~I apologize for the wait! There were so many changes to the plot and this chapter was almost like a last minute change before I finished what would've originally been chapter 4! But here it is, and it's a long one! Its fairly slow in the beginning, but its worth reading till the end ;3 Enjoy ^_^
Warning: Language, Some gore and fight scenes, and the introduction of original characters~
In the guild was a commotion that was only seen once a year. Erigor was no where to be seen and it worried seven year old Kageyama. He decided to look for him outside of the guild hall and walked into the forest behind the castle-like fortress. He was drawn to one particular tree, the one he and Varjo trained with. He looked up, past the many lacerations in the large trunk, and saw a leg hanging over one of it thick branches. Turning into his shadow form, Kageyama climbed up to the branch and sat in front of the person lounging there. Erigor had his arms crossed, head resting back against the trunk, and a dark scarf covering his eyes. Sensing the child's presence, he pulled the scarf down to his neck. His expression was lax, but certainly not happy in any way.
"Why aren't you at the guild?" Kageyama asked in a concerned and caring manner, ducking his head shyly. "You know the Master's about to announce who's going to be in this year's S-Class test, right? From what I've seen, you're always there to hear!"
Erigor sighed and looked in the direction of the guild, which could be heard in the distance. "What's the point? It'll just end up a disappointment for me, like last year, the year before that, and the year before that. Ever since I learned to fly, I've excelled in all my training, but it hasn't gotten me any closer to being S-Class, it seems." He turned so both of his legs hung over the branch and he rested his elbows on his knees.
"But aren't you an Elemental now? The Element of Wind?"
The teen scoffed before resting his head in one of his hands. "Nope. Don't you remember? Pa gave that title to Erika. After she left last year. There's no way he'd make me an Elemental. He too paranoid or something, like he doesn't trust me. I know you've seen it." Both hands were hiding his face now and Kageyama could hear his voice cracking, even if it was just a little bit. "It's just going to be Ginnie, Cedric, York, and Haldín and their spirits this year."
Kageyama crawled over to his big brother and hugged him. "You never know! Adler always has at least five participants, right? You still could be in it!"
Suddenly, Erigor grabbed him, sat him in his lap, and held him tightly. Through the shuddering, quiet sobs, Kageyama could hear him say, "Thank you so much, Kage. If you weren't here, I-" He couldn't continue, nor did Kage want him to. Instead he tried to pet the older boy's hair, which was almost impossible to do with how he was being held, but he still managed.
After a few minutes, Erigor's sobbing had stopped, but his breathing still came out harshly and Kageyama could feel that a spot on his head was wet from the teen's tears. Then they heard the loud crunch of leaves below them as someone walked towards the tree. Despite the darkening twilight, they could recognize the figure of Varjo. He stopped a few feet from the tree before calling up to them, "Oi, Dorithy, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz just granted your wish! You might want to come back to the guild hall, right now."
As the man walked away, Erigor's brows furrowed; he hated his new nickname. He was a little confused by the rest of the news though, so with Kageyama in hand, he floated down to the ground and they followed Varjo back to the guild. Upon entering the hall, he was greeted with loud cheering, and as he walked towards Adler, every person he passed patted him on the back. "Congratulations!" "Way to go! You finally made it!" "Good luck with the test!" At the last one, Erigor stopped his tracks, not believing what he had just heard and stared off into the space before him.
Kageyama tugged at his scarf lightly and he looked down at the child, who grinned cheerfully. "I told you~" Erigor looked back up to continue his blank stare. Then, after a moment, he collapsed forward.
Erigor woke with a start a cold water was splashed onto his face. He sat up quickly, and as he tried wiping the liquid away with his scarf, he began to think aloud. "I just had the weirdest dream that Adler said I was going to be in S-Class test..." Taking his scarf away from his eyes, Erigor looked at his surroundings, the scarf now just covering his mouth. He was in the guild hall on the floor. Everything was quiet aside from a few quiet giggles. Everyone was looking at him expectantly, smiling, and Adler kneeled in front him, his grin being the widest out of all of them.
"I did."
The man stood up and held his hand out, offering the teen assistance in his shocked state. Erigor stared up at him in disbelief, slowly looking from the hand back to his face. Ignoring the help, he got up on his own, both hands still covering his lower face with his scarf. He slowly took in all the eyes that were upon him and looked down in embarrassment as he realized he was now the center of attention, and he grew very self conscious. His eyes were very wide and after a moment, he began to emit a very high pitched squeal, barely muffled by the scarf. After a few seconds of mild hyperventilating, Erigor hugged the guild master and the hall erupted into a mix of laughter and cheering.
