Prologue...
The boy sank to the ground, he was done, the darkness was encroaching, its incorporeal maw widening to claim him. Inch by inch the wet grey stone of the sewer tunnel was being consumed by shadow. His time had come, his task failed, his life wasted, fated to burn out in this dark dank underground.
"He ran this way" a soft voice said
"He has to be here somewhere" a second voice bellowed
"Scatter, find him!, we will not fail the Church, not today, not ever!" a third voice commanded.
There it was, gripping him like a vice, FEAR, his pulse was racing, his heart hammering at his ribcage as if to demand freedom from his body and this dismal place along with it. He looked to the floor, to the puddle beside him, seeing but his silhouette reflected, a shadow of his true self, it seemed fitting to him, an orphan, thief and now a rebel. He had lived his entire life as a shadow and now would take the form in death. Blood, sweat and the most potent of luck had got him this far, to this place, to this... end. He could hear the resonance of booted feet near by, feel each step through the floor and wall against which he was slumped.
"Where are you?, you little cur!"
It was the bellowing voice, he was close, the boy tensed and the pain returned, a sharp spearing sensation shot up his left arm, he winced, he was hurt, shot while fighting with the others. THE OTHERS! He had forgotten, may Valefor himself swoop down and strike him for his insolence. He was not alone, it was the combined effort of many that brought him this far, not just his own, but their blood, their tears, their... lives. They had sacrificed their lives for him, for his escape, so he could fight-on for the cause, for the... THE STONE.
That damned stone, that cursed stone that they dared to attempt to acquire, that stone that they dared to succeed in acquiring. He held it, stillheld it, clenched in his hand, pressed to his chest like the last possession of a man about to own nothing. The boy gazed upon it, for all the resentment he had for its very existence, even he couldn't deny it was a thing of beauty. Viewed upon as a beloved item it was a stone of disaster and dreams in equal measure. A marvellous thing, it glittered with all the colours of the seas and yet seemed to be but one omnipotently beautiful colour. A crystallised droplet in form, the size of a clenched fist. Truly marvellous.
The stone is what he struggled for, what they struggled for. They believed in him, fought for his escape and gods willing, still live to fight another day. The boy hoped they were still living, fighting on in all ways possible. The thought of them relaxed him, quelled the desperation in his heart.
"They still fight and so must I"
His resolve returned, he stood, forcefully willing his battered body into action.
"He's here!, I've found him!"
It was the man with the bellowing voice. His voice suited his physical form, he was built like the Behemoth, the brutish beast of legend, from tales the man who used to visit the orphanage would tell. Tall well muscled, with hooded blue eyes and fruit orange hair that was cut to form points reaching back from his hair line and joining halfway over his cranium. The boy fled. At first he staggered, near fainting, his brain over whelmed by the sudden pain emanating from what felt like every cell of his body. Overcoming his fatigue by sheer force of will the boy ran on, out into the next chamber.
The room was a large domed conjoining area where several tunnels & tributaries of the sewer system met, a large circular platform occupied the centre of the room, built with a rotation mechanism to redirect the bulky cleaning mechs while preforming their duties. As he reached the centre of the platform that feeling returned. He fell to one knee, as the entire of the crusader squad that was pursuing him stepped from the shadows. There were twenty of them in all, each wore an elbow length navy poncho made of Minor-Antlion silk covering segmented metallic armor, they had on knee-high black boots that their trousers were tucked tightly into, these were also navy but made of a though battle standard fabric, two oblong section of plated armor hung from each man's belt, dangling loosely over the thighs. All wore a metallic helmet that was cast to mimic waves flowing away from the face, other than one middle-aged man each had silver masks of Shiva that were slotted into the front sections of their helmets, usually the face of Shiva brought happiness to the boy, but inspired dread on this occasion, he was surrounded.
"Hold steady men" said the mask-less Man the boy assumed to be their commander. "well done trooper Be'gammon, where is you helmet?"
"Thank you sir, sorry sir, i removed it as it was... confining my senses sir" Apologised Be'gammon, joining the formation to the Commander's right.
