The Wizard's Journey I is a D&D inspired adaptation of the Kingdom Hearts story, though taking a completely different turn than the story we're all too familiar with. Disney characters, replaced with video game characters, including Final Fantasy characters. (No suggestions needed.) It tells the tale of one world devastated and turned into thousands of worlds. Worlds of Wizards and Witches, where Magic is an all too familiar trait for everyone to enjoy. When the worlds of Magic are being threatened by an unforeseen force, a demon and her colorful allies take the charge to save their worlds from certain doom.
This is the adventure of three destinies. Thus begins the story of The Wizard's Journey.
"In a world of fantasy…this one really strives to be the center of it all, huh?" A silver-haired boy says as he looks out the window from the confines of his workshop…to see the shining sun dancing upon a great cobblestone village…with a silver castle in the distance.
A medieval Kingdom where fantasy comes to life…
"It was said that in the beginning, some Wizard King up above created us. First there was us, the Humans and the animals, and then many other species were made out of the mold Mythical creatures like the elves, the fairies, and the halflings.
I'd say I wouldn't believe that…if it wasn't for the fact that I see them on a daily basis.
Ever since I could remember, our Kingdom has been greeted by all sorts of mythical creatures. This was made possible when our King signed a treaty between the Fairy Queen.
At first, his intentions were to drive all the fairy tale creatures out of the land, something I'd honestly be glad with. But…those stubborn pests didn't want to leave their land, so the King yielded and delivered a treaty. They signed, and the mythical creatures are to live together with us humans, so we can live in peace and harmony…blah, blah, blah.
"Personally, this 'harmony' is a waste of time. Every Scientist yearns for discovery and knowledge…not this mumbo jumbo fairy tale crap," The silver-haired boy simply says as he looks out the window in boredom.
"You're still insistent on this, boy?" A voice chimes in. The silver-haired boy turns around to see a rotund man with a scraggy beard, a white apron, and a metallic gauntlet. The boy's caretaker, a proper blacksmith, Thurston.
"You know it's true, old man. The King should be worrying about things that benefit for the Kingdom, not prance around and collect every person that walks by his door, or whatever doesn't go his way," The boy complains.
"Come now, Riku, you're painting the King in such a shameful image. Why, King Solaria is the kindest King we've had up to date! He IS doing what's best for the Kingdom, not only us, but everyone around it." Thurston says in assurance. The boy only scoffs.
"Yeah, whatever. Keep telling yourself that, old man. It's probably the fumes getting to you," Riku says in annoyance.
"Riku," The red-haired man says, but the boy was stern.
"Forget it. No royal works like that. They only do what benefits THEM. What he's done, allowing these stupid creatures in, is a waste of time, and he did it SOLELY for profit." The boy retorts.
"P-PROFIT?! BOY, HE'S A KING! What more can be gained?" The man says as he continues his work. Riku rolls his eyes as he began to take his leave out of the workshop.
"Congrats, old man. You just answered my question," Riku says as he took his satchel filled with alchemical vials and concoctions.
"Where're you off to?" Thurston asks.
"The market. You said you needed some more iron and shine, didn't you? And I need more alchemical supplies." Riku simply says as he made it to the door.
"Oh. Well, while you're out, don't suppose you could grab a few items in preparation of tomorrow's festival?" Thurston requests.
"Sure, sure, I'll be off." Riku says opening the door and leaving the shop.
"Just, stay outta trouble, will ya?!" The blacksmith yells out as the boy closes the door behind him…as he journeys through the city. The fantasy land of fairy tales:
World name: Bravia Imperia
It was a peaceful afternoon in the majestic Bravia Imperia, the majestic Kingdom of the Sun. The Empire of the great Sun King, Solaria, whose radiance is a bright as the sun, and his kindness as welcoming as spring.
The town that Riku strolls around is filled to the brim with wonderous people of many shapes and sizes. The smell of bread and pies fresh out on the windowsill of the bakers, the sounds of the Knights cladded in white and gold marching through the town,
The rambunctious noises of cheers and hearty laughter within the local tavern, Golden Lake Inn.
And even now, Riku can hear the honeyed sounds of minstrels telling their tales and singing their jaunty songs around the town fountain. A cobblestone city, bustling with life.
Riku didn't like it.
Amidst the chattering, Riku scanned his surroundings. He could only look at a few villagers in annoyance of their…strange stature.