When the guild hall returned to its normal state, Erigor was sitting at a table with Kageyama, Karacka, Byard, Rayule, and Varjo, still in shock. He barely registered that a pint of water had been placed before him. Varjo was trying to tell him who the other participants in the test would be, but his mind was blank and refused to take in any words the man said. He was only brought back to reality when a shock wave of electricity coursed through his veins. With a yelp, he jumped and turned to face his assailant. It was Cedric.
Cedric was only a year older than Erigor and was part of the new generation of Elementals in the guild, meaning he bore an Elemental Spirit key, his being the Key of Lightning. He wore glasses which frequently needed to be replaced because of the nature of his magic as well as him getting into fights with Erigor; as of a few years ago, they were rivals. His hair was jet black and fell straight to his shoulders, however, the guild always got a kick out of how his hair stood up when he used his magic. The young man wore a triumphant smirk on his face, and his Celestial Spirit, a rabbit/ferret-like creature with a lightning bolt shaped tail, sat on his shoulders, sharp teeth bore in a devilish grin.
"Look Zeus, this is the little tweety-bird who's going to be bowing before the new S-Class wizard next week."
Erigor scowled and quickly got into the other teen's face. "We'll see about that, Chimney Broom! If you're nice enough, I'll give you a free ticket to the high heaven's!" As they butted heads, Erigor added, "Hell, I'll give to you right now!" But before he could land a single punch, freezing water was dumped on both of them. They stopped their bickering to look at Ginnie, another Elemental wizard. Her Celestial spirit, a large bipedal swamp-lizard named Leviathan, stood beside her.
"Why are you two always fighting? There's really no point in it." Ginnie was a sweet girl, the same age as Cedric, but more level headed than he and Erigor combined. Ginnie and long cerulean hair that reached to her waist and fairly long bangs. She was a short wizard who wore fluffy clothes and high-heels. It was she who -inadvertently- started the rivalry between Erigor and Cedric, both of them vowed to marry her some day. Leviathan wasn't particular fond of any man who tried hitting on Ginnie, and when Erigor and Cedric started fighting over her again, he let out a spout of boiling water at both of them.
The group bickering was then completely ended by the booming voice of the guild master. "OKAY, FROM NOW ON, ANYONE PARTICIPATING IN THE S-CLASS TEST WHO STARTS A FIGHT BEFORE THE TEST WILL BE DISQUALIFIED." Cedric and Erigor wrapped their arms around each other in a hug and answered nervously, "We weren't fighting sir!" "We're best friends! There's no need to disqualify us!"
When Adler went back to what he was doing on the second floor, Cedric and Erigor broke their embrace to continue their stare down. Then Erigor felt a hand grab his chin and his face was turned to Varjo's. "Are you going to listen to me now?" Erigor just looked at him like he was crazy. The man slapped him upside the head, not very hard, and continued, having Erigor sit back down at the table. "FOR THE PAST HALF AN HOUR I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE TEST. Idiot." The teen pouted but gave Varjo his attention. "Alright, so, you know Cedric's participating. Ginnie is also in the test along with York and Byard."
Erigor's jaw dropped. "You mean Haldín's not in it this year?!"
Varjo shook his head. "Nope, after he lost his temper last year and misused his spirit, Adler's making it a point not to let him in the test for a few years. I'm surprised he hasn't done the same with you." The teen lowered his head in shame, but Varjo's next words surprised him even more. "But you've been a great help around the guild lately, I guess. You're not that big of an idiot." Varjo reached across the table and patted Erigor on the shoulder.
Next Erigor inquired about Byard. "Aren't you only, like, 11 years old? And you're not an Elemental yet either!"
Byard stuck his tongue out at the teen. "I'm just that much better than you! And Mrs. Lauren says she's going to pass her key to me soon too! But I'm going into the test with Ray as my partner, we're so going to win!" Byard put said partner in a bit of a headlock as he said it but had an elbow in the stomach afterwards.
