Elven Wings: Incendiare
This Island is called Enca, a tropical island filled with nature. This is the world of magic. Though everyone has the potential to use this extraordinary power, only the few with strong wills are able to utilize it. This story is about one city which holds a certain mages guild. Though their world is small, this story is about their great adventures to practice their magic. This guild is called Elven Wings.
"Hey, how about this job?' a short dark navy haired tomboy pointed at the request board. She wore a sleeveless dark blue top with a thin silver armour plate which covered her chest, baggie pants and black fingerless gloves. A blue feather dangled from the round light blue hat she wore. A butterfly like green guild mark shone above her left elbow. A black, white bellied cat sat on her shoulder. The cat was covered with strange blue markings and had two tails.
Beyond her a blond haired girl sat laid back as she sipped her drink. Her hair was tied neatly in a braid which hung over her right shoulder and she wore a white cloak which went over only on her left shoulder. Almost hidden by the quiver she rarely took off was her identical mark, placed delicately on her right shoulder blade. A reddish orange cat sat next to her. It wore a hoodie that had cat-like ears stitched on it.
The blond girl peered over at the paper posted on the board and frowned, "No way, that's no good, Alsius" she surveyed the board, and then smiled as she took a different job, "this one."
Alsius looked it over, "Retrieve my stolen horse at Zegola... Artemis, are you sure you want this job?"
"Get ready," Artemis replied as she started walking towards the door. "Legolas and I will go ahead." The orange cat followed Artemis.
Alsius sighed and walked over to the counter located next to the request board. On top sat a very young looking man. He had long black hair which, besides his bangs, was tied back in a pony. He held a pipe which blew bubbles out. "Master, Artemis and I are going to take this job."Jobs can't be taken without the approval of the guild's master, which was that man.
The young master looked over the quest, but shook his head, "Sorry, but I don't think just the two of you is enough..."
Alsius slammed her hand on the counter, furious, "Do you not trust our abilities, master? We even have Gilbert."
The cat on Alsius' shoulder nodded. "Even Legolas is coming. So, what about the job makes you not want us to take it, Master Jadez?" it asked politely.
"Zegola is the home to bandits and their chief was a former knight mage. It's no easy task to retrieve a living animal from them, let alone defeat them."
Suddenly an arm went around Alsius' shoulder from behind, "How about I tag along, master. I believe fighting a real mage would be a good experience for them. We mages all must fight one someday you know."
Master Jadez stared thoughtfully at the owner of the arm as Alsius pushed it off her, "experience you say, Reize."
Reize nodded. He had wavy silver hair and his right eye was covered with an eye patch. Even though Sin was a warm tropical country, Reize always wore a black scarf around his neck. His grin revealed sharp fang-like teeth. "Artemis already left; I don't think we could convince her not to go.
The master blew some bubbles from his pipe, "As long as you don't ruin Elven Wings' reputation." He sighed.
Alsius smiled and did a thankful bow, before she took off to pursue Artemis. Gilbert and Reize followed close behind.
"Come back safely..." Master Jadez whispered as he watched his companions leave.
"Hey Alsius," Artemis turned around frowning as they walked towards their destination, Zegola, "I don't want to be rude or anything, but why is he coming along."
"Master wouldn't allow us to take the job otherwise."
Artemis gave an annoyed glance at Reize; however he just pretended not to notice. Alsius worried whether or not the quest would go well. Gilbert seemed to notice this and affectionately rubbed his head against her knees.
"Don't worry Als," he purred, "We've grown stronger since then."
"Thanks," Alsius smiled as she patted Gilbert's smooth furry head.
"Hey," Reize suddenly hollered from behind, "What magic do you guys use? It's useful to know beforehand, so we can plan for our teamwork."
Gilbert and Legolas immediately sprouted magical angelic wings and flew freely above, "We can use Aera, flight magic," they mewed in unison.
Alsius exchanged glances with Artemis and smiled. Alsius stopped and turned to face Reize. Reize kept walking, very puzzled. All of a sudden, he found himself collide into an invisible wall which shined blue when contacted, revealing a spherical shape which surrounded Alsius.
"Ow..." he groaned rubbing his sore face.
"Barrier Magic," Alsius replied." I can create spheres like these which protect me or my allies and..." a small Frisbee-like shape conjured a top Alsius' palm. She flicked it at a nearby boulder which was pierced easily by it. Tiny rock shards fell everywhere.
"By changing their shape, it's simple to make barriers which create openings in or between objects." Alsius grinned, arms on her hips.
"Ha...Ha..." Reize smiled nervously. "You, Artemis?"
Artemis finally stopped walking and grabbed her bow from her back. Without putting an arrow in, she pulled the string back. As she pulled, an arrow-like light materialized. She released the light, making it zoom past Reize's head. After few seconds an explosion was heard behind him.
