I know I should be updating my ongoing fan fiction right now, but this story plot just popped into my head and I just couldn't not write it down. This is a revised version of my deleted, older story "The Monster Master". I didn't like how this story's predecessor was, so I took it off the web. The story itself, however, didn't die. After much deliberation and special thanks to a cool dream I had, I decided to make a better version of my old story. I hope you like it. It's just the prologue for now, but the first chapter will be up within a week. (My exams leave me NO time for internet and computer. I update with pen and paper. Haha...)
Anyway do enjoy and remember:
"All canon characters of Shugo Chara! are NOT mine"
The Mage Master(Book 1: The Merciless Mage Championships)
Prologue
Never had the quiet town of Heion ever experience such a strong storm. It had blown into view late into the afternoon, and stayed there even as night settled on the town. People were all snuggled up in the cozy little homes, eating a nice meal by a warm fire. The animents in the town's forest weathered the storm in their dens. Some were sleeping, others were waiting for the torrent of rain to cease. Then a loud array of barking filled the forest. A small figure burst through some bushes and pelted through the forest foliage.
The creature was panting heavily as he swerved through stumps and leaped over roots. Behind him was a pack of Forest Wolves. They were set on eating the little thing, raw hunger driving their ferocious attack. One wolf shot out a ball of energy at the little creature. He dodged it. He let out a terrified mew all the while he ran. He was getting tired very fast, he had to find a place to hide. Then there he saw it, a tiny little crack in the ground just big enough for him to squeeze in. Bunching up all the strength he had left, the little creature made a mad run for the crack; his breath was getting more ragged with every step.
One Forest wolf leaped at him and bit hard. The sound of teeth snapping was drowned out by the rain, the wolf had caught air. The creature had made it. The pack circled the crack and dug furiously at it with their claws. They let out frustrated yips and growls. All the while, the little creature was safe underground. He curled up into a little ball and waited, listening to the ever growing frustration of the wolves as they vainly tried to dig him out.
"Oi, what're you filthy lot doing near town?"
The little creature perked his ears up. There was another creature there! He heard the baying of some hounds and the scared yips of the Forest wolves. He felt the ground rumble. The wolves were running away. He strained to pick up more sound. "Nate, have you found her yet?" one voice said. The little creature noted the worry in the voice. He dared to poke a bit of his head out and saw a few tall figures. Humans! The creature shot back into the ground and waited for them to leave. He didn't have to wait long though. The humans left as quickly as they came and apparently, the rain ended not long after. The little creature waited a wee bit longer before he poked his head out of the crack again.
He wouldn't take any chances. When he popped out from hiding, he looked around here and there. No danger. The little creature shook off drops of rain from his furry black pelt. "Cold," he muttered. He suddenly froze. Something was crying. He was curious as to who the voice belonged to, so he followed the sound to a nearby log. There was a small child by the fallen tree. She was sniffling and wiping back a few tears. Suspicion left the little creature in an instant. He let out a little mew and revealed himself to her. She seemed like she needed company, he also wanted company.
"W-who's there?" said the little girl. She locked her honey-gold gaze with his purple one. "Hey there, little guy.." she said after what seemed like hours. She pushed away a few of her pink locks and smiled at the little creature. "Are you all alone, too?" The little creature nodded and padded up to the pinkette, plopping himself in front of her. She reached out to stroke him, he bent closer and purred as he felt her soft fingers glide through his fur. He climbed up into her lap and snuggled against her drenched shirt. He liked this human.
"I'm Amu. You got a name?" she asked as she continued patting him. The little creature shook his head. He never thought of giving himself a name before. The pinkette let out a "hmm" and sat there quietly before she suggested, "Can I call you Alex?" The little creature liked how the name rung in his head. He turned to face the girl and nodded his happy approval. The pinkette giggled and grinned at him. He felt his heart melt at the sight of such a beautiful smile.
He spent the next hour listening to the girl talk about humans who were called Mages. He listened to all the exciting tales of these powerful humans and their faithful warriors accomplish great feats. He learned that she wanted to be a Mage, how she was looking for her own warrior. He also found out that she had run away from home. He looked at her questioningly, as if to say "Why?" The girl let out a sigh and looked up at the cloudy skies. She seemed pained. He didn't know why, but Alex felt his own chest tighten as he waited for her reply. He felt sad, too.