~~~ Explanation time: Eisenwald in this time is known for it 8 Elemental wizards. Each of the 8 were trained in a specific magic: wind, earth, fire, ice, water, lightning, shadow, and light. When these wizards have mastered or near-mastered their element, they are given a celestial spirit key, one that matches their element. The celestial wizard contracts are transferred down the line with each generation. Now, normal celestial spirit keys are silver, and the Zodiac keys are gold. The Elemental keys however are made from a gem in a color that corresponds with their element; the Key of Fire is made with ruby; Water with sapphire; Earth with emerald; Wind with silver lace agate; Ice with aquamarine; Lightning with citrine; Light with diamond; and Shadow with onyx. With these 8 wizards, Eisenwald is one of the strongest guilds of its time, even rivaling Fairy Tail. Current Elementals: Cedric with the element of Lightning; Ginnie with the element of Water; York with the element of Ice; Haldín withe the element of Earth; Erika with the element of Wind, however Adler possesses the key; Varjo with the element of darkness; Lauren with the element of Light. The last Elemental Fire wizard, a man named Adrian, left the guild 8 years ago, taking his key with him. There is not a single other fire wizard in the guild due to a grudge being held by Adler.
Elemental Wizards with enough magic power and a strong bond with their spirit, with consent, can merge with the spirit and the strength of both shall be increased one-hundred fold. ~~~
Erigor was quite proud that his little brother got into the test, but it did make him feel like a bit of a wimp. He also didn't like the idea of having to participate with a partner. 'I wonder if Adler would let me borrow his key just this once...' Ginnie, York, and Cedric would all have their spirits with them, and Erigor wouldn't dream of taking either of his other two brothers; they were much too young, even if they had skill. His thoughts kept leading to one person who could help him, who would be allowed to since he wasn't an S-Class wizard, but it was someone the teen really couldn't stand most of the time. His eyes flickered up at the man sitting across from him. The Shadow Elemental knew the look immediately and scoffed. "Fine. But know that I won't make things easy for you, airhead."
~~~ One Week later, the day before the S-Class Test. All Participants are waiting in a camp in a clearing, staring into the maw of the forest to the north of the guild. The test begins at midnight. ~~~
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YORK IS GETTING HALDÍN AS HIS PARTNER!" Erigor griped at one end of the camp as he sat with Byard, Rayule, and Varjo. "It's not fair! They're both Elementals and they'll just wipe the floor with us!"
Varjo rolled his eyes. "I bet the Master allowed it as another part for this test to see how well we can work against a dynamic duo such as those two. But there's a chance we won't even face them, so don't worry too much." The man referred to the nature of the test. The first half would be each team taking one of five trails through the forest and make it to the camp at the waterfall at the far side. Two trails would come together and those two teams would battle. The winning team would continue to the camp. It is the same set up with two other trails. The last is a calm trail, but it's easy to stray into the forest and become lost.
The second half of the test was to find Adler at the shrine of the King of Iron Forest. There would be many obstacles such as S-Class wizards who would challenge anyone who came across them, and if any of the remaining teams are come together, they would have to battle as well. If there is only one team left standing, they will still have to find the shrine.
The test will cover three days. The first day will be the first half of the test, and at the end, once everyone has made it to the camp, they will rest. The last two days will be left to seek the shrine. If no one has found the shrine by then, it is up to the guild master to decide who will become S-Class based on their performances, excluding the two (possibly three) teams taken out on the first day.
Erigor didn't quite like the added rule that wizards who use aera magic, like himself, couldn't just fly over the forest to the waterfall, but understood that it was necessary for the test to be a little more fair for the others. Now he was more anxious about facing one of these Elemental wizards, especially the team of York and Haldín. He's tried fighting them before, one on one, and his skills couldn't even begin to hold a candle to their power. Sure, a few years had passed since then, but now they also had the Elemental spirits with them. He could deal with facing Cedric, he'd be able to exact some revenge. Sure, the guy had an Elemental key, but he was nothing more than pompous idiot who still didn't quite know how to use his power.
The teen looked at his two little brothers. 'What if I have to face them? Could I...? They're just kids...' Erigor shook the thought from his head when he remembered that Byard said he wouldn't hold back. 'He probably wouldn't be too happy if I just let him win... So I won't~'
As dusk came and midnight slowly crept closer, the young wizards began to grow restless. Erigor and Cedric glared at one another from across the camp and tension rose among the other teams. Adler announced that there were ten minutes left till the the start of the test and all the teams had to come together. Erigor chuckled when they all had to draw straws to choose which path they would follow.
Erigor had chosen path B which sent him and Varjo on a trek through the forest.
"It really is too bad we couldn't have gotten a cave route, but I'm sure you like it more in the open with your wind attribute." Varjo strolled, his hands up behind his head. "But I still get five more hours of darkness." He laughed as he looked and saw Erigor tripping. Adler had chosen this night because there was supposed to be a full moon to light their way, but with clouds polluting the sky, it didn't help much.
