Welcome, one and all, big and small, to my latest attempt at a somewhat readable story! Long and hard have I thought upon this, trying to keep myself amused whilst in the throes of dead work nights. Lo, and behold Spirit Walker! The story where comedy may come from the most heart-wrenching of situations! Let the story move on.
"Talking"
'Thoughts/emphasis'
Emphasis/the past
Grunting in exertion, Velsaria Fahrengart absorbed yet another of her opponent's ridiculously strong attacks. While her own spirit was far stronger in terms of physical strength in its Elemental Waffe form, Silent Fortress, Velsaria was being pushed back by the sheer power her attacker produced upon impact. With another exhalation, she managed to fling her attacker's smaller frame away.
Already, Velsaria could feel cracks appearing in her spirit's armor. Despite her spirit, Dreadnought, being an earth spirit and thus excelling in physical defense, the elemental power of her opponent was gradually overcoming it.
To make matters worse, she couldn't properly use her weight advantage properly, as the enemy was easily evading each arm swing, being very nimble.
Velsaria knew there would be tough competitors in this Blade Dance, what with it being her first and at least some of the opposition being fairly experienced in combat, but this was simply far more difficult than it should have been. Here she was, one of the most talented individuals to ever be adopted into the Fahrengart name, a family renowned for its militaristic strength, top of her entire grade academically in the Areisha Spirit Academy, and prospective captain for her Academy's security detail, losing slowly.
It wasn't very apparent to the crowd cheering the fight on from the stands, as it looked like a stalemate. Which, for the moment, was actually true. But if the contemptuous smile on her opponent's face was an indication, Velsaria was only being toyed with.
'I suppose it's better than being ignored.' she thought to herself, snorting in an unlady-like manner.
If her adopted younger sister, Ellis, had heard that, she would have been mortified. As it stood, the thirteen year old girl was cheering wildly for her 'idol'.
Velsaria refocused her attention on the opponent. She had her lithe, yet stocky, frame garbed in what Velsaria recognized to be a ceremonial costume from eastern nations. A red hakama paired with a white haori. Atop her head was a hood of sorts, both holding her hair back, presumably, and hiding her face. All that was visible was an infuriating, mocking smile.
"Let's end this, Dreadnought." Velsaria growled, the sound coming from low in her throat. Yes, being insulted was better than being written off completely, but not by much. Divine energy stored in her body drastically flared up, causing the enemy to become slightly more cautious.
"Seat of Earth, heed my cry. Gouge a tear in the Sky. Fire once, fire twice. All comes to end when fired thrice."
Throughout the chant, her opponent didn't move once.
'Keep your smile through this.'
"Shell Shock." she intoned. The cannons on her shoulders lit up, bathing the entirety of her vision in white. A third cannon, appearing from her breastplate, also fired another beam simultaneously. The three streams of energy washed off the barrier erected to keep the crowd safe, making it seem as if the entire area was an ocean of blinding light.
If this hadn't been a Blade Dance in Astral Zero, Velsaria was sure her opponent would have disintegrated almost immediately. As it stood, they would only be knocked unconscious for a day or so.
Such thoughts ended when a blade of darkest black was found to be jutting through her chest from behind.
"That was an amusing game we played, wench." purred a youngish, but distinctly male voice in her ear.
Confused, Velsaria turned her head to face the hooded figure, gasping slightly while taking in his face.
He was of a darkened complexion, with black, short jagged hair framing his face. Golden eyes leered at her from within the hood from above a well-made nose. He licked his thin lips, causing Velsaria to shudder.
"Despite being rather easily beaten in the first round, you have roused my interest."
Suddenly, pieces of a puzzle fell into place. Her opponent had been an enigma ever since showing up. The need for the hood, the few words used when speaking, a few odd mannerisms. Most had assumed 'she' was a shy girl with a broad frame, when, in reality, 'she' was a man. And then history lessons, recently learned, came to the forefront of her mind.
"When I conquer this world, I may even grant you the privilege of becoming one of my concubines. Rejoice."
This man...
"The winner of the first round in the Blade Dance," the announcer started, waking from her stupor.
...was without a doubt...
His eyes gleamed in malicious glee, relishing the brief moment of absolute victory.
"...is Ren Ashbell!" the announcer finished.
...the newest reincarnation of...
Velsaria gasped as the blade slid from her still body. Slowly, she could feel clarity slipping away from her mind.
...the Demon King.
The roaring applause from the crowd was the last thing Velsaria heard as she fell into unconsciousness.
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Imagine with me, if you will, that worlds beyond our own exist. Far far away (two blocks down from Jerry's Bait Shop and to the right of Main Street in Albuquerque. You know the place.) a planet very much like our own was present. And upon this planet, a landmass formed. And thereupon that, many nations came to being as the people expanded and congregated. Within these nations were many climates and ecosystems, each teaming with life. Beasts of the field, birds of the air, creatures living in the depths of the sea. Microscopic to massive. Even the environment in which everything lived had life, projected in the form of spirits.