Then, Artemis formed a ball of light on her palm, "I can use light magic..."
"Are you trying to kill me?" Reize yelled, sweating lots.
Artemis crossed her arms and sighed, "I never miss. If I wanted you dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation. We showed you our magic, now it's your turn."
Reize stared irritated at the two female mages. He finally bent over to pick up one of the rock shards, which scattered everywhere when Alsius demonstrated her magic, and popped it into his mouth. He chewed it with ease as it made loud crackling sounds.
Alsius and Artemis stare dumbfounded at the silver-haired mage. Alsius also bent down to grab another rock and tries to take a bite out of it.
Reize flinched "Idiot! What are you trying to do!?" he yelled as he grabbed the rock from Alsius' mouth.
"...I thought rocks were eatable and since I never tried it before, I thought I taste it" Alsius said, cocking her head to the side.
Reize slapped his head, "Only Dragon Slayers can eat things of their element. I can eat rocks because I am a Rock Dragon Slayer."
"Oh..." Artemis whispered as she tossed a few stones behind her.
"Maybe Master was right to stop them from taking this quest," Reize mumbled under his breath.
"Everyone quiet," Gilbert whispered pointing his paw forward. A stone tower was seen in the distance with several bandits at the top.
"It's not going to be easy to get past that..." whispered Reize, crouching low out of the enemies view.
Artemis, who was crouched next to Reize, aimed her bow at the general direction of the bandits. "Light Make..." as she pulled the string five arrows of light were created, "Pierce!" she yelled, firing all the arrows each piercing one of the unaware bandits.
Reize's mouth dropped open, "Wait... What!?"
"What are you waiting for?" Alsius sneered, "We have a horse to save."
Gilbert grabbed Alsius' back and flew above the enemy fort.
"We'll look from the top, you guys go from below!" Alsius ordered as Gilbert placed her at the top of the tower where the unconscious bandits laid.
Artemis waved in agreement and ran towards the forts entrance, pulling Reize with her.
"Isn't it too bold to go in through the front?" Reize yelled.
"This is our way, our teams' way!" smiled Artemis.
Alsius opened up a wooden door which was found on the roof of the tower. She and Gilbert jumped down it find themselves in a small dark room. On one side of the wall there was a strange magic circle inscribed on it.
"Hey you,"
Alsius turned to the direction of the voice. A large bald, bearded man lay, slouched on a chair. His left arm was bandaged up. He was drinking beer, and lots of it, but showed no sign of being drunk.
"Are you the bandit chief?" Alsius questioned, readying herself for battle. Gilbert rested himself on Alsius' shoulder.
The bald man lifted himself slowly off the chair when his eyes met Alsius', she felt her body feel heavy.
"Alsius!?" Gilbert yelled, surprised.
"Don't look at his eyes," Alsius gasped, "he uses a type of gravity magic!" Alsius was on her knees now.
The bandit walked up in front of Alsius, sneering as he drank some more beer. "You're pretty good to figure my magic and its limits in matter of seconds. Yes, unless you look into my eyes, this magic is useless."
The man put his foot on top of Alsius' head. All Alsius could do in response was to glare. Gilbert flew up and hit the man on his head a few times; however, his efforts did nothing. The bandit flicked the small black cat away.
Alsius placed her hand beneath the man, "Barrier Magic, Pick!" a small square barrier formed where Alsius' hand was and stretched upwards hitting the bandit chief directly on the chin, which sent him flying off his feet.
At that instant, Alsius' gravity went back to normal, "Shinkuha!" she threw a Frisbee shaped barrier towards the bandit mage but, he was quick to recover and dodged it. Alsius' last attack hardly did any damage.
Grabbing a large hammer from a nearby weapon rack, the bandit chief charged at Alsius.
"The fight is just beginning," Alsius smiled.
"Well, that finishes off the small fry." Artemis stated satisfied with their victory.
Legolas flew next to her, "If they're this weak, they shouldn't call themselves bandits."
"Ha...ha..." Reize laughed nervously. I wonder why master believed they weren't good enough for this job...
Artemis started opening every door she saw. Legolas flew around with his magic wings looking for what they came for, the horse. It was nowhere to be seen.
"Artemis, I'm starting to wonder if the horse is even here anymore." Legolas meowed softly.
Reize cleared his throat, "Remember we're against a former knight mage, it is highly possible that the horse is hidden within a magic rune."
The bandit was faster than Alsius expected. He kept swinging his hammer and she could only barely make barriers to lessen the impact of them. It was also difficult to completely predict her opponent's movements without making eye contact.
"Alsius!" Gilbert yelled.
