in one of the many pens that lined the huge building behind his home, then went to his hut. He went to sleep, having spent the night working.
Chapter Two
The Guild of Warriors
Sunlight showed first light over the trees at the edge of the inner grounds of the Guild. The fields, where the previous night's activity had taken place, were quiet. The vegetables had been fixed up, though they still looked as though something big had fallen on them. Dew glittered on the grass around the garden all the way to the wall of trees that separated the training grounds and fields from the inner grounds. The tall grassy fields outside the tree wall glittered with a thinner layer of dew.
Buildings stood all over the inner grounds. There were many small structures, and in the center of one line was an enormous building. It was the Guild Meeting Hall. Regal and jeweled, it stood tall in the pinkish morning sky. The first light of day hit its roof and flowed down as the sun rose.
One of the smaller buildings showed sign of movement. A young girl walked out of the door, stretching and yawning. She had long brown hair, tied up in the back and deep sapphire blue eyes. She seemed to be an apprentice of the Guild. Behind her appeared an older boy, his deep black hair and green eyes shining. They had the same mentor. A mentor had three apprentices at the most. And these two were just the trainees of one mentor. Many other boys and girls appeared behind them from other Dorms, flooding the grounds where the gardens lay. They were all headed for the Dining Hall, a large building opposite the Dorms and the meeting building.
From the trees, the boy, Mizutai, watched. He was hungry, but he had been instructed to stay hidden and he would. He hoped his dog was okay, but he was too afraid to leave the trees to find out how Blue was doing. His bright eyes watched with interest as the apprentices appeared from the Dorms and headed for the Dining Hall. They were all wearing strange clothes to him. White long sleeved robes that almost touched the ground. Well fitted sandals could be seen beneath the robe hems, and sometimes leather boots, much like his own.
Mizutai was amazed by such different clothes. He watched as the first boy and girl talked to each other and turned, heading in a different direction. The girl held a bow, its red wood glimmering with an unseen power, and a quiver across her back. The boy had his hand on the hilt of a long sword, sheathed, but still elegant. They were heading for another building he hadn't noticed. It was taller than the other Dorms, but shorter than the huge Meeting Hall. The Guild Master's study. They headed past that, still, and towards the edge of the trees opposite him. The girl disappeared through the tree wall, followed by the boy after he looked to make sure the coast was clear. The hole they went through couldn't be seen, even after they left.
Mizutai turned his gaze back to the Dining hall when they disappeared into the land beyond. His stomach growled at him and he closed his eyes, hands grabbing hold of it. "Man, I'm hungry," he muttered. Something rustled near him and he turned to see the Guild Master walking down the path by the forest. Mizutai stood up straight and looked at him as the Guild Master stopped in front of him. "I hope you slept as well as you could," he said.
Mizutai nodded. "Better than I usually do," he replied. He smiled and pulled himself from the trees. "Is Blue ok?" he asked right away.
The Guild Master nodded. "He's fine. The caretaker, Hawthorn, has him in his home, caring for him. He takes care of the dogs for the Guild, as well as the other animals we have here. I told him about you and he thought it would be better if you stayed with a couple of our apprentices like you were really a part of the Guild. I said it was up to you, but I think it is a good idea. No one would know you weren't one of us. It's a great disguise while your dog is getting better. You could even become a part of the Guild if you worked for it. I can't give you one of the keys, you'll have to make your own, but I can give you one of our weapons. That would make you look like you belong here. What do you think?"
Mizutai looked towards the Dorm where the boy and girl had appeared from. "I think it's a good idea. I'll stay here until I can leave and I'll make my own key. But, I won't stay after that unless there is something I must absolutely stay for. As for weapons, I'll look for one that I find good enough to use while I'm here. It would be good to train with weapons again. My skills could be worked on while I'm resting undercover here. I thank you for allowing me to stay." Though he didn’t even know he could fight or had any weapon skills, he bowed his head, grateful that such kindness could be found here. But, he did feel irritated that he wouldn't be considered a member of the Guild until he proved himself worthy of it. He had to make his own key and act as if he were a member, even if he weren't. He lifted his head again to look at the Guild Master.