"Foolish child, hand over the stone" said a man to the commander's immediate left after removing his own helmet. This was the man who's voice he had heard first. He was a thin man with a cruel feline sneer, violet condescending eyes and short purple hair tied back in a maretail.
"Careful trooper Va'mann" the Commander's voice echoed across the chamber, but his eyes ever remained on the boy. "He holds the Shiva Tear, he is not to be underestimated"
"But Captain he's just a boy, and a raggedy injured one at that" Va'mann sneered.
"Fool!, the Shiva stone is one of the relic weapons of the gods, it is said to hold the essence of the goddess Shiva herself, may the waters be blessed" the Captain said with reverence.
"And so too the snow" each person in the chamber finished the blessing as one, including the boy.
"Silence dog!, you taint our blessings with your traitorous tongue!" shouted Be'gammon, with so much hatred laid into the word "traitorous" that the boy thought he could near physically feel the man's rage.
"Gather your self trooper Be'gammon" ordered the Captain
"Our belief in the gods is true and our motives just" said the boy " it is your so called Clerics, that conspire to taint the holy forms!"
"How dare you!, may Anima torture you for eternity, for your blasphemy!"
Overcome with rage Be-gammon charged at the boy, murderous intent so powerful it seemed to emanate from the man like heat from a flame. Iron mallet held aloft, Be-gammon rose above the boy, about to smite the unholy thing before him.
To get so worked up by a mere child, why do the crusaders allow such cretin into their ranks? when I have command things will be different. Thought Va'mann to himself.
++WATER++
It was as if the sewers themselves moved against him, the water surrounding the boy's feet came alive and pounded him. The shock of the waters animation would in its self been enough to arrest Be-gammon's charge, but the liquid gave him no such mercy as time to stop. The force of the blow was immense, it was like what he imagined being on the receiving end of his hammer would feel like, but two fold. Be-gammon was propelled across the room with nothing but the walls of the chamber to arrest his momentum, he connected heavily with the mossy grey stone, the snapping of bones and clanking of warped armor resounding loudly through-out the chamber. The others watched the spectacle in amazement, the Captain being the only one seemingly about his wits. Be'gammon landed heavily at the foot of the wall bruised and broken, his plated armor ruined, useless against the immense force that left his hammer embedded in the wall above him.
"The fool should have listened" said the Captain "be on your guard, learn from the mistake of the fool or join him in his fate!"
"But sir how can this be possible!" Va'mann inquired "I have witnessed a tier 1 spell used with such devastating effect only once, and that was preformed by a Bishop! How can this child command such power!"
"It is said the Shiva Tear commands and enhances the magics of water & ice, and to a point far above that of the average." the Commander explained "Even in the hands of a child its not a toy, though i believed the stories myth, rarely have people been reported to bring out its power with such success" the commander re-analysed the situation "Men!, anyone with mana stones prepare them thunder is most prevalent and fire will counteract the ice who other than me has a fire stone?"
"Me sir!" said Va'mann
"Then don't falter trooper!, the Tear is the source of his magic but the energy comes from him, in his condition he shouldn't last long those of you without mana stones be careful!"
Va'mann glanced over to Be'gammon's whimpering from. Now I see what use mindless beasts like him are, they're nothing but pawns to be sacrificed in exchange for intel on the enemy. Ha! looks like you were useful after all Be'gammon.
"He he he" the boy chuckled "Thanks old man"
The commander was wrong footed by the boys sudden vitality, he has been kneeling in pain since they entered the room and should be worse off after some of his mana was drained by the stone, but he seemed revitalised, even now he was raising to his feet.
"I knew the stone controlled water, but never made the connection to ice. Though I guess the old blessing was pointing towards the abilities of the stone" A confident grin formed across the boys face "I guess ill survive this after all!" I am truly blessed by the gods. The boy thought.
