The Adept Chronicles: the Hunter and the Agent
By Heart's Rain
Chapter 1
The arid desert sun blasted mercilessly against the rolling hills of red sand. A small, soft breeze gently caressed the landscape, convincing mists of fine grained particles to travel from one hilltop to the next. Sand dunes or ergs stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions with specks of black dotted ridges, the mountain ranges of Arum, barely visible in the northwest. Few creatures of nature were able to survive in this unforgiving desert. Desert Dew, a tall, long stemmed flower was one of only two types of plants visible in this desert. It mostly relied on its incredibly long roots to tap into the underground water supply. These resilient Desert Dews were sparse compared to the Dune Trees, which were mostly found in groups, hugging closely to the occasional oases dotted around the ergs. Their giant triangular shaped leaf tops provided shade and shelter to both its nearby inhabitants of the wild and travelers from a distant land.
The specific oasis in question lies not far from Hama, the capital city in the Kingdom of Sadic, land of the Sand. A single traveler perched next to the water, filling a leathery pouch, preparing for the final leg to his destination. Turquoise silk rested lightly against his skin. Its thin layers, easily permeable to its surroundings, made it a favorable outfit for traveling in this region. A combination of sand mask and desert turban protected the traveler from the ever glaring sun, yielding only a pair of tired light blue eyes between the seams. The traveler packed light, with only a small cloth bag tied to the back of his gray-furred companion. The beast stood tall and held its head high with dignity and pride. Its twin tusks protruded from the side of its mouth, aiming forward. Its dark mane jutted out from the corner of its mouth, rounding all the way up to top of the head, past the short pointed ears, and ending just before the middle of its back. Its four thick limbs stood firmly in the sand, easily supporting the weight of the beast that likely weighed as much as a whole Dune Tree.
The traveler stared past the leaves of his shade at the orange sun, silently counting up to the hour of the day. He licked his parched lips behind the sand mask and whistled, "Come Shakran." The noble beast turned to the traveler's velvety voice, grunted a soft acknowledgement and treaded lightly to the edge of the water before putting its mouth in the water. At this pace, thought the traveler, the city of Hama will be within reach before sundown. He sat back into the sand, letting his body sink into the warmness of the ground. For a moment, he lowered his guard to allow a few minutes of serenity. The wind sang a gentle and beautiful melody in his ears, reminding him of a time when the traveler lay in this exact position on the beaches of an island far away.
Just as his eyes slowly wavered shut, a sudden change of musical notes jolted the traveler from his slumber. Distant strides of a single sandrider, the same species of beast as Shakran, closed in quickly toward the oasis. The traveler stood and looked east to see a speck of dust kicking up in the close horizon. Sandriders might be big and heavy, but its intricately built muscles made its hoofs surprisingly light to the dune sands, allowing it to run on a terrain that would be otherwise strenuous and time-consuming. The traveler reached into the small cloth bag and retrieved a small silver rod, which he placed inside his silk cloth. The visitor might just be a wayward traveler looking for a place to rest. However, the ergs of Sadic were a dangerous place, even more so now in a time of turmoil. The traveler stared at the dust trail that moved in quickly, repeating to himself of all the different possibilities and venues of escape.
The visitor and the sandrider closed the gap in minutes, and soon the traveler was staring into the youthful face of a lightly armed woman. Her brown leather armor hugged her lightly bronzed and slender body tightly. A single belt strap swung diagonally across her chest, a Sadician moonblade hanging from her back. The visitor's brownish blonde hair curled to her shoulders, with a single strand of braided lock falling down her right cheek.
"Greetings traveler," said the woman, "heading to Hama?"
"Yes indeed," answered the traveler carefully, "how fares the city?"