"I fought with my uncle." Came her soft reply. "I didn't want to speak to him anymore, so I ran and ran until I ended up here.." Amu wiped away a few tears and inhaled, her shallow breathing caught by Alex's sensitive ears. The furry creature pressed himself against the pinkette and let out a rumbling purr. "Don't cry…" he mewed. The pinkette hugged the little creature and buried her face in his shoulder. They stayed that way for about an hour and Alex never stopped purring all the while. When Amu finally pulled away Alex felt calmer and lighter. There were no more tears in her eyes.
"Thanks. Actually, I kind of miss my uncle now," she said.
He meowed a welcome.
Alex grinned at her and let out another purr. Amu grinned back and laughed with him. All the tired Alex gained from running away from those Forest Wolves seemed vanished as he laughed with the pinkette. This girl was special. He didn't really think much of humans, he didn't really like them. Amu, however, was an exception. While they were laughing about, both of them failed to notice the sound of nearing footsteps. The humans Alex saw earlier let out relieved sighs. One of them turned and called for the others before he went up to the pinkette.
"Amu," he shouted.
Alex turned with the pinkette to meet the approaching human. The little creature dove back into Amu's lap and curled up into a ball. "Amu, there you are!" the man sighed. "We've been looking for you everywhere! Do you know how dangerous the forest is? You should know better than to run off, young lady!" Alex felt Amu's arms wrap around his body when she stood up. "I'm sorry, Nate.." she said. The man let out another sigh and pulled Amu towards him. "Come on. Let's get you home." He said. Just then, Nate and Alex made eye contact. The man scratched his brown locks and looked at him curiously. "And when were you going to tell me who this is?" he demanded.
"He's Alex. He kept me company during the storm," she replied with a slight hint of happiness.
"Well the storm's over. Time to let him go," he said and motioned to take Alex away.
Amu pulled back and hid Alex away from the man, a defiant look on her fair young face. "But Nate.." she protested.
" No butts. Put him down. You know you can't bring wild animents to town."
"He's not wild, he's tame and he's friendly!"
Alex let out a mew of protest as he felt rough hands rip him from the pinkette's arms. He squirmed around and swiped about, vainly trying to free himself. He looked at the Amu and reached for her with his little paws. "Easy there, boy. Here." He heard Nate say. Alex felt Earth under his feet. He looked up and saw Nate walk away with Amu in hand. The pinkette let out more protests as she walked away and turned to give Alex one, long, sad glance before she and Nate disappeared into the cluster of trees and bushes.
The little creature didn't waste a second. He pelted right after them. It became harder for him to follow, the foliage was getting denser and it was hard to wriggle through them. He didn't give up, however. He lifted his little snout and sniffed the air. Amu's scent was still strong. He struggled to free himself when a vine tangled his little horns. He pulled, he tugged, and he shook until the vines snapped. "Amu!" he mewed. He didn't know why he was following pinkette. He had just met the girl and he knew how dangerous humans could be, but the moment he laid eyes on her something just clicked.
He felt drawn to her. Alex pushed on and ran past trees and stumps. Because of the vines Alex had lost Amu's scent. He tasted the air, he was desperate to regain the girl's strawberry scent. He blindly made his way to edge of the forest and then halted. Alex gulped. He had never set a paw out of the forest, not since he was born. The sounds and scents of people filled his nostrils. Before him was the town of Heion. He knew that somewhere in that cluster of buildings was Amu. He took in a big gulp of air and ventured into human territory.
Alex was careful to avoid any humans. He sneaked through alleyways and hid behind dumpsters. It was especially hard to hide with bloodhounds and their mages passing by every now and then. The town had good security, he had to admit. He walked for about ten blocks before he finally picked it up. Strawberry dominated over the scents. He turned his head to a narrow path at the edge of the town. Down the path, he could see a farm with a house right smack on a tiny hill.
"Amu,"
Alex could hardly bottle up his excitement. The little creature poked his head from behind the dumpster he was hiding in. Left, right. Good, there were no humans or hounds. He made a run for it, kicking up a cloud of dust as he sped through the narrow dirt path. Every step brought him closer to the house and every step made the scent of strawberries grow stronger and stronger. When he was just meters away from the door, he felt a huge shadow come upon him.
Alex let out a terrified mew when huge paws crushed him to the ground. Looking up, he found that his attacker was a terrifyingly huge Black Bear. Its beady eyes were narrowed in on the little creature's trembling body. Alex cringed at the sight of the bear's grizzly fangs and how they glinted dangerously under the waning moon. Just then the door slammed open and the scent of strawberries washed over Alex.
