Chapter 1
The Party
Arriving at the castle town, Selina looks around.
"Hmm...not many people here," the white mage says to herself. "Don't think I'm gonna get any answers..."
Feeling disappointed by the lack of townsfolk, she leaves the town. As she goes beyond the town's stone walls, she is ambushed by three goblins.
"Darn..."
She grabs her staff and prepares to attack. But even as she prepares for combat, she realizes that her melee skills weren't up to par.
One of the goblins strikes, but suddenly it is sliced in two. Selina looks up and sees a boy in green clothes.
"You all right?"
Selina nods. "Yes."
"The name's Dylan."
Then Dylan brandishes his knife again as the remaining goblins close in.
"FIRE!"
A blast of flame incinerates one of the goblins!
"THUNDER!"
Then a bolt of lightning destroys the other. Selina and the boy look to their left and see a red and black mage lowering their arms.
The red mage bows to Selina. "Hello. My name is Henry. And this is my companion, Jenri."
The small black mage nods. "Hi!"
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Selina and this is Dylan."
Thne all four of them see each other wearing a crystal around their necks.
"Those crystals..." Selina exclaimed.
Jenri spoke up. "We received these yesterday."
Dylan spoke. "Me too."
"And I did as well," Selina said.
Henry is pacing around. "Hmm...we must have been given these fragments for a reason...we should go to Cornelia Castle and talk to the King."
Dylan nodded. "Right."
Together, the four youths returned to Cornelia and headed up to the castle.
To be continued...
Chapter 2
The King of Cornelia
In Cornelia Castle, Selina and her entourage enter the throne room. They are greeted by the King.
"Welcome, travelers. I am told you carry crystals. Is this true?" the King asks.
Selina nods. "Yes."
Then they show their crystals to him.
"It's just as Lukahn's prophecy foretold: 'When darkness veils the land, four Warriors of Light shall come.'"
Selina thought to herself, "'Warriors of Light?'"
The chancellor speaks up. "Your Majesty, we cannot be certain that these are the warriors foretold by the prophecy."
"Yet they stand before us with the crystals. I cannot dismiss this as mere coincidence. Crystal bearers, there is a task I would ask of you. Will you not rescue my daughter, Sarah?"
As Selina and company listened on, the King and the Chancellor told them that a knight formerly of his Majesty's service, Garland, abducted the princess and fled to the Chaos Shrine. They tried to save her, but he was too strong.
"If you can rescue Sarah, I will have the bridge rebuilt as a sign of my gratitude."
Seeing as they needed to continue one their way, Dylan stepped up. "We'll do it, your Highness."
"Thank you," breathed the King. "Go, Warriors of Light, and do not fail me."
With that, they left the throne room and headed back to town to prepare for their confrontation with Garland.
To be continued...
Chapter 3
Showdown with Garland
The trip to the Chaos Shrine was harsh. Twice, they were critically injured, and three times they suffered enemy ambushes. But they made it to their destination. Heading up to the entrance, Selina chanted a Cure spell to heal herself and her team.
Jenri grabbed a torch and lit it with a Fire spell. "We don't know what may be inside..."
Selina nodded and grabbed her staff. "Right. Everyone, stay alert..."
They opened the ancient shrine doors and stepped in to a decrepit interior, which was just as old as the outside. There was an ominous chill in the air. Selina knew it immediately.
It's the same kind of air I felt back in Mysidia...a breeze full of darkness...
They continued on and entered the center room. There, a knight was kneeling next to someone. It was the Garland that the King told them about.
"Hey!" shouted Dylan as he drew his rapier.
The knight turned around, saw them, and chuckled.
"So, the King had no choice but to send kids to stop me? He's more foolish than I thought."
Henry stepped up. "We're taking back the princess, one way or another."
"Fine," said Garland. He drew his longsword and shouted, "En garde!"
He thrust his sword towards the young warriors.
