"So, I just need to call out its name? Then something would appear?" asked Ysabeau, rather reluctantly. She held a large feather and waved it around gently.
"Yea, we didn't make an incantation for you, so just the name," I assured Ysabeau. It was rare for the High Queen to show trepidation.
"Well, here goes. I call upon thee, Wings Of The Skies!" The feather shot out of Ysabeau's hand and into the sky. The clouds above started swirl, and out came a creature. It was huge, loud as it made a huge squawk. But the worrying thing is that the creature began to dive down.
"Take cover!" yelled Baldwin. We dispersed quickly as we didn't want to be killed by our own creation. When we recovered, we witnessed the creature in full view. It was then we realized that it was the wrong creature.
"I'm so sorry, honey. We wanted to get a Griffin for you," said Gillian, as he approached his wife. She slowly turned towards him and gave a big hug. And a small smooch. Raiyen looked away in embarrassment. But all in all, we were still confused. How did another creature come out, when it was the feather of a Griffin? But it wasn't as confusing as what happened next.
"Aww... Come here you little girl..." cooed Ysabeau as she tackled the creature's belly. She then commanded it as if it was a hound. Raiyen looked at the creature and was a bit a further from it than usual. It made a squawk each time Ysabeau scratched its neck.
"That's a good girl..." We were still a bit of a shock. Gillian had mentioned that she didn't like huge birds, but was okay with a Griffin.
"It isn't some big bird. It's Rukh. The biggest flying bird within my universe. It is said that they are quite rare. I have ridden on every type of flying creature, but could never find these ones. Where do you get it from?" asked Ysabeau as she continued playing with the creature.
"Uh... From Z?" said Gillian, still not recovered from the confusion.
"Well, wherever it is from, I will still love it. Thank you so much," said Ysabeau, smiling brightly.
"Well then, gratefulness session is over. Let's ask test try the skills we have made," instructed Gillian. Ysabeau commanded the Rukh to fly as she slowly climbed on. It extended its wings and flapped once. One flap was all it took for the bird to start flying. But this time, Raiyen had already retreated into the shadows.
"So, how do I use her to attack?" she asked, steadily hovering above us.
"Try channeling your power into its wings," I suggested, as the two moved to high altitudes. As they vanished into the clouds, I decided to find my friend.
"Why are you so afraid of it?" I asked, looking at the boy beside the tree. Raiyen peeked out and walked towards me.
"I hate birds or any form of transport..." murmured Raiyen, unhappily. Just then, we heard a loud screech and the wind started to pick up. The next thing we knew, we were met, face to face, with a tornado.
"Great; what happened?" asked Gillian, watching the tornado spin towards us.
"Your wife," replied Baldwin, rather angrily. We decided to brace it, head on. But thought twice about it as it came closer towards us.
"Negation!" shouted Gillian as he made the twister vanished.
"You were right, channeling my power into her wings does give results!" yelled Ysabeau, coming down from the clouds.
"Results?!" screamed Raiyen. She gazed upon the forest, or what was left of it.
"I didn't expect it to be that devasting," said Ysabeau.
"Well, good for clearing land via deforestation," commented Z. The beast flopped onto his back, beckoning any one of us to tickle its stomach. I approached it slowly. This made it abruptly stand up. It had sensed someone else other than its owner. I showed off my wings as a sign of authority. My wings, against one of the biggest flying creature of all time, was able to beat both of its wings' size.
"I've forgotten; you've reached 18, am I right?" asked Gillian, witnessing the sight in front of him.
"Yea," I replied, still looking at the beast. It then plopped down on its rump.
"So, what do you want to name her?" asked Gillian. Ysabeau went towards her.
"Rocky?" asked Raiyen, hiding behind Baldwin.
"What's the matter with you, boy?!" asked Baldwin, taking a step away. Raiyen pouted as he went to my side. I smiled sweetly.
"Nothing, Angry Man," mumbled Raiyen, hugging my wings. Such a child.