The Guild Master looked at him with interested eyes, one eye brow raised at the young man's offers and requests. "I guess you must know what you're doing. I'll take you to get your weapons now while the rest of the apprentices are at breakfast. We'll get you an outfit made and you can go into the forest to get wood. After your key is made, you are not to go in there. It is off limits to the apprentices." He looked into Mizutai's eyes with seriousness. "I mean it," he said.
Mizutai nodded. "I understand. I do have one of the houses I would like to stay in, if you don't mind my request." He looked over to where the boy and girl had come from and pointed. "I want to stay with those apprentices," he said.
The Guild Master looked, a small smile crossing his face. "Did you see them today?" he asked.
Mizutai nodded as he looked back. "Yes, I saw them. They seemed to be nice to me," he replied.
The Guild Master looked back at him. "That is fine. You can stay with Kira and Tace. They are adventurous and love to learn. I think you'll fit in well with them. Your mentor will be Master Catalpa. I'll send him word. You'll also be caring for the gardens alone for awhile. You did crush the lettuce. When you've proven yourself, I'll call you a member, even if you don’t stay. Come along. We need to get you some clothes and a weapon. When you get a weapon, you have to test it out. There are certain members here that are experts at all the different weapons. You'll fight one of them to see which you handle the best. You try them all to see if you are good at more than one, and if you are, you choose which you want." He nodded and lead the way to another of the buildings.
Mizutai followed along, though he didn't like the idea of becoming a member even if he didn't stay. He was reluctant to do as the Guild Master said, hearing all he had.
When they reached the outfitters’ building, the Guild Master opened the door. Mizutai followed him into the building. He looked towards two people, a man and a woman, sitting to the left. They were the outfitters. The Guild Master nodded when they bowed their heads and said, "Guild Master." It seemed that was how the members of the Guild showed they knew their leader. "This boy here needs an apprentice outfit," the Guild master replied.
The two looked at Mizutai. "Isn't he too old to be a starting apprentice?" the man asked. He and the woman didn't seem to think he would be able to become an apprentice here.
The Guild Master shook his head. "No, he'll be fine. Now, if you don't mind, get him an outfit." He looked a little taken aback by their question, but there was no anger. He just seemed a bit wondering.
The man nodded and they both took hold of Mizutai, pulling him forward to a stand. They pushed him up on it and threw a robe on him. They fitted it, lengthened it, and stitched it to his size. All the while, Mizutai was standing on the stool, waiting to be finished with this bothersome task.
When they were done, Mizutai looked as if he were supposed to be there. He looked at his new outfit, over top his old, with a confused look. He seemed to be irritated, as if he'd been in this position of a guild before, as if he'd already done all of the training before. As if he didn’t even know he’d gone through all the training and didn’t understand why he thought he had before.
The Guild Master saw this and kept it in mind as he pulled Mizutai down from the stand. "Does it feel okay?" he asked, looking the boy up and down.
Mizutai nodded. "Yes, it's fine," he replied. He held his arms out and looked himself over, taking in his new look.
The Guild Master turned and started to leave. "Thank you. We'll be off now," he called back.
Mizutai followed after him, glancing back at the fitters and nodding his thank you. They left and headed for a building to the right. The weaponry. The Guild Master opened the door to his building and walked in.
"It's time for you to get your weapons. I'll leave you here." He turned and shut the door behind him, leaving Mizutai in a room with five men. They looked at him. "Hello. What's your name and what would you like to try first?" one of them asked. He smiled at Mizutai.
Mizutai looked at him. "I'm Mizutai. What do you have for me to try?" he said. He looked at the other men in the room before returning his gaze to the first man that spoke.
The man looked around at the other men. "We have double swords, long swords, staves, and long bows and arrows. The spell stones are only to be given to special apprentices the Guild Master requests," he said. He looked back at Mizutai. "So what do you want to try first?" he asked again.
Mizutai had been thinking about it while the man was talking. "I'll try the bow first," he decided.
