Spirits

by DoubleBladedPublishers

Thousands of years ago, the domains of the Earth were ruled by extraordinary creatures. In a battle with the Darkness, the creatures lost their bodies and became spirits, which made them powerful and let them exile the Darkness. Now, at a meeting of the five Schools, new hosts will be chosen. Can three of the hosts fight the Darkness, or will they die trying? Rated M just in case

1. Scorpion of the Desert

Delsin

The Darkness sucks. I mean, we've been fighting it for thousands of years, yet it still doesn't die. Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself and explain myself. My name is Delsin. I have been training along the Path of the Scorpion for my whole life. Oh, what's that? You normals out there don't know what I'm talking about? Not surprising really. You normals don't even know that there is a war going on, a war for control of the planet. I will now tell you the story of the Spirit Animals, the guardians of our world.

Thousands of years ago, amazing creatures ruled different parts of the world. The great Scorpion ruled the deserts, manipulating the heat and living fire known as Wildfire. The dragon of the mountain and the rocks controls the earth and metal. The wise and dangerous Leviathan ruled the sea and the cold. The stealthy Serpent ruled the plants and the jungle. The Phoenix ruled the skies, raining down fire and burning suns on her enemies. But there was one Spirit Animal that was corrupted by a force known as the Darkness. The Bat, Vampirus, was corrupted by the Darkness and sought to corrupt and rule all of the domains. The Pure Spirit Animals joined forces and went to war against Vampirus and the Darkness. After one hundred years, Vampirus was banished from the world and so was the Darkness, but at a cost. The Spirit Animals became pure consciousness, kept in gems until a worthy host came along. The Darkness returned one thousand years ago, when the Post-War time was ending. The First Hosts discovered that the Darkness was returning through Fractures, or splits in the skin of time and space. They made all Fractures heavily guarded. They decided to enter war once again, and this time, they trained people from ages sixteen to fifty in magic based off their own Spirit Magic. They had entered a never-ending war that they can't afford to lose.

Now, back to the present day, where I prepare to demonstrate my talent to the Spirit Masters so they may decide whether I am a worthy host. I am wearing my best combat outfit, a dark red shirt with the Scorpion symbol on it, jeans, and a golden combat chain wrapped around my wrist. I walk up and stand before the three Masters. I bow, and the Masters say, "Begin with Sand." I raise my arms to the sides and concentrate. In under five seconds, I am levitating inside a massive sandstorm. "Now Desert Heat," the Masters say. While in the sandstorm, I begin generating nuclear bomb-level heat. The sandstorm, the grains of sand heating up, turns into glass. "Finally, use Wildfire," The Masters say. I concentrate and I imagine the Spirit in its pure form. Bright blue glowing fire begins to take shape under the sandstorm. It becomes a scorpion the size of a bus. The Masters then say, "This has concluded your trial. You must await the Day of Choosing to see if you will be chosen." I bow and say, "Thank you." As I leave, I think about showing them the other powers I have, my Scorpimorph powers. I decide not to show them.

I have been waiting since Trial Day for the Day of Choosing, and now it's here! Everyone from all 5 schools are here in this ancient stone arena. Snakes, with their green robes, wait impatiently. Us Scorpions, with our black leather jackets and red shirts, each with the Scorpion symbol on them, stand still and wait. The Phoenixes, the boys with their red-orange shirts, the girls with red-orange flame-decorated dresses. The Leviathans, with their blue and green apparel, meditate quietly. The Dragons, with their dark, neutral-toned clothes, levitate rocks and show off their abilities. A bell rings, and silence follows the sound as it washes over the crowd. The Grand Master comes up to speak. He wears a cream-colored combat robe and boots. "Members of the Schools. You know why we are here. We are here to find out the New Hosts' identities. So, here's how this shall work. We shall release the Spirit Gauntlets, filled with the consciousnesses of the Animals, into the crowd. They will attach themselves to the arms of the Host of their choice. He opens the first box. "The first Spirit to be released shall be Serpentus, the Snake," he says. The green grassteel snake-like gauntlet slithers out and onto the arm of a Snake initiate. His irises become bright green. The second box is opened. "The second Spirit to be released is Scorpus, the Scorpion," says the Grand Master. The scorpion-like gold and red desert metal gauntlet scuttles into the audience of Scorpion initiates. I feel something warm clamp onto my arm. The spirit has chosen me. I hear a deep voice in my head say "Hello, New Host. I am Scorpus. What is your name?" "Delsin," I say. "You are a good, strong, brave, and patient Host, and that is why I have chosen you." "Thank you," I say. "I also detect a presence. A presence I haven't felt since my first Host. You're a Scorpimorph, aren't you," he asked. "Yes, sir, I am," I reply. This is the most exciting day of my life. But this was also the day I met Ari and Lilith, and the day that everything went to hell.