Strange little creatures with butterfly wings fluttering around, enticing the townspeople. Strange people with pointed ears carrying provisions in their baskets. Strange men and women with fish tails gallivanting around the Fountain Court. Riku just…does not know how to feel about these creatures.
For all his life, since the boy was raised by the fine blacksmith, Thurston Taymore, Riku never cared about the world of fantasy around him.
He was never a believer of fairy tales. The boy could only scoff at them…even as he's looking at them with his very eyes.
Magic, true love, happy endings…he didn't care for all that. All the boy cared for…was science and all that stands by it.
You see…Riku is an alchemist. Though many around the empire would prefer to call the boy the FINEST Apothecary this town has had to offer. Riku adores creating potions and chemical concoctions, drugs that would mend wounds…or perhaps steroids that could raise stamina and strength.
Though Riku hasn't fully perfected creations like THAT…but nonetheless he wishes to see a time where can. His creations are something to be admired throughout this little town. And yet to him, all that praise…
And it wasn't enough.
He'd hope to send his apothecary career to someplace…perhaps outside of this deadbeat town. If there's one thing the boy would believe, in regards to these fairy tale nonsense…it's that perhaps…there's a bigger world outside of this one. Why, these…annoying mythical creatures, they couldn't have possibly existed out of thin air.
A hypothesis: should there be other places outside of this one, what would happen then? And what possibility is there to travel there?
Riku shook his head in frustration. It's a thought, perhaps for another time. For now, the boy has finally made his stop at the Armor Shop. This Blacksmith is hard at work, something Riku senses a patter with, between Smiths.
The Smith was a middle-aged blonde-haired man, wearing a blue shirt, brown pants, and gloves to keep his hands protected from the hot iron. The Smith raised his goggles to see the boy approaching him.
"Ah, Riku! I didn't expect ya to show up here." The Smith says.
"I'm just full of surprises, sir," Riku casually chuckles. "In anycase, I'm just here to grab some more scrap iron for the old man."
"I can tell. Why, the Smiths are hard at work, today, my friend." The man says as he got up from his spot to grab a few plates of iron, and one-by-one placed them on the counter.
"Why, anyway?" Riku couldn't help but ask.
"Well, as ya know, boy, tomorrow night's the annual Summer Festival. The Guards need their armor polished artillery sharpened. The King's making his appearance in town," Riku rolls his eyes…and yet curiosity arises.
"Cowardly lions never get off their throne. What's the occasion?" Riku bites back, making the Smith roll his eyes in annoyance. Sometimes…ya just can't control the mouth of youth.
"It's the Princess' birthday, tomorrow. Or…well I assume. In anycase, this year, the King wants to bring HER to the launching of the lanterns." The Smith explains.
"Princess? You mean that girl the King found on his doorstep?" Riku says skeptically.
"Indeed." Says the Smith.
"Pompous King. Always making a royal out of someone who dropped on his door, all for the expense of milking out more money and more royals," Riku mumbles.
"Keep thinking that, boy," The Smith says as he hands Riku a stack of iron. "Now I hope your sense of decency didn't leave you. Now pay up. 3 Shillings"
"Yeah, yeah." The boy says as he drops on the table 3 gold coins from his little pouch. Shillings, if you may. "Keep the change. Good luck and thanks," Riku simply says as he walked away at ease with the stack of iron.
"Youth." Mutters the Smith, bluntly.
As Riku left the Smith shop, he gives out a sigh of relief as he traversed throughout the village. As he carried the scrap heap, he took notice of his next destination coming up, next to the local tavern: The Apothecary.
Unbeknownst to him, a short figure veiled in a leathery brown cloak watched him. The cloaked figure's powerful nose picked up something from the Chemist. A toothy grin was formed from the shadows.
Shillings. Just the thing she needed.
Meanwhile, Riku made his stop at the Apothecary's wagon, to which he meets with the local Alchemist, who greeted a fellow alchemist.
"Ah, Riku, truth be told, I was wondering when you'd show up!" The Alchemist, an ebony-haired boy greeted. Riku waves, as the cloaked figure made her move.
"Heya. Had to make a pit stop for the blacksmith's for Thurston. He needed some scrap for tomorrow's festival." Riku explained.
"Did he have to convince you this time?"
"Nah, decided to go on my own, this time." Riku confessed.
"Well, I'm impressed. So, what'll it be this time? The usual ingredients?" The Alchemist asks.