"Split up!" shouted Selina. The four ran to different areas of the chamber.
If we're going to save Sarah, we're going to have to fight him...
The warriors raised their weapons, preparing for the knight's assault.
To be continued...
Chapter 4
The Inner Light
The fight started quickly. Within an instant, both Henry and Jenri were knocked out. Dylan and Selina were putting up a valiant fight, but Garland was tougher. He broke through their defenses and sent them flying across the room.
"Damn you..." groaned Selina. She barely got back on her feet.
"Hmph! I thought you would've been killed by that. You're pretty tough for a white mage. But this is where it ends!"
Garland brought his sword down for the final blow...but then it just stopped. Garland was frozen dead in his tracks, the blade just inches above Selina's head. Garland looked down and saw her there, but she was giving off a strange, glowing aura. She then opened her eyes...and Garland was sent flying!
"What?"
Selina then changed somehow. One minute she was in her white robes, the next she was clad in white armor, wielding a sword instead of a staff. She even had wings behind her. She then spoke in an ominous voice.
"Evil knight, begone from this world!"
She then slashed him with a single stroke, and suddenly he simply vanished. Afterwards, Selina's armor disappeared and she was back to her old self again. She suddenly fainted, drifting off to a deep sleep.
To be continued...
Chapter 5
Crossing the Horizon
"Selina! Wake up!"
Selina opened her eyes and saw Dylan and Jenri hovering over her. They were back in Cornelia. Henry was leaning against the wall.
"You all right?"
Selina nodded. "Yeah. I think so."
Henry spoke up. "By the Crystals, what was that?"
"I...I don't know. One minute, I was fighting Garland. The next, I wake up to this. Where's the princess?"
Jenri pointed to the castle. "She returned home. The King kept his word. The bridge is rebuilt."
Dylan stood up. "But we can't go yet. We should give Selina a chance to recover before moving up."
"Agreed," said Henry.
"Dylan, I'd like to talk to you alone."
Dylan looked at Selina curiously. "Uh...okay. Can you guys give us a minute?"
"Right. Come on, Jenri. We should restock for our travels."
The two mages left the room.
"What do you want, Selina?"
Selina laid back down on her bed. "Dylan, do you know the story about the 'evil mist'"?
"No."
Selina sighed. "Back at my hometown, we were just living our normal lives when something in the air somehow sent many mages to a deep sleep. Before I left, the white wizard was teaching me and many other pupils how to combat this phenomenon. He taught us how to use our own inner power to drive off the mist. It worked, and now he sent several white mages across the world in order to drive the mist away from other towns. That's when I arrived I Cornelia, when I met you guys."
"So you think this mist is coming from this land?"
"I'm sure of it. Otherwise, I can't explain why we're together like this."
Dylan nodded. "Don't worry. We're with you to the end."
"Thanks, Dylan. Now, we better get ready to move on."
The next day, Selina and her party walked across the newly built bridge. Together, they took one last look at Cornelia. Selina was worried that she would never live to see her people again. But she was also certain that she would return to Mysidia to tell her father and her siblings all about her adventures.
So without a second thought, they crossed the bridge to the other side, eager to get it over with.
Meanwhile, four beings surrounding a glowing globe confer with each other.
"So these are the ones who defeated Garland..." a woman's voice sounded.
"Yes. They did. But they are just kids," a noble voice replied.
"Still, we should not underestimate them. Even the undead monsters I conjured up couldn't stop them," hissed another.
"Do not worry. We will not fail. After all, we control the Crystals."
The three others looked at the last, a dragon with multiple heads.
"Ah, you've returned, Tiamat," said the female.
"All is going according to plan. Lich, are you ready at Melmond?"
"Of course, my friend," said the undead fiend. "Those kids are no match for me."
With that, the fiend disappeared.
"We cannot fail, or else our plan will be ruined. Kraken, Marilith, return to your temples. It seems that the youths will prove to be quite an annoyance..."
To be continued...