The man nodded and stepped out from where he was. "I happen to be the master archer. In this, you'll have to hit the target in the center as many times as you can with a quiver of arrows. There are twenty-five arrows so you have to try and get twenty-five bulls eyes." He picked up a bow, studied it, and handed it to Mizutai. "This bow will do well for you right now. Step up to the line and loose. The faster and more bulls' eyes you get, the more likely you are to get this weapon out of the four." He stepped back and waited, watching the young man with inquisitive eyes.
Mizutai did as told and stepped up to the line. Knowledge of the weapon flooded his mind and he worked on that alone. He aimed for the mark and loosed. The arrow made a perfect hit, right on the bulls eye, and Mizutai drew another arrow from the quiver. He released again and again, hitting the mark on every one.
The master archer stared in awe, just as the others did. "He's better than even me," he muttered. He stepped up as Mizutai released the last arrow, hitting the bull's eye again. He took the bow and the quiver from Mizutai and looked at the others. "Head to the next one you want to try," he mumbled, turning and walking to put the weapon away.
Mizutai headed for the Staff next. He didn't know what to expect from this one. The master of staves stepped forward and handed him a staff, one the right size for him, and pulled out his own staff. "In this test, you'll have to fight with the staff and get me down. If you can get me down, without falling yourself, you'll be a good candidate for this weapon. These staves can be used for elemental fighting, but only older Guild members know any of that. Now, go!" The man lunged forward, staff swinging through the air towards Mizutai.
Again, Mizutai blocked the attack and swiped into the master's side with a hard blow without needing to think about what to do. It came natural to him and his fighting was expert. The master of staves staggered back, balancing in time to get another blow to his own staff. He swung again, but Mizutai took the hit with his hand, grabbing hold of the wooden stick and pulling it clean out of the master's hands. He took both staves and jammed them under the master's legs. Then, pulled back and the master of staves fell to the ground. Mizutai swirled the wooden staves in his fingers before planting them in the ground and smirking at the master. Cheeky for someone who didn’t even understand how he’d received such excellent skills.
The master of staves stared up at him, wide eyed. "He's better than me with staves and the master archer? That's strange……" he mumbled. He stood up again and took both staves, replacing them to their rightful places. "Head to the next."
Mizutai headed for the Long Sword. The Master Swordsman just watched him come over, afraid to do anything with the powerful boy. He shook his head and gave Mizutai a long sword, still sheathed. He picked up his own and stepped out. "In this test, you have to show me how good you swing your sword, while you make sure you don’t get hit. These swords aren't sharp, but they will give you some good bruises. Make sure you block as good as you can and try to give me a hit. No stabbing because these swords can still do that." He unsheathed his sword and lunged forward, the long sword falling down towards the unarmed Mizutai.
Mizutai unsheathed his sword with great speed, tossing the sheath to one side. He swung up and knocked the sword away from the Master Swordsman, then, he swung to the side and laid a blow on the man's side. The Master Swordsman fell to the ground, his sword dropped and he grabbed his side. There wasn't an injury, but Mizutai had given him a good blow. He grabbed his sword again, after a long pause, and stood up. Mizutai lunged forward, swinging at him again. The Master Swordsman swung at him on the opposite side. Mizutai blocked it with unmatchable speed and laid another blow into this other side. At this, the Swordsman stayed down and looked up at Mizutai. "You're good. But, I'll tell you now that no one is better than the Double Swords Master." He stood up and grabbed his sword, taking the sheath and sword that Mizutai handed him.
Mizutai headed to the next weapon, ready for the challenge. He stood in front of the muscular man. The Double Swords Master held out a set of double swords and pulled out his own. "This is the final weapons test. In this, you'll have to use both swords to get me in a position that I would not be able to escape in battle, one that if I were in it would mean absolute death. Now, get in position because I'm coming!"
Mizutai had only seconds to block the first two blows. He swung the dull Double Swords at the master and hit his side and arm. The master winced, but swung in his next blow. Mizutai took a strong hit on the arm, one that did make him bleed from the force of the blow, but he blocked the other. He ignored the searing pain, though he winced at first, and swung a blade into the master's leg. The master fell to his knees and Mizutai crossed his blades in front of the master's neck. A position of absolute death. Just as the master had instructed, he thought. Mizutai lowered his swords and stepped back. All eyes fell on the young man. He was more powerful and skillful than them all, not to mention, he hadn't even tried elements. If he combined the elements with a weapon, he would be unstoppable.