Alsius quickly stepped away from the bandit. She quickly formed something and held it in her right hand. The bandit chief, not noticing this, attempted to hit her, Alsius barely side-stepped the bandit's attack, causing her hat to blow off and swung her arm. The bandit chief was cut in many directions and blood spilled from the wound. When he turned to see what cut him, he saw a katana-like figure in Alsius' hand, dripping with his blood. But more than the bloody sword, the bandit chief was surprised to see Alsius' two furry ears, which were revealed beneath her hat.
Seeing this, the bandit gasped, "You're also from Sin! Every citizen in that cursed country gets experimented on... What is a human experiment like you doing in a guild?"
"That is none of your business," growled Alsius as she watched the bandit mage fall to the ground.
"You okay, Als?" Gilbert asked as he ran up to her. He handed Alsius her hat back.
Alsius took it quietly from the two-tailed cat and put it back on. The blue feather dangled from it, "Not worries. It's a past I'll have to face eventually, just not yet."
"Alsius," Artemis shouted, waving her hand. Legolas and Reize followed close behind.
"Is he the bandit chief?" Reize exclaimed jumping at the sight of the unconscious man. But, before he got an answer Reize's attention when to the magic circle drawn on the wall.
"Is this where the horse is hidden?" Artemis asked.
Most likely, let me try to get it open," said Reize as he placed both his hands on the wall. After examining the strange markings, Reize walked over the knocked bandit chief and found a strange amulet on him. When Reize showed the amulet to the wall, its markings shone brightly and revealed a path.
Without saying a word, the three mages and two cats walked through the dark hall. Artemis used her light magic to see so she walked at the front. Not after long, a flame-like light shone in the distance. Artemis immediately rushed towards it.
The source of the light was a dark midnight horse. The tips of its black mane were small fireballs which glowed brightly in the dark room. Its eyes were bright red. Artemis stared in amazement at its beauty.
Reize gasped, "What kind of horse is this?"
"She's a horse from the country Sin."
Reize turned to see the bandit chief leaned against the wall and readied himself for battle, however Alsius stopped him. So instead, Reize questioned him, "What do you mean?"
The bandit chief's eyes were full of sorrow, "She is one of the millions of victims; everyone in Sin is forcefully experimented on, humans and animals.
The man unraveled his bandages on his left arm, "My name is Kord, I was also experimented..." his arm was scaly like a lizard's. It twitched uncontrollably. "Only I was a failure."
Alsius bit her lip at the sight of the inhuman arm.
"I couldn't agree to the rules of that country, so I escaped throwing away my magic knight title, taking her with me." Kord explained, "I know you came for her, you can take her, but please not to the quest giver. She's not meant to be some rich fool's trophy."
Artemis smiled, "I never intended to give her to our quest giver."
Reize and Kord looked confused, but Alsius and the winged cats all nodded in agreement.
"I wanted her to be my horse ever since I laid my eyes on the quest," Artemis placed her hand on the horse's nose, "Her name is Incendiare, Incendiare of Elven Wings."
Incendiare neighed happily in response.
Reize gasped, "Wait, you're forfeiting the quest? That's insane, we don't even know if that bandit is telling the truth. I've never heard of experimentations in Sin."
Legolas flew into Artemis' arms and she hugged the small orange cat tightly, "I know it's happening; I know it's true." Sadness clouded the blond mage's eyes.
"What do you mean?" Reize questioned. "You talk as if you've been there before."
Tears dropped down Legolas' face as he snivelled silently in Artemis' arms.
Reize shock his head in disbelief. "I don't see a good enough reason to forfeit this quest, so I won't agree to you!"
Alsius placed her hand on the confused, irritated silver haired mage's shoulder, "The right path isn't always completing our given quest. We have the freedom to choose our own paths and I plan to use that right, even if that choice doesn't seem to be right at first."
Reize couldn't understand fully and wanted to ask more questions but, when he saw their faces, he couldn't bring himself to. So without saying anything else, the mages of Elven Wings returned to their guild. Without explaining the situation, Master Jadez let them forfeit the quest and Incendiare became a member of their guild.
A few days later...
"Alsius, let's go on a quest." Gilbert pleaded holding a request paper.
Alsius peered over and read it. Her face brightened up quickly, "Artemis, Legolas... Reize!"
Reize was surprised to hear his name called.
"Time for a quest?" Legolas mewed hopefully.
"We're taking Incendiare too!" Artemis pointed out and Incendiare snorted in agreement.
"Wait," Reize stammered. "Me, too?"
Alsius and Artemis exchanged glances and smiled.
"Of course you're coming" Alsius started.
"You're part of our team now," Artemis laughed.
Reize's eyes were wide with amazement. He cracked open a smile. There were many things he didn't know about these two, that Reize was determined to know. But most of all, it made him happy that they wanted him to join them. "Okay, let's go."
"Elven Wings' adventure is just beginning."
To be continued...