Earth Jewel Saga
Chapter 6: Learning Is But Half The Battle
The teens had just gone through a series of tests to determine if they were the true descendants of the four renowned warriors who defeated the mighty Aeroth over a century ago. The teens had finished their dinner with Tekagi and Tetsuya and proceeded back out into the temple forest to have a look over of their weapons. But Kai seemingly slipped away from his friends unnoticed. "I'll let them have their own fun" he thought to himself. Kai thought it would be best to look at the scroll and his sword without anyone around and have a little piece and quiet for a change.
"Shall I go first?" politely asked Aya
"Go for it"
Aya grabbed the handles of her two swords and pulled the two out of their sheaths. The two swords resembled wakizashi's but with a slighter curve near the top. The grain of the blades were either a dark red or ocean blue. Normally swords don't have coloured edges but then again they weren't dealing with any normal weapons. "Wow such beautiful colours" said Aya admiring her blades.
Lan couldn't wait for his. He grabbed his swords handle and pulled it out of it's sheath. His sword was much different than either Matt's or Aya's. The blade was 4 inches wide and nearly 2 feet long with a slanted edge at the top. Near the bottom of the whole blade were two yellow coloured guards that would go overtop the scabbard when put in. It was a guard but yet it wasn't.
"Hey were did Kai go?" asked Aya
"Huh, he was right behind us. Probably wanted some alone time with his new found sword" replied Lan in a joking fashion.
"We'll see him soon enough I guess" added Matt. "While we are here lets have a look at our scrolls. I'm truly interested in what is in them"
"Hey yeah lets do that. I'll go first" said an impatient Lan. Lan grabbed his scroll. All the scrolls were a single bound piece of paper carefully tied together with a single purple bow. Lan untied the bow and opened up the scroll. It read:
If you are reading this then you are my descendant the descendant of Air itself. Your Kind0Heartedness, optimism and powers of trust allowed you to acquire those items you now hold in your care. With this scroll is the armour of The Falling Sky. This armour that you will be wearing was forged from the fires of Mt. Fuji itself and is tougher and stronger than any known steel. Next is the clothing. The clothing you have in your possession is made from the fur of a Star Lynx. This clothing has regenerative properties and can protect its wearer from most dangers. Lastly the sword, The Unmei or Destiny Sword. It is said that the sword was made from a shooting star that fell from the heavens and fashioned into the blade. Along with the sword come the abilities of its Crosscut Strike, its most formidable move.
"Heh, Unmei is it now. A strange name for a sword" said Lan
"It fit" said Matt "Lets see what mine has to say" he included. Matt rolled open his scroll and it read:
For what your eyes seek is that of what lies within. Your traits of perseverance, reliability and responsibility has allow you my inheritor to gain the items that I had left for you all these years ago. The clothing is that of the hair of a legendary Two-tailed Wyvern and is stronger than Iron yet light as a feather. The bow itself was crafted from a rare tree known as a Dryad.
"Huh this was a lot shorter than I would of thought" said Matt as he grabbed his bow and examined it more closely. "So this was created from a extinct tree?" he thought.
Aya didn't even bother to ask as her friends were all too engaged in their items to notice. She opened her scroll and it read:
For what I seek, I can't find but beneath this sea of blue. A torrid of fire and ice compel me to do what's needed and to save those who wish to continue to live on this world. From what you see is a lot to handle but to handle it you must look within. Your compassion, understanding and your modesty have lead you to this point. The armour is made from adamant and cannot break no matter how hard anyone tries. The clothing was forged and designed from the Draugr, a beast that lived in the harshest conditions known to this world. Last but not least are the twin swords, Tsuinsodo. Forged from the fangs of a multi-element demon, these swords can create heat and snow seeming at will when used correctly.
""Wow, and I thought these were just some hand-me-down clothes. And this armour is so light it feels like I'm wearing nothing but a t-shirt"
"These things are pretty cool. Can't wait to start using my sword here" boasted Lan
"Now Lan, these aren't toys or anything. We were entrusted with them. The last thing we want to do is to be using these weapons for say cutting up firewood" said Aya shamefully.