The Masters all gathered together and talked in private, Mizutai unable to hear their words. When they were done, one of the masters walked forward and left the building. Mizutai watched him, but turned back around when another of the masters walked forward. "What weapon do you wish to have, Mizutai? You have proven that you can have any of the weapons," he said.
Mizutai looked up, his mind already set. "I want the Double Swords." He waited for the next master's words.
The Double Swords Master stepped forward and nodded. "Then you will have Double Swords. I will work on the best Double Swords I’ve ever created. I will inform you when they are finished." He bowed his head, followed by the other three.
Mizutai just watched with confusion. Was this something they were supposed to do if beaten by one? he thought. He shook his head and turned as the door opened again and the Guild Master and the weapon master that had left walked in.
The Guild Master looked at Mizutai with a smile, his arms crossed in his robes. "I hear you've out skilled our masters. I want to see your use of spell stones. Maybe you'll be the one we've been looking for, Mizutai." He nodded to the Master of Spell Stones.
The last master stepped forward and handed Mizutai a bag of crystal-like stones. There were four kinds. One looked like it had flames burning inside the crystal case around it. Another looked like it had wind blowing against a tree in its depths. The other two had what looked like ocean waves and water in it and plants growing in the small gem. Even small leaves could be seen in the one of Earth. They all had specific elements.
Mizutai looked up at the Guild Master. "What do I need to do?" he asked, interested in this new challenge.
The Guild Master looked at the Master of Spell Stones. "You are to get him into a state that he cannot move. You have to get him blocked up somewhere, or on the ground into a position he couldn't move from. I do warn you that the Master of Spell Stones is the best of our weapon masters. He isn't easy and he won’t go easy on you." He smiled wider and stepped back against a wall, the other masters following suit. They all looked out at Mizutai and the Master of Spell Stones.
At once, the fight began. The master grabbed a stone and threw it. It was well aimed, hitting Mizutai with a blast of heat. A fire stone. Mizutai winced at the searing heat, but pulled out his own stone and threw it. This stone blasted a fierce wind into the master. He was blown back, but he stayed on his feet. Mizutai looked down into the bag of stones. He grabbed two. A wind stone and a fire stone, from the looks of it. He threw them both at the same time into the master, who didn't expect such a combination. The searing heat blasted by the wind made a harsh hit and he fell to the ground.
Mizutai smirked at the master as he scrambled to his feet. The master glared at Mizutai with a hidden anger. This boy was good, far better than anyone in the Guild. The master looked into his own bag and grabbed two stones, throwing them at Mizutai with a great force. Mizutai jumped out of the way, causing the stones to hit the wall. The wall grew plants that glowed with a fiery light. "An earth and fire stone, huh?" he muttered. He grabbed two stones out of his and smiled, throwing them at the master. They hit and the man froze in place, like ice. Mizutai turned to the Guild Master. "Does that count as unable to move?" he asked.
The Guild Master saw the combination and nodded. "You are a great fighter and your skills rank past the entire Guild's. You'll still have to stay an apprentice, but at least you know how to fight. I do request that these fights stay secret from the rest of the Guild. And Mizutai? Act as if you haven't any training in the skill of fighting. It wouldn't be good to show that kind of fighting skill right now." He smiled and looked at the other masters. They bowed to the young man and returned to their posts in the weaponry. The Guild Master, then, turned and walked out the door, heading for the Dorm of the two apprentices Mizutai wanted to stay with.
Mizutai bowed back to the masters and turned to follow the Guild Master. They walked across the grounds to the small building. It was starting to get dark around the grounds when they entered. It seemed that when the Guild Master left Mizutai to get his weapon, he was getting the Dorm set up for Mizutai's staying.
Mizutai saw the boy and girl from earlier that day. They were both sitting in armchairs by the large table in the center of the room, eating. They turned around at the sound of the door opening. "Guild Master," they both said, standing and bowing their heads.
The Guild Master waved a hand. "Please stand up. It's time for you to meet your newest acquaintance, Mizutai. He'll be in your apprentice group," he said, holding a hand out towards Mizutai to show he was it.