"So far?" The visitor paused as she clicked the back the sandrider with her boots. The armor-clad beast groaned and bent forward, allowing the young woman to slide off to the side. "Well, aside from the fact that the whole world is in chaos over a few words of insanity uttered by an old adept who really should have retired, and the fact that Sadic is the only kingdom that remains undecided over which side to take in this conflict, I think we are doing quite well. What brings you to Hama?" Asked the visitor as she crouched down to the oasis, cupping a handful of water and splashing it across her face. She was young, untouched by time, and her skin radiant and unscathed. Her light brown eyes sparkled as she looked at her own reflection in the water.
The traveler, mesmerized, found himself staring helplessly at the visitor. His mind wandered aimlessly in his long forgotten memories, searching for a familiar name or face that he might have read somewhere, or seen. "I'm just a...just traveling...visiting, yes," stuttered the traveler.
"You know," the young woman spoke without glancing back at the traveler, suddenly bringing him back from his dream world. "You might lose an eye if you stare too hard."
"I'm sorry. I jus...", a tingling sense of alarm rang in his mind. The traveler dropped to the ground and rolled to his right, just in time to dodge four hair-thin needles flying straight for his eyes.
"Not bad," the woman smiled, unsheathing her moonblade, "for an ordinary traveler. Now tell me, what are you doing here in Hama?"
"That is none of your business," said the traveler as he got back on his feet. His hands reached inside his silk cloth, "why have you attacked me? I have done you no harm." His right hand gripped the silver rod tightly.
"Is it not obvious? I am a Sadician warrior of the desert, and it is my essential and only duty to rob you of your riches." The woman placed both hands on the handle of the moonblade, "now take out your own weapon and fight."
The traveler glanced at this young woman and contemplated his alternatives. "So if I fight you and lose, what will you do to me?"
"Well," the young woman thought for a moment, "if you're unlucky, you'll probably be buried on this estranged land. If you are unbelievably lucky and somehow survive my deadly blows, then I suppose I must take you as my slave."
"You suppose?"
"Yes," said the young woman, slightly annoyed, "I can't possibly leave you out here. You have more value to me alive than dead. They pay very well at the slave markets in Hama. Now stop with petty talk and take out your weapon!"
The traveler relaxed his hands and shrugged, "I have no weapon, and I know nothing of warriors or fighting. I surrender to you." He thrust his hands forward, "go ahead and tie me up."
The young woman dropped her arm to her sides, visibly dismayed. "You're telling me that you don't have any weapons? Not even a knife?"
The traveler shook his head, "nope, sorry to disappoint you."
"But what about that dodge? You are obviously not just an ordinary traveler. You moved like a Jungle Cat."
"That was pure instinct," said the traveler, "my mother always said I was the quickest one of her brood. I once caught a Blazed Beaker with my bare hands."
"A what? Blazed...", the young woman sheathed her blade, "alright, I don't care how quick you are, but you say that you are traveling out in the desert of Sadic without any protective gear?"
The traveler nodded quickly, "I know, not from this area. Dumb, very dumb mistake on my part."
"Boffles!" cursed the young warrior, "and I thought I would be able to taste my first combat."
"Yeah, sorry about that."
"I trained months with my teacher. I was one of the best students but still the only one without a combat victory," said the woman grumpily. She approached the traveler and lassoed a sandrider rope over his hands. She then proceeded to pat the traveler down, finding only the small silver rod. "What's this?"
"That's a travel protection pendant. The family I stayed with gave it to me. Purely sentimental and I would much appreciate it if you don't throw it away," explained the traveler.
"It looks useless," sighed the woman, "I can probably fetch more on the market with sandrider dun than that." She placed the rod back in his robe, "anything valuable on that sandrider of yours?"
"You're welcome to check, but it's mostly city cloth," shrugged the traveler innocently.
The young bandit approached Shakran, only to stop when it grunted and hissed its disapproval.
"Calm down, Shakran," whistled the traveler, "everything's alright." Only then did the sandrider calm down and allow the young woman to search through the bag on its back.