"Yep, and I'll get the money out," Riku says as he reached for his pockets. He didn't feel anything…his eyes widened in concern. He checked his other pockets, nothing there, either. He searched around his body…but not a single trace of his bag.
"W-what the hell?" Riku couldn't help but exclaim. How could his pouch be gone? He quickly scammed around the village and saw her.
The short figure running off at top speed…with his pouch in white gloved hands. Riku growls.
A thief.
"HEY!" He calls out as he left the wagon and chased after her. At that moment, the alchemist returned to the counter and saw Riku gone.
….
"SO, DO YOU WANT ME TO PACK THEM FOR YOU?" The Alchemist called out.
Riku, however didn't listen as he only pursued the thief throughout the village. "YOU STUPID THIEF, GET BACK HERE WITH MY SHILLINGS!" The chase was on against Riku and the mysterious thief. Unfortunately, for the boy, the thief has the advantage due to her agility and speed.
The moment the two were running towards two men carrying a large barrel of root beer. With cat-like agility, the thief leaped up and stood on the barrel with one hand, making Riku and the two men in surprise.
She then did a cartwheel and continued running. The boy could only look in awe at the short-statured creature, but his attention turned back to the men, catching him off guard.
Quickly, the silver-haired boy slid underneath the barrel, and continued chasing after her. The two carriers looked at each other.
"The hell was that about?" One says as the other simply shrugs.
As the sun begins to shine down the Kingdom of the Sun, the chase continued until it evidently led Riku lost the thief. The thief's footsteps ended…here.
At the entrance to a dark forest…where even the sun's radiance wouldn't provide much light. Riku recognized this forest:
The Dusk Grove. There're many strange stories about this forest. There tells the tale that this forest was once the home of a strange yet wise old lady. Adventures, thugs, and knights would once journey to meet the said lady, thinking that perhaps she has wisdom that could benefit the Kingdom.
To this day…any who dared this forest has yet to return from it.
On one hand, they seem to be nothing more than ghost stories, on the other hand, this 'Kingdom of the Sun' is plagued with strange creatures on a daily basis. Something that couldn't be helped. A strange old lady doesn't seem like a problem.
But what does Riku care? In that forest is a thief. A thief that has stolen enough shillings to last the week for both him and Thurston. There's no reason to back down…not now.
He entered the forest.
The Dusk Grove
Not even the setting sun can shine through the darkness of this forest. On top of that, the boy doesn't even have a sort of map to guide him through. The boy was simply walking endless, endlessly through this maze of trees, under the lush green marsh.
The boy walked endlessly and endlessly through these woods. No sign of the thief…or anyone at this point. Even as he turned around, the exit couldn't be seen.
Soon enough, the boy came across a fallen tree, and under it a babbling brook. On his right, he can see the setting sun, as clear as day. Perhaps it can serve as a landmark.
The alchemist balanced himself as he walked along the log bridge, and hopped to the other side, and continued walking.
The boy was determined to see this forest to its end. He doesn't want some stupid thief steal all of his life-savings. He continued to travel deep into the forest. Now the forest is becoming deeper and deeper…as the daytime slowly shifted into night.
Soon enough…the boy begins to notice that the path is beginning to be cluttered with scattered bones and carcasses. And they aren't animal carcasses either…no.
HUMAN carcasses
"What the hell…? T-they're human bones?" Riku says beginning to show curiosity and concern. He's beginning to notice that the bones are beginning to increase in number with each step he takes.
Finally, the boy makes it…a sight to behold. His eyes widened as he reached the edge of the trail and in front of him is…a cottage.
The moon shines down on a cottage…with chicken legs in an open field. The chicken legs, luckily appear to be inert, as if they were statues. Surrounding the house is a fence with skulls lodged on the top of them.
"W-what the…were AM I…?" Riku couldn't help but say, as fear begins show. The boy took steps back at the towering house.
"Heheehhehehehe~ so sorry for the lack of cleanin' around, here. Y'know, we haven't had an audience in years." A girl's voice cackled, making Riku's eyes widened. He turned around to see the thief he was pursuing…sitting idly on a tree.
"Y-YOU!" Riku exclaims. The moon only shines down on the thief.
"And you're just in time, too~ Honestly, I'm so GLAD you sought me out~ it was gettin' DULL'round here. BUT, now that you're here, we can get this show on the road! Ain't that excitin'!?" The small figure says cryptically.