Erigor cursed under his breathe each time he lost his footing or a branch swatted him in the face. He let out a loud girlish scream when he walked through a spiders web, and Varjo just dodged all of it, laughing relentlessly.
"Hey~ You want some light?" Varjo pulled out a torch and lit it. Erigor stood staring at him, ready to just murder the man.
"YOU SON OF A- YOU HAD THAT THIS WHOLE TIME?!"
"Yeah, if you had stayed instead of running ahead, you would've seen that Adler was giving each of the teams a torch. Idiot."
Erigor scowled at the man followed after him, no longer tripping in the dark. After a while, they had passed over a small stream and had to climb some rocks, and with the traveling, Erigor started to cool down and come to his senses.
"So, does Papa really think we need all day to go down these trails?" By this time, the moon was visible, however surrounded by clouds, and the teen walked, staring up into it's brilliant blue light.
Varjo sighed, "I've taken this test a couple of times, it's definitely a long walk, whichever path you choose."
The man was solemn as he remembered, and drew Erigor's curiosity. "Yeah, why aren't you S-Class yet?"
"I don't want to be." He paused, and Erigor waited patiently for him to continue, if he would continue. "Back before Adler was the Guild Master, I was content in going with him on his S-Class quests, without being S-Class myself. I see it as unnecessary hassle, and I'd much rather stay at the guild anyways." But the teen knew Varjo was hiding something, and it had to do with the scar over his right eye. He knew it wouldn't be good to press the man though, he had his reasons.
It was long after the sun had risen when they came upon a large glade that stretched to the horizon, trees dotting the edge. To their left was humongous, flat, mountain face and to their right was the forest, as well as a smaller hill that had a cave entrance. Erigor immediately came to the conclusion that this was to become a battle-zone, that someone could come out of that cave at any moment. He didn't worry too much, and being fatigued as he was (he wasn't a fan of walking too much) he collapsed in the grass, reveling in the cool breeze that flowed through the valley.
"You really are somethin'," Varjo said, sitting down next to the teen, chuckling lightly. Erigor scoffed, laughing with the man, but he didn't say anything.
Erigor brought his arms up and rested his head on them, trying not to fall asleep and failing. 'This would really be a nice place to have a picnic...' He barely registered that he was snoring or that Varjo had gotten up and had walked over to the cave entrance. Eventually, he could hear the steady flow of water around him, and his back felt wet. 'hmm, is it raining? Nah, then the rest of me would be wet... Is it a flood..?' His eyes shot open, but by the time he realized what was going on, it was too late. He felt himself being lifted out of the water and he suddenly was thrown into the air. Erigor was barely able to catch himself before he hit the mountain face, but used it as leverage to shoot back at his opponent.
He had expected to land a kick, but was caught off guard once again when a large blue reptile was holding him upside by his foot. He groaned when he realized he was against Ginnie and Leviathan, with Leviathan having turned into his gargantuan dragon form.
"Funny meeting you here, Eri~" The young woman stood below him looking up. Little did she know that the perverted teen above her had a perfect view of her cleavage. Leviathan noticed his ogling though and knocked him across the glade with his tail.
Erigor corrected himself again and called out, "You really thinks it's smart to throw me into the air?! I'm right at home up here!" He smirked and saw Varjo standing off next to the cave entrance, smoking a pipe. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" He shouted indignantly at his partner.
Varjo took a long puff and the other Elemental wizard and her spirit watched as he blew four large rings of smoke. When finished, he replied, "I said I wasn't going to help you. If you wanna be an Elemental-" He paused to take another puff. "You need to beat one on your own."
Worry began to build in Erigor's mind, but he figured that what the man said made sense. He kept a close eye on the large water dragon before him and put some distance between them for a minute, flying up to the top of the mountain face. As he devised some plans in his head, Ginnie looked over at Varjo to see if he knew what was going on. He answered her look by shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, he didn't know either.
'The only way I can beat her is to get a shot past Leviathan... but that's easier said than done...' Dropping down from his perch, Erigor summoned a gale that surrounded him. 'Better throw out everything I've got then, I'll get her somehow..." Then his mind drifted to more frivolous topics. 'If I beat her, she'll see I'm tough and she might like me more! But if I hurt her or keep her from being S-Class, will she hate me..?' In his thoughts, he didn't notice Leviathan taking in a deep breath. He didn't have time to dodge as a blast a scalding water shot him back into the mountain face.