"Guess you are telling the truth," the bandit threw the bag onto her own sandrider. Then she approached the traveler once more and decided to evaluate her only valuable asset. Removing the sand mask, the young bandit found herself staring into gleaming blue eyes of a rather handsome young man. Her inner mind gasped as she tried very hard not to blush. For the first time, she noticed his well-defined muscles hiding behind the silk robe. "What did you do for a living? One does not become strong by traveling."
"I used to work as a sea hunter on the islands of Aquaris," the young man gazed into the water of the oasis, another flood of memories overcoming him, "the people who I worked for, their business, fell apart. So now I'm wandering the land finding employment elsewhere."
"I'm sorry to hear that," the young woman tied Shakran to her own sandrider and helped the traveler swing onto his ride, "but your misfortunes are my gain. Like I said, they'll pay well for a young slave like you on the market."
The young man chuckled, "I guess I am glad to be of service, my lady."
"My name is Yuna Niraya, not my lady," the young bandit hopped up to the top of her sandrider effortlessly, reining the beast up, and pushing it once more into the dry desert sun, "and what do I call you? Can't possibly call you slave boy the rest of our journey, can I?"
"Well, when I first got to the islands, the folks there thought I came from the sky, since I didn't come in with a boat," explained the young man, gazing up at the sky.
"If not a boat, then how did you get there?"
The young man pondered at Yuna's question. "See the thing is," he explained, "I don't remember anything before arriving at the islands. Not my name, or where I come from. I just remember losing consciousness and waking up on the beach."
"In that case, should I just call you Nameless?" asked Yuna quizzically.
"The people that found me belonged to the Hart family that ran the fishing business, which I eventually helped out with. There was a hurricane the night before they found me. All boats were stopped from leaving the harbor. So, when the islanders found me on the beach, they believed that I fell from the sky, and so they named me after their god of rain." The young man looked at Yuna and smiled, "they called me Aero, Aero Hart."
"There it is!" Exclaimed Yuna as she pointed to a small pointy tower in the distance, "the gates of Hama is in sight." The sun had become nothing more than a ball of fire behind the two. Aero had gotten tired of sitting upright on his ride and turned himself around lay on the back of Shakran. He twisted his head forward and squinted his eyes. The gate tower sparkled like a jewel in the sea of sand. Giant white marbles tablets cemented over one another. Wall sections were constructed tight and thick that even the most knowledgeable adept or chemist cannot breach them with spirit magic or the most modern explosives of its time.
"It's marvelous!" Exhaled Aero.
"If you think it's so great now, wait until you get closer," grinned Yuna.
A single Desert Dew popped up to the right. Its naturally pale blue color mixed with the orange setting sun gave it vibrant purple. Yuna hopped down and took out her pocket blade. She had occasionally stopped temporarily on the way to the city to cut down any Desert Dews she saw, carefully placing them in her bag.
"You seem very proud of your city."
"Of course," the captor said matter-of-factly as she jumped back up on her sandrider. She gave it a slight squeeze with her boots, forcing the beast to pick up the speed. "You came from the islands. I wouldn't possibly imagine you to know the history of this land."
"Why don't you enlighten me?" smirked the captive.
"Well," Yuna crossed her arm, looking back to her slave. "The land of Ooa'dana was once a peaceful place with only two kingdoms, the kingdom of Strom to the east and the kingdom of Crillo in the west. They relied on each other for survival. Stromians provided food to trade with Crillians for their raw resources. Sadic was just an uninhabited and barren desert situated in between the two kingdoms. But a few thousand years ago, the chemists of Strom figured out that we are surrounded by spirit particles called Nexus. According to my teacher, when a living being is born, Nexus attaches to the being, reproducing more and more as the living grows. When the living passes away, the particles implode and spread into the surrounding environment, ready for the cycle to repeat again."
"Really?" Asked Hart, his head tilted to one side. His face showed a mask of perplexity. "Are they harmful to our body when they are attached to us?"
