Story Binder - Gash Bell
My story binders will contain story ideas that are not complete. I am working on these stories and will try to work a little every day on each one. Maybe I'll be more active this way. Enjoy.
Become
An ancient Legend.
Cursed twins.
How far will a king go to save his kingdom?
How much will a father regret the choice made?
An ancient spell formed by an old king. The spell was based on twin boys, and appeared, in every way, just like normal children. The difference was they held a different sort of power within them; a power that was a part of their very life force. This power could manipulate the fabric of their world. The cost, however, was the death of the twins. The world where the tournament to decide the king was held prior to earth held no name, but chaos and destruction marred every path you could walk. The king wanted to free his people's children from this world, but could not find a way before the end of his reign neared. He decided to send out the twin spell he had created.
The moment he did, the tournament books went out. The twins had been living as normal children, until the king sent them out. He did this by attacking the gentlest of the twins, who was also the key to the spell of destruction. He planned for the deaths of all his people, thereby declaring the tournament void. Once a decade had passed the end of his thousand-year-reign, he would use the King's Privilege to recall the souls of those who had fallen by his spell and return them to their bodies.
Those who stood against him were those who believed that the King's Privilege would fail him, leaving none to inhabit the world he was trying to save. When he sent the attack out against the "Twin of Light," they sent people to try and guard the child. However, one strike made it through and the twin's powers awoke. To defend against the attack, his instinct awoke a time manipulation spell that froze everyone's time. They didn't realize until the child had appeared at the side in the same moment the attack had been on its way to kill him.
Understanding only that his brother was under attack, the "Twin of Darkness" moved to hide himself and his brother. The twins were never found. The tournament abruptly began as the children who received their books vanished from their homes. A few days later, a violet mist spread over the countryside.
A long-time friend of the twins was among those chosen for the tournament, and was visited by the Twin of Light in a dream, where the boy told him everything that had occurred. Angered and saddened by the loss of everyone and everything he had, he vowed to become king and never allow this spell to be cast again. He succeeded in becoming king, and the spell was declared forbidden to all.
The spell was named "Failing Success," because it did exactly what it was supposed to do, except it also destroyed its caster, leaving a very desolate world. Only 100 children remained from the two-million populace, divided evenly amongst male and female. The king made a decree that none could live apart from a spouse. They were free to choose their own, but the choice had to be made within 20 years. If the choice was not made; he would make it for them. There were no deaths, only a slowly rebuilding kingdom, and a solitary grave none knew. No one, but the king, who had buried the twins there to remind himself everyday of the friends he had lost.
Fourteen kings later, the Earth became the new ground for the God's Trial. Six Kings after that, nearing the end of his reign, the king opened a forbidden book. Three years later, the first set of twins in 20,000 years were born.
Gash and Zeon's father made the choice he did to hopefully remove a 20,000-year-old curse that had been residing over their people. A curse none had known, but him and the kings before. Gash wouldn't know because he was a part of the curse known as 'The Twins of Sorrow'. The curse was that the next set of twins born would be the same as the children that the Failing Success created. This had caused every king create a spell that had prevented the birth of twins, and was the reason that it was known as a curse. The king of 20,000 years ago had created a way for his friends to be reconciled. Their power would be reborn into the next set of twins. This way the magic that had been intended to destroy would be used to protect, like the twins has wished. The problem was the magic required that the original intention be followed through, but the king did not want this. He managed to place a way for the twins' power to be used, but he realized too late what the cost would be. When the next king found out, he began the tradition of preventing the birth of twins. He didn't believe anyone would want to do what was needed to free the twins' power, and so the curse began.
Their father had wanted to end the reason for the spell to be needed. He opened a forbidden book, left by the old friend, as well as the book written by the king prior. Using the two spells, he managed to form the children he needed, and placed them in his wife. He knew that opened the old book would mean his end, but no one expected him to live much longer after the tournament's end. The breaking of the oath meant he would die in 30 years, and it was just long enough he believed none would know.
He also wanted to follow the last wish of his mother to end the curses that haunted their people. One of those curses prevented the people from finding those they were truly meant to guard. (They are but half of one person without the partner they are to guard.) There are three total curses the former king found. The first had been to prevent any more than one child from being born into both his and a rival family. He ended that curse by marrying his chosen who came from that family. This had been against an old family decree, but the will of his mother superseded that decree. The last two were proving to be more of a challenge. His children and a child of two worlds were the keys to ending them.
However, through all the king's efforts, there were a small group of people who knew the old book had been opened, and that the Twins of Sorrow had returned. They knew not who opened the book, but it was all too obvious who the twins were. However, as time went on and there was no sign of the strange power in either twin, those people began to believe all would be well. There was no reason to kill children if they were no threat. Some believed it was given up too easily, and they still watched the king's children, separated as they were.
One woman was actually the caretaker of the youngest prince. Yuna fell under the grips of her fear, and did everything she could to weaken the child she was to protect. It was a fear that grew worse as that tiny boy managed to become king. It was that fear that led her to do everything she could to guard that child. There would be no attacks to threaten his life. No attacks to awaken him, no attacks would bring back the Child of Destruction.
Even if she had to die to prevent it; or if he did.
A small child with downy white hair and a ragged white flowing shirt knelt in the center of the spotlight. His bowed head shook as small hands were folded in seeming prayer. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The words were a never-ending litany of sorrow. Kiyomaru moved forward, his steps echoed softly, bringing the child's head up to face him. The large eyes were a stormy lavender, like Zeon's, only lighter, but they seemed to be filled with a dark clouded power that the child was only barely able to hold back.
His face, however, almost brought Kiyomaru to his knees. He could see the echo of the same horror and pain that had resonated off Gash the day he died at Leo's hand. Gash's face seemed to over shadow the child's as he began to speak. "Please…" The plaintive whisper was cracked raw with unsuppressed agony. "Please don't let me kill them."