"I guess your right" replied Lan
Not Far Away
Kai sat cross-legged looking out at the open landscape around him. The view was magnificent. Farmland and forests as far as the eye could possibly see. Lying down in front of him were his sword and the scroll from the temple. He looked down at his two items and grabbed the scroll. He peeled over the ribbon and tossed it aside. He opened the scroll and it read:
I don't have to say much as you already know what is going on. The clothing is that of the Leopard Phoenix. It has regenerative properties and can withstand the harshest environments that no average human can handle and more so than the others. Your sword forged from the fang a mighty dragon that ruled the open sky and commanded both Thunder and Lightning at its will, The Kaminari.
"Made from a fang of a dragon? must have been small dragon" thought Kai as he gazed upon his seemingly small sword. He put the scroll off to his left and leaned forward and grabbed the sword and stood up with it. "Pfft How can this sword be from a dragon" he said in frustration and yanked the sword from its sheath and a bright light began to shine from the top of the scabbard. After the light subsided Kai looked at his blade and it had become larger. The blade was now 2.5 feet long and had a width of 4.5 inches. This blade, the Kaminari, was way more than what Kai had imagined.
"Wow, this sword is amazing" said an excited Kai who put his scabbard into his belt and began to swing the sword around. There was absolutely no weight to it as it felt like a feather in his own hands. He kept swinging it around scaring off the birds in nearby trees.
"Hey Kai awesome sword" called Lan. Kai looked over his shoulder and saw his friends walking towards him. "Hey guys"
"Why did you come out here by yourself. You don't like our company or something ha-ha?" asked Matt
"No no, I love your guys company but I figured that I wanted a little alone time you know"
"We understand. If you ever want space you can have it. We're your friends" said Aya with a smile
"Pfft who cares. Lets see your sword. Can I hold it?" interrupted Lan. Kai held out his sword for Lan and he grabbed it. As soon as he took hold of it he collapsed to the ground. "Lan are you okay bro?" asked a concerned Kai. Lan looked up his brother in amazement. "How the hell are you able to lift this?" he scolded Kai. Kai grabbed the sword off the ground and put it back into the sheath. The sword transformed into its normal katana state as it entered the sheath until it clicked.
"Hmm maybe our weapons are designed to be only used by who they are entrusted too. I'm guess that I won't be able to hold any of yours and none of you will be able to hold mine" said Matt.
"Well that's a relief" said Lan as he dusted himself off but sat back on the ground looking at the scenery as the sun began to set behind the mountains. The others saw what Lan was doing and joined in. Everyone was super relaxed and calm. For the first time since they got to the feudal era they actually had the ability to sit down and unwind.
"This is niceā¦" said Kai
"Hmm. What do you mean by that?" asked Aya
"Look at it like this. Sure we may be nearly 500 years in the past in a different world than what we are used too but I'm with you guys right now and I wouldn't change this for anything"
"Awwww"
What the group didn't know is that they were being watched from the shadows. It wasn't a person or a demon but a crow with deep red eyes from atop a tree. The crow flew off the tree branch and headed southward. Something was up and the heroes don't even know it yet
Somewhere in the southern provinces
The sun and gone down and the night sky was beginning to take over as the crow made its way to seaside and to Aeroth. Aeroth was sitting on a boulder overlooking the ocean, eyes closed, listening to sound of the rushing waves as they crashed on shore. The crow landed in the tree behind Aeroth on one of the branches and belted out a loud caw and flying off again.
"Hmmm I see so that's where the jewels are. The temple of the elements"
"My lord" a voice called. Aeroth looked over his right shoulder and four shadow beings appeared under the tree. They were all wearing black cloaks and the darkness covered their faces. "Let me go and I'll retrieve the jewels for you" one of the shadows asked
Aeroth gave a sigh "Arco haven't you learned anything? You never engage an enemy you know nothing about. I don't believe you want to end up like elabasir"
"No my lord" apologized Arco "What do you have planned for this place?"
"Perhaps my lord you should send demons there way to test their strengths and weaknesses" another shadow said
A sick smile creped over Aeroth's face "That is a fantastic idea Zdonis. Thank you for the idea now leave the rest up to me"
The four shadows disappeared from sight and that left Aeroth once again by himself. He was a master tactician and never rushed into battle he knew he couldn't win. "Prepare yourselves. You're about to be tested" he said to himself as he looked up and the glimmering night sky.