Standing in her night gown, Amu let out a gasp when she saw Alex. She had heard her uncle's bear make some noise and had went to investigate. "Brutus, off!" she said. The bear obeyed and released its grip on the trembling little creature. The pinkette ran to Alex and picked him up, swinging him to and fro in delight. "You came back, little guy!" she smiled. She let out a chuckle when the warmth of his tongue brushed over her cheek. "I was hoping you'd come." She turned to Brutus and smiled at him.
"Don't worry old boy. This is my friend," she reassured.
Alex let out a nervous chirrup when the bear nodded. It was obvious he wasn't that convinced about Alex being friendly, but all his worry was set aside. After all, he had found Amu! While happily congratulating himself on a job well done he again failed to notice someone come up to him. "Uncle, this is the little guy I was talking about!" Amu's voice snapped him out of his self-contentment. Alex turned around. He met a tall young man. He looked to be in his early twenties. Alex noted he looked nothing like Amu because he was a blue-eyed brunette.
When he sniffed at the man, Alex felt his mouth water. Various scents of icing and cake filled him. This man was covered in sweet scents! "Ah, so you're the little gentleman who kept my niece company, eh? Nice to meet you, then! I'm Shuu Hinamori." Alex found this man as likeable as his niece. His voice was sweet like his scent and there was a warm air around him. It was very approachable.
He openly accepted Shuu's hand with a purr when the man patted him on the head. "You know, you're not supposed to be here. If Amu hadn't been here sooner my Brutus would've torn you up like he would any Forest Wolf. Those rascals keep trying to eat my reindeer. I can't have that…Oh, don't be worried little thing. My warrior won't hurt you anymore, no sir." Alex cringed at the thought of hungry wolves being mutilated by the big brute. It made him shiver.
"Amu, bring him in. He looks famished." Shuu said.
"Can he sleep here for the night?" asked Amu.
"I don't see why not."
Alex felt his spirits lift with Amu's as they both made their way to the house. Brutus sat by the doorway and watched him closely as he passed by. Shuu started rambling on about the cakes he'd make for him But the little creature could only hear the pinkette's voice as she spoke.
"You're going to love uncle's Cheesecake!"
Well, there's the prologue. I hope it wasn't too confusing for you readers. Oh, here. I'll give you a few term definitions:
Animents - are animals that have elemental powers(mainly fire, wind, earth, water, and shadow/light). Some animals, like wolves, are further subdivided into elemental species. (Forest Wolves=Earth, Igneous Wolves=Fire, Storm Wolves=Water, Shadow wolves=Shadow/Light) Some species of animents have only one element like Tigers, who belong in the Fire Category. Some species of animents have species under all the elements, others have only two or three. Mages form Trustbonds with Animents to help enhance their magical properties. They draw their powers from the elemental spirit found within every animent.
Mages - Are the most powerful humans in the society. Every human is born a mage, but only some have the skill and endurance to develop their powers. A mage begins their training one they've acquired an Animent to be their Warrior. If a human cannot find their destined Warrior before they turn ten, they lose their magical properties forever. Unlike the wizards of Harry Potter, mages do not need wands of any sort. They use chants and cast it with their fingers. More advanced mages can cast a spell/charm/curse just by looking at their opponent and thinking about the spell. Weapons like swords or staffs help amplify a mage's spell, but they are not a requirement.
Warriors - it is a mage term for an animent who formed a trustbond with a human. Warriors are usually loyal animents that stick by their mage's side to the very end. They provide most of the raw, elemental power their mages need and also serve as "protectors" for their human companions. Once an animent finds a mage, its powers are amplified greatly due to the mage's own spiritual power. The type of warrior a mage gets reflects who they are. Mages with dragons, fairies, phoenixes, or big cats are known to be incredibly strong.
Trustbond - an Ancient pact performed by a human and an animent. The human must recite an ancient chant of which indicates his/her willingness of becoming the animent's "other half" and willingness to share his/her fate with it. The animent then agrees with a nod. A blinding light then consumes both human and animent. During that time, their spirits are torn away from their bodies and combined as one soul. They each keep a part of that soul and therefore will share the same fate if one of them dies. Occasionally, the Trustbond gives the human and animent a sense of empathy towards one another, allowing both parties to know how the other feels. Forming a trustbond is a life-long commitment.
I guess that'll do for now. Anyway, please rate and review my story! Comments and criticisms are a big help in speeding up updates, you know. Thanks again for reading!