"Old man Yata said that they don't harm us, they just hang around and use our energy to multiply," explained Yuna, "but then the chemists…"
"Wait, old man Yata?" Aero glanced back to Yuna, "who's that?"
"Oh yeah, that's the teacher who taught me my fighting skills," stated Yuna proudly, "anyhow, as I was saying, about two hundred years ago, the chemists started doing experiments with Nexus and found that certain individuals have an inept ability to control Nexus and combine these particles into physical objects. They called these individuals adepts. Old man Yata is actually one of the first adepts ever discovered."
"I can see you are so proud to have him as your teacher," responds Aero.
"You have no idea," Yuna giggled ecstatically. "These days every person in the land wants to be an adept. They want to learn from the best Nexus-wielders."
"Is that why you studied under this teacher?"
"Well, controlling Nexus is a weird thing, because either you got it or you don't," said Yuna sadly, "old man Yata told me that I do not have the potential to be an adept, but I've got fast hands and feet. He said that I should use that to my advantage."
"So you became a bandit of the high dunes, robbing people of their riches and selling travelers to be slaves," snickered Aero sarcastically, "and if they're lucky, they won't get their eyes poked out. What a wonderful teacher Yata turned out to be."
"Watch your tongue, slave!" Yelled Yuna acrimoniously, "I've learned under him for a long time, he's practically family."
"Okay, I'm sorry, miss Niraya" Aero waved his hands in surrender, "please continue the history lesson."
Yuna stared at Aero sternly for a moment, "eventually adepts become very powerful. Some were able to use Nexus and make it into powerful weapons that can't be made by a weapon smith. Some were able to combine Nexus with other elements of our nature and create spectacular magic. Of course, only a few of the adepts are able to control Nexus so easily. These individuals became Master Adepts."
"How do they do that?" asked Aero, "how are they able to control it so smoothly?"
"I don't know," replied Yuna, "I've asked Yata, but he couldn't quite explain it neither. All he said was something about gelling your own body and mind with Nexus."
"Humph…", pondered Aero, "combining your mind and body with Nexus."
"So when the mystical beings appeared and waged war on the kingdoms some sixty years ago," said Yuna.
"Wait, mystical beings?" Interrupted Aero, "What mystical beings?"
"The war? The Great War?" Yuna stared at Aero, dumbfounded, "You really did hit your head somewhere, didn't you?"
"I don't remember a Great War, especially with mystical beings!"
"Old man Yata said that the mystical beings came from the uncharted territories beyond the Arum mountains," continued Yuna, "he said that these beings used Nexus easily and slaughtered armies of warriors and adepts simply by pointing at the marching troops."
"Amazing! So where are those mystical beings at now?"
"Rotting under our sandrider huffs," shrugged Yuna, "the final battle of the War was fought on the sand dunes of present day Sadic. The Master Adepts led an alliance army of both kingdoms and were finally able to rout these mystical beings. In order to prevent further intrusion of these beings, the Master Adepts constructed the Great Gate of Bello just beyond the Arum mountains, naming it after the commanding Master Adept of the Alliance Army. The Kingdom of Kharkak was formed near the Gate as a first line of defense against these intruders."
"I see," pondered Aero, absorbing everything Yuna said, "so when was the kingdom of Sadic formed?"
"Soon after the war," replied Yuna, "like Kharkak, Sadic serves as a second line of defense against any future intrusions, but also as a memorial for all the fallen warriors of the Great War."
"And Aquaris rounds out the last of the Five Kingdoms," Aero pointed out.
"Exactly," said Yuna. "In fact, old man Yata was one of the many adepts who took part in the war and the construction the kingdom of Sadic afterwards, creating solid white marbles out of Nexus to form the tower gates you see in the distance."
Another Desert Dew showed up in front of them, Yuna beamed as she jerked the mane of her sandrider, telling it to stop. She took out her blade once more and cut off the stem of the flower.
"What do you do with the flower? Sell it?" Inquired Aero curiously.