"Haven't decided yet. Wonder if there is another way to make her less eye-catching within the town area," noted Ysabeau. Just then, she took out the feather of the creature. The one that was supposedly meant to be a Griffin's. For some weird reason, she then pointed at the creature. A puff of smoke appeared at the place that the creature was at. Out came a small, fluffy and cute-looking creature as the dust settled. It squeaked and flew in the direction of Ysabeau.
"I shall call you Fluffy!" exclaimed Ysabeau, as she patted the bird's head. We could all agree at that fact, to a certain extent. Next, was my turn.
"Let's change the location for yours," said Raiyen, grabbing my hand. Within a flash, my legs were half submerged in water. Behind, a roaring waterfall was covered by mist at its base. All around was aquamarine, with lush greenery wrapped on the rocks supporting the waterfall. The waterfall looked as if it was snow, only pure white was gushing down. On top of one of the rocks, sat a very excited Raiyen. The group caught up, an hour later.
"So, what have you guys have installed for me?"
"I would need you to gather all your element of water," explained Raiyen.
"A rather difficult task to fulfill," I said, as gathered all my energy.
"You'll be fine. Besides, you are a born Penta Holder, be proud of that!"
"Yea, apart from being that, you're also a Water Main! Don't worry," said Raiyen, in an attempt to bolster my confidence.
"And Z is as well! And this is a whole lot of water to gather up," I reasoned with the rest, as I was engulfed with dread.
"Calm down, you can do it. Just concentrate, clear your mind and converge all your power to make this weapon come alive," advised Gillian as he tried to destroy my thoughts of fear. Didn't really work as my hands were still trembling. But I tried to steady myself. Breathe in, breathe out. Soon, streams of water were slowly rising from around me. I had my eyes closed, but I knew the water streams were moving in accordance to my dancing fingers.
"Say out the first part of the incantation!" shouted Z. I felt everyone backing away from me. I took another deep breath and clasped my hands together.
"All waves rise and become my shield. From depths of Okeanos, grant me the protection of the waves. Ruled by Neptune, son of Poseidon, the god of the sea. The lost legend, Lord Atlantia!" I yelled out. Nothing happened, which prompted me to open my eyes.
"A bit too powerful for me to use," I said, sadly. Raiyen hopped towards me, trying to comfort me. But he was forcefully pushed back as the water around me split in half in an instant. As the water streams came back once more, they formed up a huge shield. It looked an ice cream cone silhouette made out of emerald water. It was holographic as I tried to turn it oddly. In the middle, a spear was present at the front. I swung the shield around for a bit and stabbed it into the ground. It stood strong as I moved around, looking at the front. The sides didn't even have an outline, just mist.
"Wait for a bit, it should come out now," said Gillian. There was more to come? The base of the spear erupted all of a sudden. A huge tail, covered with scales, curled up towards the top of the shield. It then bloomed two fins. This made the shield even heavier, as I tried moving it from the front.
"Go behind it and wield it properly," commanded Ysabeau. I obeyed instantly and tried to hold it up. It was as light as a feather. I was confused.
"That's only the first part, you gotta do the second one now," said Raiyen, glitching around once more.
"But for that to work, you need to charge it," he continued. Taking out his twin daggers, he lunged towards me. I held the shield up and started swinging against him. The turn of events did not faze me and neither did the fact that Raiyen was my best friend. We clashed and Raiyen landed on the shield using his twin daggers. I pushed him away, making him land on his back. I noticed the shield was glowing even brighter now, perhaps a sign that it was nearly full.
"Okay, one strike using Heaven Sent and Hell Bent should charge it up fully. Mav, aim it towards the clearing over there. We don't want to die today," instructed Baldwin, as we clashed for the last time. He had been quiet for some time since he doesn't really like to go near bodies of water.
"You got it!" yelled Raiyen. Using ungodly speed, he struck the shield.
"Light seeps into the air, Hope fills the land. Let there be joy, Let there be no pain. Heaven Sent!" recited Raiyen as he slashed the golden dagger at the shield. I tried my best to withstand the attack.