The boy and girl stood up and nodded. "I'm Kira," the girl said, smiling. She looked over at the boy.
The boy didn’t smile but still responded. "I'm Tace. Nice to meet you," he said. He nodded and looked at the Guild Master with a little confusion. "Isn't he too old to be training? He looks like he should already have graduated into a Hero."
The girl nodded as the Guild Master spoke. "He's going to be training with you while his dog is getting better." He smiled at the two interested apprentices.
Kira smiled back. "Ok, Mizutai. You'll be comfortable here. We have the best home." She grabbed Mizutai's hand and bolted off, leaving Tace and the Guild Master.
The Guild Master chuckled to himself. "She'll keep him busy. He needs to get his mind of his dog, anyway. And after that…………" he muttered, shaking his head. He looked towards Tace. "Make sure she doesn't keep him up. He starts training tomorrow." He turned and walked out of the building.
Tace looked after him before turning and heading after Kira and Mizutai. He found them in the sleeping room. Kira was showing him where he was sleeping and everything else he would need to know about the Dorm.
Kira was pointing at her bed. "This is where I sleep. I'm across the room from the boys. You're on the other side with Tace." She pointed over there. Seeing that Tace had come in she ran over to him.
Tace smiled at his friend. "I see you've already shown him everything, Kira. Thanks," he said. He looked over at Mizutai, who was older than both of them. "So, Mizutai, what weapons were you good at?" he asked, with a smirk. He didn't think the boy was good.
Mizutai thought of what the Guild Master had told him. "Actually, I got to choose what weapon I wanted. I'll be using Double Swords," he replied.
Tace and Kira stared at him, but soon recovered. "Ok, what quality weapon will you get? I bet you got okay metals like hardened aluminum or copper," Tace said, getting a tone. He didn't take kindly to others better than him.
Mizutai looked down as he spoke. "The craftsman told me that I'd have the best blades in the guild." He couldn't look the young apprentices in the eye, feeling guilty that he was better than them, even if they'd been training for most of their lives.
Kira and Tace looked at each other, awestruck. Kira looked at him with wide eyes. "You must be really good, then, huh?" she said.
Mizutai looked up at the two and nodded. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked them, quietly.
Kira immediately nodded, smiling. "I can keep a secret!" she exclaimed.
Tace wasn't so sure. He stared at Mizutai with squinted eyes before he finally nodded. "What is it, then?" he asked.
Mizutai looked towards the door to make sure no one was coming in. He glanced back at the two. "I'll tell you right now that I'm not from around here. I don't know where I am, yet I feel I’ve been here before. I don't recognize any of the trees or plants. I don't know what you train for here. I don't know what I'm supposed to do." He looked down again, a hand covering his face. "I don’t know what to do, now," he said.
Kira looked at him with a sorrowful face. "I'm sorry that I can't help you find your way home. But, I can help you while you're here. Tace and I will get you used to it here so that you can act like you're training, and like you know what you're doing."
Tace gave her a look that said, 'Don't bring me into this.' But, Kira glared at him. "Yes, you'll be helping," she said.
Tace glared back at her, but crossed his arms and nodded. "Fine, I'll help," he muttered.
Mizutai nodded his thanks and looked back towards the table. His stomach growled as he did. Kira smiled and took his arm again, leading him over. "It's time for supper. Enjoy!" she said.
Mizutai sat down and took a plate. Tace watched him from the next room, glaring. He didn't like Mizutai in the least bit. This boy came here, taking his friend and out matching him with the art of fighting. He sighed and walked out, sitting down by Kira and eating, himself. They all ate in quiet until Mizutai yawned. He was tired after all of the things that happened today.
Kira looked at him and pointed. "Go to bed. You're starting your training tomorrow, Mizutai," she said.
Tace nodded his agreement. "Yeah, the Guild Master told me to get you to bed tonight. Go on."
Mizutai stood up and walked into the bedroom without another word. He took of his robes and hung them over the end of his bed before climbing in and falling right to sleep.
Not to long after, Tace and Kira followed suit and went to bed, too. It would be a long day tomorrow for Mizutai. He had a lot to learn.