Erigor fell to the ground, face red and clothes soaked. He got up struggling to breath, the heat from the water affecting him, suffocating him. To cool the air around him, he summoned a small cyclone, but Ginnie saw it as retaliation and had Leviathan send another blast. The cyclone ate the water, the boiling liquid surrounding the teen, who shot out the top, screaming in pain.
"WHAT THE HELL, I WAS JUST TRYING TO COOL OFF, I WASN"T GOING TO ATTACK, GODDAMN IT IT BURNS SO MUCH, I GIVE IN, YOU WIN, FUCK!"
Ginnie gasped and ran to the teen as he grovelled on the ground, trying to breathe. Leviathan reverted to a smaller size, running after his wizard, Varjo followed close behind. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Realizing it was a stupid questions, she just summoned some water and began to run it over Erigor. "Here's some cool water, hopefully it'll help!"
"Let's hurry and get him to the next camp! The river'll be good for him!" Ginnie nodded at Varjo's suggestion and she and Leviathan carried the teen in a sphere of water, his head being the only thing sticking out.
It was nearing sunset when they heard the distant thunder of a waterfall, and by this time, Erigor was able to move on his own, but he just floated along the ground, trying not to move any of his muscles. Getting to the camp, Erigor dived into the nearby river, amazing everyone by sitting under the falls.
"Exactly what happened?!" Adler asked as Ginnie and Varjo into the camp, Leviathan disappearing, going back to the Spirit World.
Kissing Adler on the cheek, Varjo replied, "It seems someone's not taking hot baths for a while." Adler was still confused but was able to figure out that Ginnie was the victor against Erigor. The two men sat together with Ginnie across from them.
~Going back to midnight, Byard and Rayule have taken Route C, a cave route~
"I'm so glad I know light magic!" Byard remarked, holding a ball of light in his hands which lit their way through the damp underground. Rayule skipped along side of him, pointing at the stalactites and stalagmites at a certain part of the cave which glimmered with quartz and other brilliant gems embedded in the rock surfaces. They were almost blinded when they came upon a cavern filled with crystals.
"I wanna take some of these home," Rayule exclaimed running to one of the clusters. There were several of different colors and Byard had much fun going up to each with his light, laughing in joy at the different colored beams that shone through the cavern. One thing the kids didn't notice in their delight was another cave entrance into the cavern. They also didn't notice the crackle of electricity as a certain wizard and his celestial spirit walked in. The spirit slowly transformed from a ferret into a large bipedal tiger, and its growling finally caught the attention of the children. The gems in Rayule's hands dropped, as did his jaw.
"Aww, I was hoping to hurt that damned tweety bird," Cedric pouted jokingly, raising his hands which emitted electric arcs that stayed close to his body. Zeus chuckled deeply, his fangs dripping, the spit exploding into lightning when it hit the floor. "I guess I'll have to settle with whipping a couple of babies."
Zeus lunged for Rayule while the lightning wizard sent a bolt at Byard. The children each managed to dodge and Byard signaled to Rayule, who then closed his eyes. Byard raised his hands and released a light that, when magnified by the surrounding crystals, blinded their opponents. Rayule took that time to put on a pair of sunglasses, and he used his Urumi to bind Zeus' paws together. However, it didn't help him, and now the spirit had a direct way to attack. Zeus roared and a bolt of lightning shot through the bands and sent Rayule flying back into one of the walls, knocking him out.
"Rayule!" Byard cried out, but he didn't let it distract him. His eyes locked on Cedric, and he let out another beam of light.
"That trick won't work twice!" Cedric had his own pair of sunglasses placed over his normal ones and he sent out a lightning bolt straight at Byard. The child dodged again and began laughing at Cedric's hair, which was standing up comically. Zeus couldn't help but chuckle with him and pointed at his wizard mockingly. This angered Cedric to no end and he let out an uncontrollable and outrageous amount of electric bolts. Byard had to move quickly to dodge them as they bounced of the crystals and even managed to get Rayule's limp body out of the way. One stray bolt struck the wizard that created it, and Cedric collapsed to the ground, skin and hair smoking. Zeus just shrugged and returned to the Spirit World.
Byard blinked a bit, even pinched himself once. "Did we really win? We won?! RAY WAKE UP!" Byard should his unconscious friend until he finally groaned and woke up. "WE WON RAY!" It took a minute for Rayule to register this, and when he did he was jumping up and down with his brother.
"Now let's get up to the camp so you can get patched up; those burns look pretty bad." Rayule looked down at his hands. Pulling his sleeves up, he saw strange lace patterns travelling up to his shoulder from the lightning.