++WATER++
++WATER++
++WATER++
The room came alive with liquid, once again at the boys
call, but this time attacked in all directions at once. The water engulfed the soldiers with the yellow stones first, the boy was picking his targets well. The Captain hadn't anticipated this, the boy didn't attack in the same manner as before, the liquid weapon engulfed the troops rather than crushing them as it did with Be'gammon, it remained upon their forms, mimicking the men's movements and preventing their escape. The Captain couldn't believe his amateur level analysis of the situation, or his own huge underestimation of the Boy's capabilities, he took into account so much but failed to account for two crucial factors. Firstly, Water magic is primarily the control of water and secondarily the conjuring of water, without the need to 'create' the water, the mana debt on the user is much lower and the attacks strength increased. Secondly, they were in the sewers, water was abundant and with the stone the boy was king down here. Before the Captain could regain his footing the boy was finished with his assault, each of the troopers surrounding him was struggling in vein to break free from a liquid prison, all other then Va'mann who stood besides him in frozen horror.
"Va'mann! Cast now!"
++FIRA++
"Wha...Yes sir!" Va'mann croaked.
++FIRE++
In an instant, flames blazed forth from the two men and met the assaulting force of the water creating an explosion of steam. Though the Commander's Teir 2 spell 'Fira' was able to match the boys boosted Teir 1 spell 'Water', Va'mann's 'Fire' spell, also a Teir 1, faltered against the oncoming torrent. The Captain clenched his teeth as he saw the last under his command immersed in water. It was too much, with the boys attention focused now solely on him, the pressure had increased. He was giving ground, the water inching closer and closer. In a last ditch effort the Captain unleashed his magical reserves.
++FIREGA++
Its was a risk, he was unpractised in the spells use, still the inferno blazed forth ferociously, every edge of the chamber seemed buffeted with magical flames. But the spell had failed to reach its climax as the Captain mana stone shattered in his hands. The standard artificial magic enhancer was not built to synthesise magic at the Teir 3 level, even Teir 2 taxed the device. The room was filled with steam, the tributaries between the Captain and the boy, just beginning to refill after their contents had suddenly vacated in an exodus of evaporation. The boy still stood, wobbly but his resolve still burned strongly, he seemed unscathed. The commander was amazed at the levels of defiance and stamina this child displayed, but he was not yet ready to lose, revealing a second mana stone. Though it is weaker than the last, it will serve its purpose. He thought as the water consumed him.
++BLIZARA++
The temperature of the chamber suddenly dropped, frost encased the moist, grey stone walls and even the vapor mist about the room succumbed to power the boy conjured. Each Crusader to a man,encased in their water armour froze, becoming crystalline statues of ice each bearing a look of fear and imminent death. The boy fell to all fours panting hard, the last spell took more out of his already depleted life-force than the others. He took a while to regain his bearings, though the immediate danger was terminated, he knew the search for him and his allies was still ongoing. The boy smiled as he stood, clenching his bloody wound, taking a second to appreciate the beauty of the scene before him. Snow falling on living statues of ice, in a frozen sewer, such an odd scene he thought to himself. He took the time to say a prayer to the soldiers he had hurt, and to thank the gods for his life, before walking past the glittering forms he had fashioned, over to the still astonished form of Be'gammon at the edge of the room.
Fear gripped the frost coated man, it was a sensation he had never truly felt so acutely before.
"Go back you that house of daemons you call your Church" said the boy. He failed in his attempts to hide the hatred and anger he felt, from being conveyed in his words "And tell them! Tell them of what you have seen today, let them know, that I'm here to bring an end to their tyranny, that I will make them pay for their sins!" The boy shook with anger.
Be'gammon's fear melted away, at that moment he felt nothing but respect for the young boy's courage and strength.
"Boy" he rasped through bloody and broken teeth"I admire... your courage, but the rebels ha... lost. No one has ever come close to toppling the... mighty church. You have defeated me... so... I'll give you some advice, fade into obscurity, hide well, live...well"
"I will make them pay!" the boy exclaimed through gritted teeth."Even if I have to enslave the gods themselves for the power to do so!".
With his words still echoing in the air the boy took his leave and disappeared into the darkness. These marked the first steps, the first steps of what would be a long and turbulent journey.