The test of the soul

Sea stared around his surroundings. They were so familiar. Just by being here he could feel a sense of warmth enveloping him. "What is this place?" Sea wondered out loud. He gazed around comprehending his surroundings. He realized he was in a tent, and when he stepped out, he could see a sea so blue and clear, and all around him was lush grass.

There only a few metres away in the sand stood a cloaked figure. He stood tall and regal and he had a golden brown, medium length of hair trailing down to his shoulders. Sea started to approach him, "Don't move, Sea."

Sea stopped in his tracks. How did this man know his name? Sea opened his mouth to speak, but the stranger cut him off. "I know what you are here for; you have been ordered by your empress to help Tatamo, am I not wrong?" When Sea did not deny, the man continued, "I have to warn you…The empress is not who she seems to be, watch your back."

Sea frowned in worry. What does he mean? Could it be…?

It was only a few months back, when he had first met the empress. It had been a rainy day, with thunder flashing in the distance. Sea had to make do with the rough shade he had under a large leaf. He pulled his cape tighter over himself as he shuffled into a rough shelter he had made out of twigs and leaves.

Soon, he heard a twig snap, and small chattering sounds could be heard. It must be a squirrel, it would make good lunch. Sea got out of his makeshift shelter and withdrew his gun. The squirrel noticed the movement and scuttled to run away. But in an instant, Sea had dashed over and shot it in the head some ten metres away.

As he carried his prize back, he heard a distant clapping. Sea turned to look over and saw a young woman carrying an umbrella. Her hair had the color of fire. She came to be known as, Princess Xuan. Sea was surprised, as people usually didn't bother to travel such a far way up the mountain. "You can shoot very well," Xuan said carefully. Sea was immediately guarded. Xuan saw this and laughed, it was a high and merry laughter. "I am here to offer you a deal…" Xuan began. Sea pricked his ears; well this is a twist of fate. "In exchange of luxurious clothes and accommodation, I wish to have your services to aid me in the royal palace."

Sea immediately agreed, who would turn down such an offer? It was only a few weeks later he was introduced to Slash Bergamot and Mind Crasher, both whom were also inducted into her service. And then came the emperor and princess Melinda.

It wasn't long before Xuan told them of her plans. To get rid of the emperor. At first they had been confused and reluctant. But then, she claimed that the emperor was a shape shifter in disguise, which is why the land is succumbing into such evil. When Sea knew that Saradomin was dead, Xuan later claimed that Melinda might be in league with him. But Sea had known better and helped her to escape. But then those orders was all for the good of the land.

And there was no reason to doubt her. Unless…She was the shape shifter. In every lie holds even the slightest bit of truth.

Sea gasped as it dawned on him. But…If so then…Why did she send us here? Sea turned to the cloaked figure and asked, "Who…Are you?" The man chuckled softly. "Who am I? It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is you three are all safe…"
"Safe? You know where Slash and Mind are? Where are they?" Sea demanded.
"You will know in time…My son…Whose side will you take?" The cloaked figure flung his cape out behind him, and disappeared.

"Wait!" Sea cried out, reaching one hand out to grab him. But suddenly the ground around him seemed to collapse, and in an instant he was out of the cave. What was that? Sea's mind whirled with questions but none of them had an answer. He glanced around and immediately noticed Slash on the ground, and then close by he saw the blue scaled dragon, nursing his unconscious master. Sea hurried over and inspected their injures. Both of them look as if they had been through hell. Slash's clothes were in tatters and his body looked over-strained. Mind was moaning and he cringed every time something touched him.

Sea shook his head desolately. In a moment, he had fumbled through his clothes and brought out two elixirs. Helping them both up, he gave a quick dose to both of them. Sure enough, after a few minutes they began to stir.

"What happened?" Slash massaged his aching muscles. Mind sat up and whispered to his dragon, "You carried me out here." And he began to pat the dragon fondly. Sea quickly explained how he had found them out them and commanded them to relate what had happened to them.

Slash then told them how he had met his father and successfully destroyed him.

Mind told them of how he had met his brother and defeated him, not mentioning about his father.

Then, they turned to look at him, expecting an answer similar to theirs. But Sea shook his head. He then told them of the mysterious figure and how he had warned him against the empress. With this, he told them of his suspicions and their faces grew grave. And then…He called me his son! Sea drew in a quick breath with this realization. His father was here. But he quickly dismissed the thought; there were more important things to do.

"Now…let's get out of here. Ride my dragon everybody," Mind mounted himself onto the dragon. Slash and Sea both hopped up onto the dragon, and within a second they were in the air. All of them had one intention. To find Chief Tatamo. In no time, they spotted the squat little figure standing atop a tree. And down they crashed onto him. Tatamo jumped back in surprise, losing his balance and promptly fell onto the ground.

"Explain yourself Tatamo!" Slash cried out and pointed his sword at him. Tatamo stood rooted, and a smile spread across his face. "So you three have passed, good."
"What do you mean by that?" Mind demanded fiercely. It was time we had some answers.
Tatamo laughed and said, "All will come to light, soon. Allow me to introduce to you…The order of the ZeroEmpire."

With a loud click of his tongue, two women stepped out from behind the trees at the back. Slash laughed disdainfully, "That's your order of the empire?"
Tatamo looked almost hurt at his comment, "Why, yes."
Sea was even more confused. If they were the order of the empire, then why send them into that cave to receive such treatment?

As if reading his thoughts, Tatamo launched his explanation.

"Long time ago, when the empire was under the rule of Saradomin, great evil entered the land. And then he began to grow worried. Quickly he hired an army to keep this evil at bay and it worked effectively. But one day, his daughter had changed. But Saradomin failed to see so. And when he finally did, it was already too late. But still, the order lives on. And these two, Jolin and Aris, were his closest and most skilled attendants."

"As soon as we heard of you three, we had to plan for a time when we could tell you the truth. I managed to trick the empress into believing I was on her side and I would get rid of you." With that Tatamo drew a deep breath. "It's time we took over the empire again."

And as soon as he had said that, we were under attack. From the shadows sprang out assassins. With a quick evaluation, Mind saw there were at least fifteen of them. Instinctively they drew themselves closer to each other, back to back. Sea glanced at the women and Tatamo and was pleased to see they had done the same thing.

The battle for the empire, has begun.