"Darkness seeps into the air, despair fills the land. Let there be pain, let there be no joy. Hell Bent!" he chanted once more. With the final slash of the silver dagger, the shield started to shake violently. It was excruciatingly painful as I tried to move the fully charged shield towards the clearing. The weird thing was it had absorbed Raiyen's attack, since there no lightning on the daggers but had transferred onto the shield.
"All winds gather and become my sword. Gather up the remains of protection, for the light never dies. For hearts will never be broken anymore. Rebellion of the Seas!" I yelled as a huge sword appeared on my right hand. I swung the sword and the shield together. Then, a torrent of water and lightning came out from both the shield and the sword. It liberated the entire pathway of the forest. The sword and shield disappeared right after the beam of light.
"You okay?" asked Raiyen, holding me up.
"Better than the woodland creatures on that pathway," I said, struggling to stand straight.
"Hmm, we didn't expect that it would too much for you to handle. Do you want us to lower it down?" asked Ysabeau.
"No, don't. I can make up for that power easily, just give me time," I said, with fierce protest in my eyes. Ysabeau sighed and nodded.
"Fine, since you are so determined. Just don't kill yourself achieving that," she said, walking away to the new location for Z's ancient relic.
A snowy mountain of course. It had to be somewhere cold. I didn't mind but Raiyen crumbled under the blizzard.
"You should know by now, whenever we use Z's powers, be prepared for the snow," said Gillian, unfazed by the oncoming snowstorm.
"Yea, but don't expect me to fight in this landscape," whined Raiyen, teeth chattering. Ysabeau placed a thick coat over the child. She offered me one, but I declined.
"My wings are enough," I replied, fully extending my wings. At that point in time, my wings had not fully formed. Only Gillian knew of it. But it was big enough to protect me from the blizzard. Ysabeau placed the coat over herself, while the last three remained standing, out in the cold.
"You've got them?" asked Baldwin, pointing at Z.
"Don't worry, Angry Man. I've got the three here," said Z, waving the chosen Kunais with his left hands.
"Don't drop 'em. We took a long time to create those," scolded Baldwin.
"Loosen up, worry pants," replied the ice wizard. As he held up and played around the Kunais, I caught glimpse of how it looked like. All three were huge, bigger than a normal Kunai that Z had in his arsenal. One was shining red, the other was blue and the last was green. The red one was adorned with Achillea flowers, which means war. The blue one had a single, huge, white Heather flower. And the last one, which was green, had been decorated using Eglantine roses. Those were the Kunais; Barrage, Fortify and Alleviate. He then threw them up into the air. Three orbs of light appeared in the frosty night sky. In the air, a string of light joined the three together. After which the orbs became beams of light, landing on the barren snow land.
"With the first, this power has been dispersed. With the second, this spell is beckoned. With the third, this voice is heard. As I invoke these three pillars, I open up the lore of this weapon. Hearken these words... Trilohiya ng mga bituin!" chanted Z as he snapped his fingers, causing the spell to activate instantaneously. The beams of light barricaded the plot of land and made it vanish. The white landscape and a huge triangular hole of a black abyss. After the shining bright light, the Kunais found its way back to Z's palm.
"Looks like Raiyen's skill is working smoothly," commented Z, playing around with the Kunais.
"Yea, so is Mav's," replied Baldwin, pointing to the bunny hopping towards us. The bunny had been in the snow but was spared. Using Law and Space Manipulation, the relic managed to not only spare the bunny but also move it away from danger. Fusion magic.
"Z, try the individual powers," I suggested. He looked confused.
"There is?" asked Baldwin, confused. It was a mini work of the three of us; Gillian, Ysabeau and I.
"Just shout out the Kunais' name and see what happens. For the red one, throw it. For the blue one, spin it. And the green one, you have to wait for someone to get hurt," explained Gillian. Z looked calm as he took out the first one and prepared to throw.
"Barrage!" he yelled, thrusting the Kunai into the sky. A red sparkle appeared and a torrent of red lights came down, destroying some more rocks. It added quite a bit to the ongoing snowstorm. The red weapon made it back into Z's palm.