From their home in a dimension known as Astral Zero, they entered this strange world to live amongst the fauna and in the streams. Deep within hills or high up in the mountains. Volcanoes, bogs, even within the homes of people. All representing an element from which they held some amount of power.
As there were many elements, there were also many spirits. By far the most numerous, however, were those of the Light, Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth. Reigning supreme amongst these five 'main' elements were five spirits, akin to gods, known as the Elemental Lords.
Alexandros the Wise. Emperor of Light.
Volcanicus the Warrior. Lord of Fire.
Belphal the Kind. Governer of the Wind.
Iseria Seaward the Gentle. Matron of Water.
Load Gear the Mighty. Commandant of Earth.
Living within Astral Zero, they issued rules that every spirit adhered to, whether living within Astral Zero or the natural world itself. Even people, human or otherwise, heeded their decrees to reap the benefits of nature. For this purpose ritual dances, preceded by ceremonial washings, were offered up to them by young women as young as eight and usually no older than twenty-five in order to curry favor for prosperity. (Mock fights were also performed at times, leading to the modern day Blade Dance. Some of these women were selected by the lords themselves as Elemental Queens to be the head of ceremonies for that particular lord. All this lead to a discovery that completely turned life on its head.
Settlements with more experimental members offered cooked food, baked delicacies, prized items, and even dances to the spirits in the world around them in hopes to curry more immediate favor.
The notion succeeded. Hence, those known as Elementalers were born.
Suddenly, almost as if overnight, people were forming 'contracts' with these spirits, harnessing their abilities to increase the standard of living for all involved. Advances in construction techniques, academia, communication, at-home amenities, security, warfare, and food production jumped forward by leaps and bounds within years. No longer were people in danger of the world around them so long as the spirits and their lieges were kept appeased. These contracts, however, were not without their limitations.
Spirits, as with the people they contracted with, had various tastes in their choice of abode as well as how they were taken care of. On a general note, the cleaner and more well kept the intended dwelling, of the spirit, the more likely it was to stay around. There were always exceptions, such as mud spirits preferring dirty, damp places, etc. If the spirit found the abode satisfactory, they would move in and make their place in the home a sort of shrine. Further treatment, such as food, quality of time spent together, and general atmosphere would determine if the spirit stuck around any longer.
Another limitation would be how much stamina the person held. Abilities, like most forms of action, required vitality of some degree. The source of a spirit's abilities stemmed from how much 'divine energy' could be used in order to fuel the ability. Thus, if the person in question had enough divine energy to power the spirit whilst using its abilities, said spirit would be able to proceed in making the contract.
Academies had popped up within nations to teach contractors how to increase and control the output of energy while instructing them in other traditional studies. If a contractor was skilled enough, and their contracted spirit possessed the ability, together they could further enhance the efficiency and power of the spirit by accessing the spirit's Elemental Waffe. Beyond that still, a third form, known as a Spirit Break, sacrificed every bit of energy to draw out the spirit's total power. The backlash of doing so would usually render the contractor powerless for days and the spirit unusable until a 'normal' energy threshold had been reached.
The biggest, and by far the most important, issue was that only women were able to contract with spirits. Nobody knew how or why, but that only they had the disposition to 'understand' a spirit. All that was known was that the younger and 'purer' the woman, the more successful her contract and compatibility would be with the spirit. Thus, a female who had given birth would no longer be able to contract, and those that hadn't washed away 'impurities', such as filth from battle, would find the connection between them and the spirit dwindling. In all of recorded history, there had never been an exception.
Except for one.
However, in order to explain the aberration, we would have to dig further back when time itself had just barely became existent.
The masses had been lead to believe that there were five rulers for five elements. Which was true, in a sense. But in the eons and eons that had past, there existed a sixth main element which once had its own ruler with its own Queen. Forgotten in the annals of time to all but the Elemental Lords. Even then, it only as a faint memory of a co-ruler turned foe that had been defeated and erased from whatever passed as reality in their world.
Notwithstanding, before its defeat, bequeathed their will to one of its servants, setting up a system that, once every millenia or so, would produce a male Elementaler that would invariably be consumed by power. Every time he appeared, the world would be thrown into chaos in his attempts to overthrow the it. This individual was known as the Demon King.
To combat this threat, the Elemental Lords used a part of their power to create a Sacred Queen. Everytime the Demon King came into existence, so would the Sacred Queen be born in order to neutralize the Demon King when his powers matured. On the chance he didn't, she was to live out the rest of her life as she saw fit.
But we digress.
Let me tell you the tale of a boy who, as he grew up to become a man, worked towards the simple goal of a simple life filled with simple aspirations and simple dreams.
Let me recount to you the life of Kamito Kazehaya, who would shatter the established system, who would shatter fate, and who would alter the lives of those he would and would not meet.
Where is it written that dreams must be small?