The dark clouds seemed to burst from the child. Kiyomaru threw up his hands with a startled shriek and tried to cover his face. A jolt snapped his eyes wide to stare blankly at the ceiling above him. The quiet breathing of the newest member of his family reminded him of the strange insistence Dufaux had given him about staying in his room. "Answer-Talker's a pain." He muttered, though he was supremely glad his "elder brother" was there in the room with him. He tried to settle back down, and soon drifted away to sound of Dufaux's breathing.
Kiyomaru finds his way to an ancient city by way of Dufaux's note. This is where he first hears about the "Failing Success." No one in the town knew exactly what it was, but they all knew it was made their town so difficult for the villagers to find if they left the grounds. They direct him to a shrine that had been built after the Failing Success trapped them. Heading there he finds a tunnel with some strange pictures on the walls. They were drawn onto the wall in a very specific manner.
The pictures showed two children, seemingly twins, playing. Next, the child that was mostly drawn in white was being attacked. This was followed by three more pictures. The children running, the children collapsed against each other, surrounded by the violet mist, and, finally, what looked like a scene of complete desolation. Corpses littered this picture, the twins at the center, with the same violet mist permeating the entire scene.
A phrase under the picture caught his eye. Destruction's countdown can only be stopped once begun, and it can only begin with the ceasing of time. Kiyomaru shuddered and headed through the other end of the tunnel. The echoes of a strange dream haunted him, "Cease time begins destruction's countdown." "Please don't let me kill them."
The sudden brightness at leaving the tunnel gave him pause, but when his eyes adjusted a very familiar building made him wonder if he was still somewhat blind. Gash's school building stood towering over the town before him, complete with the giant glowing ball. He watched the two little balls spinning around inside it until a sharp hiss caught his attention. Turning, he saw a slightly amused Dufaux gesturing for him to come over. Kiyomaru blushed and headed over to the one that had called him here.
He nodded to the tower. "I did that too unfortunately."
Kiyomaru grinned. "Well, we aren't supposed to be here." He glanced at Dufaux. "So when are we seeing the twins."
Dufaux raised an eyebrow at his rudeness, then sighed and shook his head. He handed Kiyomaru a small pendant that Kiyomaru quickly put on, and lead the way to a small clearing. He signaled for silence.
"Wait a second."Kiyomaru said, piecing everything together. "How long as the King's Tournament been going on?"
The strange woman frowned lightly. "I believe the God's Trial has been in use since…" She cocked her head to the side. "Well, there have been 300 kings since the start."
Kiyomaru choked. "Has it always been a human/mamodo pair?" He tried to imagine the people of old fighting. The ancient people tended to be bloodier than those of more modern times.
However, the woman shook her head. "No, the earth was not found until six kings before his current majesty. She sent a little half-grin slightly to Gash." The former world was a cold and brutal place where the children spent a year just trying to survive before the final fight for the kingship. There were no partners for them. Often times the tournament was decided within that first year." Gash looked a little pale, causing the woman to smile gently at him. It was the first smile that didn't carry that mocking air she seemed to wear. "It was an extremely brutal world." The smile faded as she seemed to lose herself in thought. "This unforgiving world seemed to be fading in on itself, and every step was a prayer it would last, and not be the last taken."
An accident awakens the countdown in Gash. Kiyomaru is with him and is aware the moment it starts. Despite being frozen, he still grabs Gash the moment the moment time restarts. This makes people think Gash teleported and prevents the spells awakening from being known by those who would seek to kill Gash in order to stop it. Zeon is aware, but doesn't fully understand. He only knows he wants to keep his brother from sight. Dufaux and Kiyomaru move the twins into hiding while they try to understand what their abilities are telling them. They know that something is needed to save their partners, but they don't know what. They only know they must keep the twins together.
They eventually find the answer (Zeon must forgotten by all, even himself.), but Zeon balks at the idea. He is furious with himself, but can't bring himself to do what he himself had done previously to his own brother. Gash also vehemently refuses and asks if there isn't another way. They continue the search despite knowing there is no other way. Kiyomaru begins writing odd notes to himself, but doesn't let anyone know what he is doing. Dufaux suspects, but knows better than to let the twins know.
It becomes a battle to keep the youngest alive as the countdown becomes known to all. The dreams that had been haunting Kiyomaru change as the original twins try to aid their ailing counterparts. Kiyomaru is the only one to hear them due to his awakening bloodline. For over five-thousand years, Kiyomaru's family has held the blood of Gash's people. As the dormant bloodline awakens, Gash begins to realize there is far more to his partner's ability to intimidate than he had known. Gash, due to his position, is the first to realize Kiyomaru's condition. He quickly tells Zeon, who takes immediate steps to ensure Kiyomaru's awakening didn't increase their problems. A fight with a party who sought to destroy Gash and Zeon caused him to fully awaken, forcing the enemy to retreat. Kiyomaru's spells are first thought to revolve around invisible hands, but was really warped space that Kiyomaru could manipulate at will.
Kiyomaru becomes the key to destroying the third and final curse on Gash's people, but the cost is again high. Kiyomaru's very blood is needed to end the final curse; his life and his will were both needed to break the spell. He could not be killed; he must choose to die. The final curse becomes necessary to break when the breaking of the second curse causing a deadly shift in the balance of power in both worlds. With the last curse broken, the power could move between both worlds with ease, instead of being forced to bottleneck through the small tunnel that connected both worlds. He is able to survive by re-swearing the broken oath of his bloodline's allegiance with the royal bloodline. He, however, manages to word it in such a manner that if Zeon and Gash's bloodline leaves the throne, his can as well.