"These look... SO COOL! I GOTS TATTOOS!" The boys laughed and continued to the end of the cave.
~Going back to midnight, York and Haldín took Route D, a route similar to Erigor and Varjo's~
York was never much for walking and he utilized his large muscular friend well. By the time the sun rose to their left, York was sitting on Haldín's broad shoulders, snoring lightly. Haldín ignored his friend's laziness, happy to be outside surrounded by magnificent trees. At around noon, York woke up and decided to walk with his friend. Brushing a hand through his ice-y blue hair, he asked, "So you haven't seen anyone yet?"
"Nope." Looking up, York saw that Haldín wore a scowl. "This better not be the quiet route. I really wanna fight someone..."
When they passed a large stone formation in the shape of an eagle, Haldín was searing mad. "Didn't the master that in this forest, the eagle represents 'serenity' and 'tranquility'?"
York cringed at the demonically angry look on his friend's face. "Y-yeah," he squeaked.
The large man exploded. "GODDAMN IT I REALLY WANTED TO FIGHT SOMEONE!" He sent a kick at a boulder, shattering it into millions of pieces. Then he went up to nearby rocky hill and started punching it.
York raised his hands timidly and said, "We'll probably encounter someone t-tomorrow! Don't freak out, man!"
In the end, York had to use his ice magic to cool down Haldín, and they continued down the trail until the found the river. Walking upstream, they heard a pair of children's voices.
"Man, my hands are still tingly! This is so awesome, I can't wait to show Erigor!" Haldín grinned manically and chuckled madly.
"No." The large man looked down at his short friend and pouted. "We weren't on a fight route, we're not going to attack Byard and Rayule. Let's just walk to the capm with-"
The two children screamed when they saw the men. "WE DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT YOU, TOO, RIGHT?!" Rayule almost started crying.
"No, no, no, no, no!" York said trying to calm the kids. "We're not going to fight!" Haldín's look said otherwise and had the kids cringing. York glared at him and he sighed, getting rid of his menacing face. The four then walked to the camp together and the kids informed them about their battle with Cedric. Soon they all heard the roar of a waterfall and saw it in the distance before them, along with a fire in the camp. Reaching the camp, Byard and Rayule were saddened by the fact that Erigor wasn't there. They sat down with Ginnie and the others, but soon they were joined by another.
Erigor sat down next to them, dripping wet, ruffling the hair of both kids, and York and Haldín wore questioning looks about how there were four teams at the camp.
"Erigor, you make your way home in the morning, before the second part of the test starts at 9. I'll tell the others not to challenge you." Erigor nodded, and the questioning air was cleared.
The teen looked to the other teams and asked how things went.
"We managed to get the calm route," York replied. "It was quite boring," added his hefty partner. "And enraging..."
The teen's eyes widened. "So you guys beat Cedric?! That's awesome! Hah! That asshole got beat by a couple of kids!" Byard and Rayule weren't at all offended and high-fived their big brother. Rayule showed him his arms and Byard told him all about the fight. They both showed him all the crystals they had found as well.
They all sat around a camp fire for a while until after the sun had finally went down, having friendly conversations. At one point, Adler asking for the Elementals to summon their spirits, just for a little get together, to make the night more interesting. He summoned his Valkyrie, a white eagle that perched on his arm and nuzzled his head. Varjo called upon his spirit, a demon-like spirit named Lucifer, his body black, glowing red, hell-fire veins tracing his limbs. Leviathan was content being with his wizard once again. York's ice spirit was a polar bear-like creature named Boreas, and Haldín's spirit was lovely woman representing Mother Earth, Creatrix. It seemed Adler and Varjo had, however, forgotten of the relationship between Creatrix and Lucifer, who were now wrapped in each other's arms, telling each other how much they loved each other.
"Well, at least they're keeping it PG..." Varjo said, leaning against his own lover. Erigor wasn't amused by the public display of affection, though, and got up to go to the tent and sleep.
"Good luck with the rest of the test guys!" Erigor called out quickly in an embarrassed manner and had the others laughing as he left.
One by one as the hours approached midnight each of the wizards went to be, Adler being the first, Varjo being the last since he didn't have to participate in the test anymore, each of the spirits leaving when they desired to do so. When morning arrived, Erigor was the first up, quietly telling Adler that he was leaving. The man acknowledged him and got up himself, seeing as how he had to get to the shrine before the others got up and tried following him.