"Now then, try the blue one," said Ysabeau. Z took out the chosen Kunai and spun it, which made it glow. It then took the areas' snow and started to take the form of a shield. The same way as Lord Atlantia but was floating in the air.
"Shout out what you want it to form," I instructed.
"Got it, Princess!" yelled Z as the snow started to gather to become a cloud.
"Winter Castle!" yelled the huge man. The snow cloud seemed to stop instantly and quickly reverted to a castle wall, surrounding Z. Raiyen felt a bit sneaky, his mischievous smile took over his expression. He quickly glitched and tried to slash the castle of snow. Instead of cutting or destroying it, the castle walls became solid. It then sent a shock wave, effectively blasting Raiyen away and into Gillian's arms.
"Get off child," growled Gillian. Raiyen hopped off instantly and back to my side.
"You mess with cold, you'll get the scold," I said, smirking. He huffed and turned towards the mountains. He winced as he tried to raise up his hand.
"Must be the shock wave. He did try to block it by using his arm," replied Z, as he headed towards the boy.
"It's...nothing..." said Raiyen, trying his best to be strong. He was failing quite miserably. After all, it was a shock wave from the second most powerful of the founders.
"Use the last one," commanded Ysabeau.
"Alleviate," said Z as he used the green Kunai and lightly tapped it on Raiyen's broken arm. Both their eyes widened in unison as a stream of bright green light came out of the Kunai. It then wrapped itself onto the arm and disappeared after a second. Raiyen moved the arm around, it had healed completely.
"Initially, I wanted Gillian to spar with Z using the Kunais but little ninja here had already gone and got himself hurt," said Ysabeau, pointing at Raiyen.
"Speaking of Gillian, time for his turn. Shall we go somewhere else?" I asked.
"I'm fine with any place," said Gillian, smiling.
"Then what time do you prefer?" asked Raiyen, winking and smirking.
"You sure you can pull that off?" asked Baldwin, worried.
"What? Is the Angry Man suddenly caring for a mischievous kid?" taunted Z, nudging Baldwin's shoulder.
"I care only for the kids, not you, Snow Cap," retorted Baldwin, angered.
"Don't underestimate just because I'm the youngest," said Raiyen as he prepared for a time jump.
"Weave time. Manipulate space. These are the elements I control. Setting coordinates. Time is determined. Space is fixed. Time Jump!" recited Raiyen. As the snowstorm enveloped us and cleared, we were met with the infamous Northern Lights.
"Sorry, can't do a library. But, this is about a few hundred years before we all gathered. Try out some spells from your ancient relic," instructed Raiyen.
"Looks like you are in charge of this one, huh?" asked Gillian, as he pulled out the book. Gillian's relic did not have a need for an incantation. Just by saying out its title will call for the ancient relic immediately. With its leather cover and dusty golden pages, he held up the relic and called out its true name.
"Voynich Manuscript!" Within a split second, the pages flew out. It swarmed around us.
"Determine who is your target now!" commanded Raiyen, fiercely. The book's cover was now imprinted with the words; Book Of Code in a bright orange glow. He then determined it to be me as the entire plane was being rewritten and covered with a memory. My memory.
"There's no control on which memory it can show. But a subtle thing is that if the target is an ally, it won't show a harmful memory," explained Raiyen.
"I hope so," I replied, clenching my fists. The dark blue night sky with the Northern Lights was now replaced by a familiar evening purple blanket with bright pink clouds. The pure white floor underneath was now a dusty orange carpet. It was as if I was at home.
"So this is Valokia," said Gillian, impressed as the adults were flying within the clouds. Beside stood a little cottage, adorned with a red roof and aquamarine-covered walls. The door flew open as two young children stumbled onto each other in the excitement of having playtime. The little girl had her twin braids tied up using crimson ribbons while wearing a black summer dress. The little handsome boy had a black robe and both of their eye's were shining gold.
"This is the day, no, the moment we learned how to summon our wings," I said, my voice slightly cracking. Tears threatened to fall as I witnessed the precious memory before me. One I could never ever get back.
"Oi, I thought it was to show something non-harmful?" asked Baldwin, angrily.