"Desert Dew? Oh no, they don't worth anything on the market," replied Yuna, "I make it into an arrangement with some other imported flowers and give it to my mother. It's her favorite flower."
"Wow, a bandit with a heart," joked Aero, "your mother is a lucky lady. She must put your flowers in her room so she can smell it every day, reminding her what a wonderful daughter she raised."
Yuna looked back over to Aero, but did not appear to be amused by the joke. She thought silently for a moment before replying, "you misunderstood, my mother is …"
Before she could finish her sentence, the sands around them wavered lightly. Whether it was experience or instinct, her moonblade flashed out of its sheath in defense just as six dusty figures leapt out from behind an erg hill. They each wore similar leather armor as Yuna, but had different accessories and weapons. One had a desert viper shoulder pad, the teeth of the viper jutting out from the sides of the leather. Another had a rusty old war helmet made eons ago. Two of them had spiked mace slung over their shoulders, while another stuck a jagged wooden club in his war belt. Standing in the middle of the bunch was the leader of this apparent band of bandits. He was a skinny creature, a Triorian in fact, a race that distinguishes themselves with three eyes, beastly extremities, and a pair of triangular horns poking through the top of his head. The creature stuck his hands over the hinge of a dagger stuck beneath the belt of his oversized Sadician robe. He wore only a white silk vest, exposing his bony prominences and a chest full of thick black hair. The only thing these men all had in common was the small "BCC" pad, embroidered on the front of the leather armor.
The leader chewed on the stem of a Desert Dew as he slowly approached. "Isn't this my lucky day," said the leader as he turned sideways to the pair, flaunting his skinny arms in the air, "the name is Butch Castle, the one and only daredevil of the high sea, leader of the greatest treasure hunting company in the whole land of Ooa'dana."
He looked back at the pair, seemingly waiting for a sigh of amazement. Seeing a face of confusion on the two, he went more in depth, "the Butch Castle Corporation, of course!"
Yuna stared at the odd man and wondered, "I've never heard of you, have you?"
Aero shook his head, "doesn't ring a bell to me."
"Didn't think so," said Yuna, crossing her arms, "you're in my way, Butch Castle."
The group of men laughed as the leader scaled her up and down greedily, "of course I'm in your way. I put myself there. You know why?" The man snorted a laugh as his saliva drooled down his lip, "I've seen you in Hama before. You are one good looking young girl. I bet you'll fetch a lot on the market."
Unfazed, Yuna flashed her moonblade in front of her. "I'm a hunter myself," she tugged on the rope binding Aero's hands. "Get out of my way, or you will get hurt badly."
"She means it," said Aero, hoisting his tied up hands as he continued to lay on the back of Shakran. "She really gave me a beating when she tied me up."
The five men standing behind the leader stopped their snickering and muttered faint words of uncertainty. Only when their leader glared back at them, did they stop their chatter. The leader glared back at Yuna, judging her up and down once again. "Is that right? You're always following around the weird old man Yata, aren't you?" The skinny man, threw his dagger on the sand, and clicked his arm bracers, popping out blades just above the skin of his knuckles. "Let's see what you learned from that rusty old man."
Before Yuna could dismount, the Triorian charged into her sandrider, flinging her from her ride. Only her quickness and agility was able to save Yuna from a sandy landing as she pushed her hands on the back of her ride, flipping her body upright. The Triorian wasted no time as he slashed his twin blades horizontally through the air. Yuna bent her dexterous body backwards avoiding the slash completely, firing two needles off the tip of her finger, striking the Triorian squarely in the chest.
Butch doubled over, groaning in pain. He reached down and pulled the needles out harshly. "You slime! I'll get you for this!"
"Let's go, Yuna!" Aero cheered mockingly, "show me your skills and kick this animal back to where he came from!"