"Fly safely," he said, patting his son on the shoulder. Erigor shrugged and said, "Eh, I'm gonna walk, it's okay. I think it'll be nice to keep me from the thinking about the fact I'm still not going to be an S-Class wizard."
"You might next year," Adler responded with a wink. Erigor chuckled with him an exited the tent.
The cool morning air was quite refreshing as he walked by the waterfall. The rock face next to it seems awfully familiar, along with the trees, though he knew he never explored the woods too far north. As he strolled along the river, he noticed an old village across the way. Floating above the water, he crossed the river and went to investigate. The buildings appeared empty, and foliage grew rampant up the walls and into broken windows. An eerie feeling crept into his bones as he saw deep claw marks on the doors, and his arm started to throb in pain. Grabbing it, he realized it was the arm that had been bit by a wolf when he was a child. Becoming a little panicky, he walked into one of the houses, its door having been knocked in.
When Erigor was deep enough in house, he stumbled upon a horrifying scene; bones littered the floor, the arm of one body reaching up, resting on the wall. About a foot from the ground on the wall, Erigor saw a message, written in blood: SOMEONE HELP US! THE WOLVES WON'T LEAVE. Below the the message was the drawing of a wolf's face, the blood trail falling from one fang to the bone-y finger. He felt the blood and warmth leave his face.
"What is this place," Erigor whispered, backing away, leaving the house.
Erigor flew back to the camp, but found that everyone had already left. Taking a deep breath, he went and put his head under the falls really quick before heading back to the guild. Despite the disturbing thing he had witnessed, he decided to continue going on foot, taking a path that wasn't the one he had taken the day before.
It was a fairly overgrown trail, like it hadn't been used in a long time. 'I wonder if this leads to the shrine...' Erigor chuckled at the thought as stepped over the tall brush, figuring that he wouldn't become S-Class even if he did find the shrine. It wasn't too long before he saw the canopy of tree much larger than the others and he thought is would be quite nice to rest in one of its branches. When he reached the tree, he saw just how big its base truly was and that someone had even turned it into their home. He was in awe at the brilliant craftsmanship on the window sills and he traced his fingers along the beautiful carvings on the trunk. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the door, which had been torn down similar to the door of the home he had entered in the village.
He took careful steps inside, trying not step on all the clutter. He was drawn to the left by a spiral staircase with a broken canvas lying on one of the steps. He didn't see the clutter of the kitchen to his right where two old skeletons lay on the floor. Picking up the painting, he saw that it was of three people, a man, a woman, and a little girl. The man had black hair, completely different from the other two who had silver. The woman also appeared pregnant, and the girl appeared very familiar...
With a light gasp, Erigor dropped the painting. He stumbled back, tripping over the stairs, however, he managed to catch himself by grabbing the railing. "E-Erika?" A feeling of mixed dread and nostalgia filled his heart as he looked up the stairs. He took slow steps up, each one becoming heavier than the last until he reached the top. The first room he came to was filled with flowers and girlish dolls; his sister's room most likely. An ear twitched behind the bed, but Erigor didn't see it, nor did he hear the soft growling.
The next room was fairly empty, but the last had a large homemade bed and some mounted animal heads. It wasn't hard to tell that this was his parents' room. He was about to head back downstairs when his eyes were drawn to another door within the room. Stepping inside, he saw that the floor was littered with childrens' toys, especially birds, and to one side was a bed with the walls of a crib laying against the wall next to it. He marveled the handcrafted mobile hanging above the bed which was adorned with birds. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, drinking in the feel and smell of the room, his heart fluttering at the familiarity of the room, his bedroom that he had spent his early childhood in. Opening his eyes, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of a large painted eagle on the ceiling. Falling back, he lay on the floor staring at the marvelous picture. It wasn't just an eagle, it was three, and one was caressing a small babe. A tear fell down his cheek and he couldn't help but smile as he stared at the image. His arm began to hurt again, but he ignored it.
It was a while before he finally heard it. The soft clicking of claws on polished wooden floor. His smile disappeared and his eyes widened when he heard a faint growl. Closing his eyes tight, he just hoped it was his imagination. Then he tilted his head up to look at the open door behind him. In the way stood a large gray wolf who's eyes glowed a fierce yellow. Its teeth were bared and slobber dripped from its maw. Slowly Erigor sat up, keeping his eyes on the creature the whole time. Biting his bottom lip, Erigor tried to figure out how he was going to get past it, if it wasn't just his mind tricking him. When he finally got to his feet, the wolf lunged at him with a snarl. Dodging it, Erigor rushed to the door, but a set of teeth clamped on his scarf, choking him and causing him to land hard of his back. Erigor scrambled to get back on his feet to fly out of the room, the loud demonic snarling filling his ears.
