Rising Storm

It was dark. I couldn't see a thing inside of…wherever I was. There was no sound at all in here. All of a sudden I heard it. A cold, sadistic laugh that sent a freezing shiver down my spine.

"Well, well…" It called in an enticing and sultry female voice. "Look at that. It seems thine power is enough to hear me."

As she spoke, I felt a chill wind creep into the place. Soon darkness turned to stone and from mortar seeped a crimson blood onto the floor beneath my feet. I stepped back only to feel cold stone on my back.

Before me the darkness took on many forms. A sinister citadel of rock and metal. A courtyard of massacre and ghostly cries. Crimson mixed with grey in an ominous and almost terrifying fashion.

In the centre of the courtyard stood a statue of an angel. Though at first glance it did not seem so for the wings had been broken and the rubble scattered across the cobbles.

I was staggered back by an enormous force of wind as black shadow twisted up like a cloak around the broken statue. Pitch black shadow shot out in the form of leathery onyx wings as the eyes of the angel turned a piercing crimson.

"Though hearing is not enough." The voice once more spoke. "Until you have power enough to see my form, you cannot hope to best what is to come."

It cackled with such a foreboding aura. It was unsettling to hear, it even sent a small shiver down my spine.

"Even now I sense her power." It continued. "A power enough to destroy all should it go untamed. I ask of you to make sure it does not happen. I have chosen you."

Chosen? For what? Who is 'her'? Those were the questions that lay in my mind as the prophetic voice died down. The onyx wings faded away as the darkness cleared itself from my vision.

And I awoke.

*****

In a village nameless from its remote location in the country, a pair of girls walked through the dirt paths. One might think that there was a mirror between the two because of their appearance. One wore blue and red twin-tails, the red larger than the blue. The other wore the same, but mirrored. The major point of interest was their shining golden eyes. A rare colour among humans.

The simplest way to tell these two girls apart was by their weapons. One wielded a scythe with a blade on each end. The other held a steel rod decorated with amulets and talismans.

"When are we gonna get there Mizu?" the one with the scythe asked with a tone of annoyance in her voice. "We're sick of all this damn walking."

"Patience Miu." the one with the staff replied with an authority in her voice. "We will get there when we get there."

Soon enough, Mizu walked toward a small stall of a vegetable shop. She stood with a relaxed stance as she picked up a bunch of apples and placed them in a small sack, leaving a whole gold piece on the stall in front of the shopkeeper.

"Excuse me." Mizu asked the old shopkeeper. "Would you be able to tell me the way to Sherpstal? Me and my sister are awfully lost, and can't seem to find the way there."

"You look a bit young to be travelling around a remote place like this." the shopkeeper replied with a rather amiable tone. "Though I'd be happy to help a traveller. The way to Sherpstal is just down the road from here, maybe a few days' walk. You'll see it when you reach the old forest."

"Thank you." Mizu responded with a small smile on her face. "Do you happen to have any news on the Baron Alaric while I'm here?"

"I heard that some street brat beat him in a sword-fight." he answered as he laughed. "Imagine that. One of our war heroes being taken down by some silly kid. By now I expect that the news is reaching the Capitol."

"This street brat sounds like no laughing matter." Mizu replied with a straight face. "In fact he may become dangerous if he has ill intentions towards the country."

"You may be right…" the shopkeeper replied. "But it has no bearing here. We aren't likely to experience whatever happens out there. We're just a remote little village."

"I see. Thank you anyway for the directions." Mizu gave a respectful bow before she turned to walk down the path with Miu in tow.

The two sisters walked down the dirt path, and just about to the entrance of a small woodland before they were met with another encounter. In front of them now was a band of five rugged men wielding chipped and cracked swords. By the look of them, Mizu assumed them to be bandits attacking the people who left the village.

"Hey there girlie." the one in the middle called. He was a rather tall man with a dark brown beard that went down to his chest. "There's a toll to pass through our forest. Since there's two of yers…twenty gold."

Mizu simply sighed in response. "I don't have time to deal with this…"

"It's just a simple toll." the man responded. "Just pay up and you can go through. Or don't you have the money?"

"Look." Mizu said in a deadpan tone. "Why don't I let you live as my payment?"

To this the men simply laughed. The ringleader pointed a finger at Mizu with a look of annoyance on his face.

"You can't beat all of us." he replied. "Now pay up or we'll take it from yers."

Mizu sighed once more as she lifted her staff up and pointed the end toward the man's chest. He looked at her in confusion as Mizu tapped the end that she was holding.

"Demonic Arts: Destruction." Mizu uttered softly as the tip of her staff poked the man in the chest.

Suddenly a blast of dark energy came from the staff and punched a football sized hole straight into the man's chest. He fell backwards before ending up on the ground, his heart already gone. His friends backed up in awe and fear.

"M-Magic…" one of them said. "She's a Witch!"

Mizu sighed yet again. "Miu. Take care of the rest for me. I'll just be up the road." she looked to Miu before carrying on up the road, the men backing away and letting her through. Miu grinned with a hint of madness.

"We'll take care of it sis." she replied, smiling before drawing her scythe and spinning it around quickly. In but a moment she dashed and slashed between the four remaining men, each attack was quick and lethal as she hooked her scythe around to decapitate each one. Not even a scream made it out before Miu was finished.

"Boring…" Miu scoffed before walking on, wiping the blood off of the blade and holstering her weapon as she caught up to Mizu.

The two carried on walking as though nothing had just happened. They kept going through the forest, and ended up about a quarter of the way into the trail before stopping. It had become dark, and Mizu lit a small flame out of nowhere on the end of her staff.

Mizu then began to set up a camp, using rocks as a fence of sorts while she simply used an opaque magic barrier to shield herself and Miu from any potential rain. Miu sat down and rested against a rock while Mizu sat next to her.

"When do you think we'll get there sis?" Miu asked. "I wanna find her quick."

"In time Miu." Mizu replied. "We've still got much to do before that. I need more information on that street brat. If he fought and defeated the Baron Alaric, chances are high that he is linked to her. If so, I would like to know if he would join us or if he would stop us. We must deal with threats before they start."

"You're right sis." Miu replied. "We will wait if that's what you want."

Miu yawned as she fell asleep against Mizu's shoulder. Mizu covered her with her travel cloak as a blanket before she too eventually fell into sleep.

*****