The Triorian blinked bitterly at the slave boy, "shut your mouth, slave! When this is over, I'm gonna boil you for dinner!" He turned his attention back to Yuna, circling her. Yuna held her moonblade tightly in one hand while the other behind her back, grasping four more needles between her fingers. The Triorian charged once more at her, putting strength behind his feral legs, trying to knock Yuna down to the ground.
Seeing this mindless attack, Yuna leapt up through the air, allowing Butch to run right through where she stood. Just as she reached her apex, she swung her moonblade down the center of the Triorian's back. The blade shined as it cut into the leather vest, effectively splitting the vest in two. The Triorian doggedly attempted to pick up the vest pieces but to no avail.
"My, my," Yuna busted out laughing, "you look even more pitiful, now that you lost your vest than you did before."
The Triorian screamed in anger, swinging his blade furiously at Yuna, who dodged them easily just by pivoting her body left and right. "It's no use, mister wanna-be bandit. You better tell your men to let me pass, before I…"
The Triorian abruptly stopped and pointed his blades at Yuna. The blades clicked and took off from his arms. Yuna leapt backwards, barely dodging the blades while emptying the needles right into the sockets of the man's shoulders. The Triorian fell to the ground in agony, unable to lift his hands up.
"The needles hit your shoulder sockets, and you won't be able to raise them for a while," said Yuna triumphantly, "I suggest you let us pass…" Just as she was about to finish her sentence, a wave of nausea forced her to sit back on the sand. A chill traveled down her spine, numbing every muscle it touched. She looked down and noticed a small cut on her stomach.
"Silly girl," the Triorian slowly stood back up, "you see my man there with the viper teeth on his shoulder pad?"
A sense of grim realization swept through Yuna's mind as she tried to comprehend what happened. "All of my blades and weapons," the Triorian hissed bearing his teeth, "are tinted with Desert Viper venom."
Yuna shook her head and looked back down at her feet, trying to move a toe. It didn't listen. Her moonblade slipped through her fingers as she lost the grip. "The first to go are the legs, and then your arms, until finally your whole body is immobile. You'll be like that for a few hours before your senses slowly come back." Butch waved at his men. They ran down and quickly bound Yuna's hands and feet.
"You scum!" yelped Yuna, "I swear I will cut you in pieces when I get my strength back!"
"Save your breath, little girl." The Triorian turned to his men, "Now what do you say we take her back and have some fun before selling her to Oban?" The men cheered in unison.
Aero peered down at a paralyzed Yuna and whispered, "I thought you were supposed to be really good!"
"I didn't see you do anything," hissed Yuna annoyingly. "I hope they make a great meal out of you!"
"Yes, indeed," said the Triorian upon hearing the quarrel, "I did say that I will boil you for dinner, didn't I?" He turned his attention to a fidgety Aero on top of his sandrider.
"Yeah, but you know," defended Aero, "I really don't taste that good. I used to work as a sea hunter and they got me on those fishing ships and I smell like rotten fish."
"Fish?" Butch licked his ugly lips, "I love fish! It's my favorite!"
"Uh," stuttered Aero, "what I meant to say was that I quit the business for a while now, so I smell nothing like fish, or anything aquatic!"
The Triorian snorted a hideous sound that could only, possibly be his laughter. His arms reached over the back of Aero and swung him from Shakran. The sandrider howled with discontent. "Shut up, you beast," said Butch, "before I dice you for appetizer as well." Undaunted, Shakran continued to bustle restlessly.
"Now, how should I cut you up, boy?" Triorian measured his prey up and down, mustering just enough strength to lift up his dagger.
"Please, you really don't want to do that," said Aero, slowly backing up in the sand.
"Show us how you fight, traveler," shouted Yuna sneeringly. Her captives temporarily shifted their attention to their leader, cheering the Triorian on.
The Triorian raised his weapon up, garnering more excitement. "End of the road, boy." The blade of the dagger glistened as it reached its acme. The metal flashed as it cut through the atmosphere, heading straight for Aero's eyes, leaving behind only a trail of sand falling through the air.