Erigor barely made it to the stairs before what felt like dozens of knives stabbed into his arm, the one that had no previous injuries. He cried out in pain, "PAPA!" He tried wrenching his bleeding arm out of the beasts mouth, and he wasn't expecting it to let go and lunge for his face. He managed to knock it away with his other arm, but he had lost his footing and was now falling back down the stairs. He had landed on his right leg, twisting it horribly, but in his fear, his magic was failing him, and he couldn't fly away. All he could do now was watch in horror as the beast leapt down the stairs, maw gaping, ready to devour him. Closing his eyes, he awaited his fate, but it never came. Looking up, he saw a blast of water knock the wolf into the wall. The loss of blood from his arms was affecting him, and the rest was a blur.
His mind flickered in and out consciousness and he vaguely remembered being carried by two people, his legs dragging along the forest floor, then entering the guild hall and the faint drone of worried voices, but finally he lost it completely.
When Erigor woke up, he was in his bed. A bandage was wrapped around his forehead, and his casted arm and leg were elevated by pillows. Turning his head, he saw Kageyama curled up on the bed next to him, asleep with his face etched with worry. Adler was across the room laying in Erika's bed. It was excruciatingly painful to try sitting up; apparently when he had fallen down the stairs, he had broken some ribs. His stirring woke the other two who were definitely happy to see he was conscious. The first thing that came to his mind however was not greeting.
"How did you not know where that place was? How is it that that place is always the where the test is held and you didn't notice that place."
The look on Adler's face was a mixture of hurt, worry, and uncertainty. "I'm not entirely sure. It is quite a vast forest, no one had ever found it before."
"But you have. Any one who could fly above it would know."
"Erigor. Yes, I've flown over that forest many times since I became the Guild Master, but there had only been one time where I saw that tree or that village, and that was when I found you." Adler paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up in something like a realization. "The First Master. His body was buried in that forest. He specialized in making illusions, maybe his magic kept the village and your home hidden... And perhaps he revealed it to me so I could find you."
Erigor scoffed, turning away from them. "If that's so, he sure has a sick sense of humor, bringing that place back so I could find it and end up like this." He lifted his bandaged arm then it let it fall back to his side.
Adler sighed, petting the teen's messy hair. "Fate can be cruel sometimes."
The teen flashed his eyes which burned with anger. "Fate? HA! Let's face it, the world just hates me..."
"Everything happens for a reason," Kageyama piped up quietly. Erigor scoffed again, but didn't replied. When he continued to ignore them, the others to it as a hint that he just wanted to be alone now.
A month passed before Erigor could put any pressure on his leg, but that didn't keep him from going about his business in and around the guild. He wasn't surprised that York was now an S-Class wizard, and he couldn't wait to thank Ginnie for saving him. They sat together with Kageyama and the other children.
"Yo, Tweety Bird! you got beat up and saved by a chick?! How pathetic!" Cedric jeered from across the hall.
"And you zapped yourself, giving the win to a couple of kids," snapped Erigor, winning the insulting exchange.
His attention was drawn back to Ginnie was she stroked his good arm and said with a giggle, "I'm so glad you're okay, now!" Then she pulled him down into a kiss, throwing salt into Cedric's fresh wound. The woman giggled again after she pulled away, seeing how red Erigor's face was and how wide his eyes were. With a rather dorky shudder, he fell sideways against her, hugging her with his good arm.
Adler watched the scene from the balcony on the second floor. "It's nice to see he's not upset anymore," he remarked to Varjo who sat behind him.
"Yeah, and one has to question the sanity of the past masters in this guild!"
"One has to question the sanity of ALL masters of this guild." Adler pointed to himself, and both men busted out laughing. "With this guild being the rival of Fairy Tail, its safe to question everyone's sanity here!"
"We're all a bunch of crazy tough lunatics!" joked another, more drunk member of the guild nearby, and the men just raised their glasses in agreement.
~I feel a bit weird throwing in the first mention of Fairy Tail there at the end, but it needs to be mentioned sometime. With their Elemental Wizards, Eisenwald is in the running for the strongest guild, but like Adler said, Fairy Tail is up there as well. I also feel that the end was rushed, but right now, I have no other way to end it. Had to have some sort of questioning happy ending before things go to absolute hell ;3 ~
