Chapter 11 – Intelligence

A shadow trailed the group of twelve as they neared a house made of vines with Lyte. They were in one of the many hidden magic-guarded pathways of Ellinia, found and a secondary HQ from Captain. The group entered the dwelling whilst the shadow concealed himself in a couple of bushes. John's shadow partner vanished when he appeared in its place. Wow, looks like he got in a little trouble here. John sighed mentally. It's like he does whatever he wants…So annoying. I did promise him though. I'll wait a couple hours till I go in; it gives her a minute to get here too. John quickly got up and raced west for about ½ a mile, the minute he landed from Flash Jump a girl teleported next to him.

"Hey, Madison. For the millionth time, that's not the right way you're supposed to teleport!" "Oh, shut up." Madison wore a striped hooded shirt and washed denim cargos, equipped with dragon wand and a magician shield. She warded the area while John filled her in on what happened with Lyte. "He lost? Wow. Up against twelve developed C.R.s, even I wouldn't have lasted." Madison lay next to John. "Yeah." "Hey, I heard you lost against…whats his name? Right, Adrian." Electricity crackled around them. "Of course. I couldn't use my real thing anyways, and without it, I don't stand a chance." The day grew brighter as they talked the night away. Madison abruptly stood. "Time to go." She helped John up and they reappeared in the place John was at earlier in the day. John dark sighted them both and they entered the house.

The house was literally huge. Wooden planks filled the floor, and there were almost unlimited rooms and floors. The wall-vines were indestructible partly because they were so thick and strong and because magic filled Ellinia, so that the vines, if destroyed, would immediately regenerate. After some searching, John found that four of the twelve were asleep in private rooms, one was outside guarding the place, three were eating, and the rest were involved in conversation about plans for Lyte from Captain. Madison and Lyte quietly went down to the dungeons, still in Dark Sight. The cells were tightly compacted and small, so the prisoners couldn't escape. Vines lined the walls and the steel bars, locking them in. They had to go down about 8 floors before they found Lyte, chained to the wall. The chains were made from Dera, Connor's Kanmaru, so that they were almost unbreakable, plus they were enhanced by Zurren. Thus making it impossible to lift, over that, a dark aura was around Adrian, all restraining even the slightest movement. John, seeing this, instantly jumped to the side, turning in midair. "Oh sh-" An Avenger whistled by at the spot he was before. Madison stood next to him, holding her wand behind her. John braced himself as the Dark Sight wore off, the twelve now standing before them. "Now, look what we have here! Ever since we found that you were following us, John, we've followed you. You'll have a lot to answer to when you're taken back to Surge. And Madison! Amazing you would team with him, who would've thought we'd get rich and catch them today?" Dylan sneered.

The next moment Dylan was on the floor, with John standing over him, eyes cold. Madison looked at John, and chuckled. "Always rushing. Let's make this a bit fairer, John?" He smiled, their eyes turning transparent. Madison raised her wand and inch, and meteors, ice, and light erupted from the ceiling, scorching and the twelve as they struggled to react. A blue-ish green aura started to encircle Madison, but disappeared once it touched her. Emily's eyes widened as her aura circled her instead of Madison, and instantly fell to the floor, unconscious. Alex scowled; Zurren appeared, coiling around his arm. "It's true. The legend…which means.." John had just launched two Avengers at Justin, who was using Flarash to fly, when Alex tied a cloth over John's eyes. John instantly froze, and plummeted to the ground. Smoke filled the dungeon and when it cleared, a puppet lay on the ground. Madison, John, and Lyte were gone.

Meanwhile…

Lyza stood in an old, abandoned library, where John had left her. A couple cracked shelves were on the floor, and the books were dusty and old. There were holes on the roof and walls, but surprisingly enough, the place was sturdy and didn't fall even though the elements battled against it for years. Through the roof Lyza saw growing light, the beginnings of day. Lyza ran her fingers over the shelf nearest to her, looking for anything to pass the time. She reached the end of the top row when she saw an interesting book named 'Krein'. Interesting…where have I heard this before? Lyza wondered as she took the book and admired it. It was deep green, hard cover, and it was considered small. It was very new compared to the rest of the books around. The word Krein was on the cover in bold, and no author was there. She flipped to the first page. The writing was delicate and beautiful, as though even touching it would ruin it.

It read: 'Kreins are rather…unfortunate beings. They are mortals that are almost picked as one of the Chosen, but not. This book contains the tales of the Kreins, how they condemned, and how they were chosen to be second, and not the first. For the world is at its last generation, and the knowledge has to be passed from me through this, for I have no heir.' Lyza turned to the next page. 'A long time ago, a perfect weapon was said to exist. One that never rusted, never broke, and never went blunt…This entity was called Excal, or what people now call it, Excalibur. Legend says that no one ever found it, but legends are never true. See, seven ordinary curious kids stumbled onto it one day, while exploring the ruins of Sharenian. They, of course, had no idea what it was. So, they touched it. Excal was 'magical', as in it unlocked your Kanmaru and took it to the next level. Immortality and the boundless pathways that lay before it. Excal had the strange ability to split into different parts, thus forming the first seven weapons. The tip of the blade turned into the swords, maces, and warrior like things, the rest of the blade turned into a thief's daggers and claw, the rain-guard into staffs and wands, the cross guard was turned into bows and crossbows, the grip and pommel turned into knuckles and guns. It split into each of them, bonding into their bodies. As a result, the seven sins were created. Before such seven beings existed, the world was peaceful, land prospered, and all was quiet. The seven were beyond anyone's reaches in power, even now. So, they created jobs. Because of this, war erupted in the classes, and bloodshed entered into the world for the first time. Years passed, and three withered and died. The four remaining realized what they were, and began their own world, now called Maplestory. And this is how the four jobs existed. The three that had withered and died were the strongest of them, it was said that their direct descendants were the Chosen. Their Kanmarus were transferred to their descendants. And if there happened to be more than one child in the family, then the first-born would be Chosen, but if the second was destined to be stronger, then they would switch. This, is how the Kreins were created, in such a appalling way. However, when the Kanmarus get transferred, they leave something. An absolute understanding of life, the ability to master all classes, and an individual ability. In some ways, Kreins are even stronger than Chosen. But, as usual, they are bound to protect the Chosen with their lives. That's their sole goal, their sole purpose, and their sole downfall.'

John and Madison walked into the library, a dragon behind them carrying Lyte. Lyza immediately closed the book, cold flames erupted from it, and it disappeared. The sky had gotten dark from the time that Lyza had started reading the book. The dragon crouched on the floor, letting Madison and John take Lyte off from it. The air suddenly dropped to below freezing, and a sense of impending doom crept into their minds. Madison and John immediately wrapped Lyte in a dozen spells, and then they teleported him to another place. "What's happening?" Lyza sprinted towards John. He, however, glared at her and at the next moment, a transparent wall separated them. [We'll let you out when this is over] The place darkened, and sparks flew as sword met sword and magic met magic.