"Correct; but this particular memory sparked sadness within her. Not under the relic's control unless Gillian commanded it to. In which I highly doubt so," interpreted Raiyen. I continue to stare, as stiff as a board along with Ysabeau and Gillian.
"Come on, Benny. You can do it!" cheered the young girl.
"I'm scared..." whined the twin boy. She thought carefully and came up with an idea.
"How about I give it a shot first? Would that make you feel better?" suggested the girl with a brimming smile. The boy looked uneasy as he nodded.
"I'll try..."
"You've got to!" After stating the condition, she began to breathe in and out. The surrounding bright energy started to swirl around the little girl, which prompted her dress to float. Or was it her body? Soon, after the golden light had dispersed, two small wings remained her back.
"Even as a child, the wings already that big?" asked Ysabeau, marveling at the sight my crimson wings which dwarfed my tiny body.
"Nope, that is abnormal. Benjamin's one is the accurate size," I said, eyes fixated at the boy.
"Benjamin, huh?" mumbled Gillian.
"Wow, it's so huge!" yelled the boy, trying to touch the wings. The girl moved it once and hovered above the orange ground.
"My turn!" said the boy, happily. I remembered now, Benjamin could only do things if I had done it before. From our first steps to our first words being the opposite twin's names, he waited after I did the task. But for him, dark purple streams came from the sky above us and towards him. After the cloud had gone, indigo-dyed wings clung onto the young boy's back. Smaller than his sister's, he started to cry.
"What's wrong sweetie?" asked a woman with green eyes and black locks who came out from the house.
"Benny thinks that something's wrong with his wings," said the girl as she flew towards her mother. The woman's eyes increased in size as she looked at her daughter's abnormally sized wings.
"Not even the Empress's child has such a large pair of wings," she murmured. This time, it was the girl's turn to cry as her mother was frightened.
"No cry, no cry, Mavy," comforted the boy who had stopped bawling his eyes out. He patted his twin as the woman composed herself. Then, she scooped her children using her adult pair of wings which were shining gold. The memory then ended as the mother took her children in for supper.
"Was that too much for you, Mav?" asked Raiyen, worried that he might have stepped out of line to suggest Gillian to target me.
"It's not too much," I whispered, in between my sobs. My tears came down like a waterfall as the group went closer.
"You didn't hurt her. You gave her hope. Only rain can bring out a rainbow," said Gillian, smiling sweetly. I quickly wiped away the tears of the memory I had revisited.
"So what other spells have this thing got?" asked Gillian, grinning. Raiyen looked serious, for the very first time.
"There is only one more spell within this book. For the flashbacks, you can manipulate it to however you like. But never use this incantation that I've given you on your ally. It will break your target mentally and physically. It surpasses Law as well," instructed Raiyen with sheer fervor in his voice. We shuddered as we heard that sentence. He was never one to act so deadpanned. Especially after the mischievous act, he carried out with Z's ancient relic.
"Then why did you place it in there?" asked Gillian, undaunted by the youngest Mage within our group.
"Because it was created by accident. I had no intention of creating that spell. It happened in the future which destroyed your enemy completely. After I caught a glimpse of it, I knew I had to fix that condition to an incantation to make sure you can never activate it on your allies."
"What happens if my allies are my enemies?" challenged Gillian. The tension among us was suffocating as the two delivered defiance to each other.
"Then I believe you have the correct judgment on whether your targets are your allies or opponents," replied Raiyen, confidently. Gillian smiled as he kept the ancient relic.
"Oh, that spell can only be called using the incantation. Not your feelings," stated Raiyen as he prepared to use his ancient relic next.
"Aww, not even if I tried?"
"Not even if you are consumed," answered Raiyen, rather quickly. Taking out the Legend Of Jack Ripper, Raiyen concentrated all his time energy towards the luminous dagger. After the weapon started to shake, he slashed the space in front of him.
"Call out the relic's name and decide which item from the chosen time period you want to draw from," I commanded. I had faith in him.
"Got it, partner," he said with a determined smile.
"Time Ripper; Materialization!" yelled Raiyen as he stuck his hand into the purple rift in the air. He pulled out a rectangular block of metal that was stuck onto a handle of some sorts.
"It's a Desert Eagle, designed in the 1970s to 1980s and manufactured from 1982 and towards the future," said Raiyen.
"So it summons out anything he desires?" asked Baldwin who was fretful on what the little brat will bring upon us.
"It depends on his Elemental Energy pool. Enough, he'll grab out what he can sustain. Or else, he will just destroy himself," I said, callously. Raiyen furrowed his eyebrows.
"Well, that's one way of keeping that brat in check," said Z, ruffling the small guy's hair.
"So what other skills are there?" asked Raiyen, glitching away from Z's grasp.
"There is Misty Haven if I do this," I said, snatching away the dagger with ease.
"Hey!" yelled Raiyen. The whole area was now encircled with thick fog. All except Raiyen was unable to see what was in front of them.
"It's a defense mechanism if you lose your weapon to an opponent. There are many like you out there, so this is a boost," I said, standing still. Raiyen took away the dagger held in my palms, effectively dispersing the Misty Haven skill entirely.
"Sorry I couldn't do poison, didn't have that in your arsenal," I said.
"No, no! That's fine. Besides, I need you guys alive," replied Raiyen, hands up in the air.
"But, is there any attack type of spells in this relic?" he asked once more. My eyes darkened.
"Not physically harming. But, if you do not decide on any time period that this slash goes," I said, pointing towards the gaping rift floating in the air.
"Then it will remain like this," I finished, peeking at the crack. They were confused as they peered into the cut within time and space.
"That's the Void, isn't it," said Raiyen, solemnly. I nodded.
"Why did you create such skill, Mav?" asked Z, in bewilderment.
"The Void is the gaps between timelines. Passing through the Void is a must for this relic to be of any use. It acts as a tunnel directly to the item chosen. It requires immense concentration for this to work properly. Any fault and consequences must be braced," I said, harshly towards Raiyen. He knew the consequences of dabbling time and space excessively. He knew better than anyone within the room. The fact he tried to rewrite time was already a warning sign for us. Anymore, he might cause our timelines to converge and collapse.
"Time cannot be tinkered; the person that Gillian destroys will still die. Don't you dare try again, got it?" I said. Now it was my turn to deliver a word of warning towards the boy. I had seen the repercussion of such an act. Whatever happens, must be left alone. Don't try and tamper with it. If you save a life in the past, be prepared to sacrifice as life in the future.
"Now that it has been relayed, why not try getting us all home? Don't worry, it works the same as your Time Jumper," I suggested, lifting up the mood. Z shook his disbelief as a wave of relief flashed over his face.
"You guys are destined to be partners. The tenacity you give off is enough to make us petrified. Look at Angry Man over there, he's gone cold," commented Z, enveloping arms around the both of us.
"Oi! That's because you conjured up snow around me, Ice Ball!" yelled the Angry Man.
"Enough!" bellowed Gillian.
"We want to go home," said Ysabeau.
"Take us home, Raiyen Phoneix E. Harmony," I commanded with pride.
"I won't let you down, Big Sis," he said as he prepared himself. The rift became larger as he decided on the right coordinates to go home. What happened afterward had me baffled. We could see our haven from within the rift.
"Shall we?" asked Raiyen. He grabbed my hand as I grabbed Z's. Ysabeau held Gillian's hand tightly as Baldwin connected with Raiyen's and Gillian's hand. Ysabeau grasped Z's huge, Igor's hand.
"Rush in, nibba!" yelled Z, as we let the rift open fully and absorbed the ground beneath us. We hit the wooden flooring of our comfy home.
"We should all try sparring together sometime," suggested Z, rubbing his back.
"Yea, perhaps next week," replied Baldwin. Our eyes widened, did they just agreed on something?
"Ahem, what time did send us back to, Raiyen?" asked Gillian. We heard the pot boil.
"Just after dinner has been done," replied the sneaky boy. That meant we came back half an hour later from the snowy episode. The mountains back to the house are about a few hours journey. Great thinking, ninja.