"Show? I'm not here for a show, I WANT my shillings, thief!" Riku demanded. Soon enough, the strange small figure took off her robe.
"Ya paid the price of admission, kiddo. I'm sure you'll get it back, after the show. IF there's anythin' left at that point." The girl says throwing and catching the shilling bag in her pristine-white gloved hands.
Revealing herself, the boy is looking at a short figure, completely black & white, as if she's apart of some old cartoon. The boy is looking at a literal walking and talking cartoon character.
Creature has long and messy white hair, with tiny black devil horns seeping out. Her skin is LITERALLY as white as snow. She has pitch-black pie eyes with a single eyelash on each, and she wears black lipstick. Her grin…an eerily wide toothy grin, showing only 8 teeth. On top of this, the girl seems to lack no neck.
Attire wise, the girl wears a suit consisting of a white long-sleeve shirt, a grey button-up vest with a big, white, bowtie, and around her a pitch-black coat. Draped on her back is her pitch-black cape. Covering her four fingers are pristine white gloves with circles in the center of the palms. Finally, she wears shining black shoes with white spats.
Riku looked with his eyes widened.
"W-huh? W-what…are you?" Riku says in awe.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, CHILDREN of all ages~ welcome one and all to the magic show of the century! Prepare to be entranced, and mesmerized~ by Sage the Superfluous!" The cartoon character announced with her hands up high. Suddenly doves with the same pie eyes began flapping out from her sleeves, and then towards Riku.
"GAH!" Riku yells out trying to swat the doves away as the only pecked and pecked.
POOF!
"WHA!?" The restless pecking ceased, but Riku opened his eyes and suddenly noticed the strange…demon resting on the boy's head.
"Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, this will be a solo show, since dear ol' Baba Yaga departed quite long ago." She says in somber as she takes off her hat. The silver-haired boy tensed up at the mention.
"Baba Yaga…?" He echoes quietly. The demon ignored him and hopped off his head. Rummaging through her hat, she took from it a black and white wand.
"For my first trick, ladies and gentlemen, I think I'm a start with somethin'…energetic! To do that, I'm going to need a volunteer." Taking the alchemist by surprise, the toon's gloved hands dislodged from her sleeves, and are now floating around him.
"Wh-what kind of magic…IS this?" Riku says in surprise. Soon she points a sleeved arm at the boy, as if she was aiming a cannon. Her floating hand soon came forward with her wand.
Tap-tap
"How about…YOU, OL' GENT!" Sage shouts out as a barrage of handkerchiefs tied together projected out of her sleeves. The other floating hand grabs the handkerchief and immediately, tied the boy up.
"Whoa-WHOA-WHOA!" Riku exclaims as he tumbled down on one of the trees, as he was immediately ensnared in a handkerchief rope. The boy growls in agitation.
"Hmph. Sorry, but even the jesters have more 'entrancing' magic than your parlor tricks. Fortunately, I have a bit of magic myself…if only. I. COULD GET OUT OF THIS STUPID-" Riku struggles even trying to move. He could only fear he would only tumble to the ground.
"Ohohoho~ do you mean…this?" With a wave of a wand, a gloved hand suddenly rummaged around Riku's ears. Taking the silver-haired boy by surprise out from his ears came his utility belt of chemicals. The demon, Sage, only examined the belt in intrigue.
"Pretty strange Magic, too~ hope you wouldn't mind if I take it as a souvenir of my own." The cocky magician requests, sweetly.
"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!" Riku yells out.
"Hell, huh? I like the way ya think, partner." She says dangerously as her hands lodged back to her sleeves. "Now that I have my volunteer, ladies and gentlemen, let's kick things off with my favorite trick…Sawin' a human in half!" Riku's eyes widened. As the magician placed the boy's utility belt on a tree branch. From her small pockets, she then took out a LARGE and wobblily saw.
"Doin' this trick on toons back then weren't so fun, because they can't die. Plus, they just scream and shake too much. But in this neck of the woods, my master and I's been havin' NOTHIN' but fun! And after all these years…I can have it again! And it's all thanks to you, pally~" Riku was just…startled at what he's hearing. At first, the boy thought he was chasing around some no-account thief. But it's clear he's pursued someone that isn't even CLOSE to being classified as normal…
He pursued a literal mad demon.
"Now I ain't no doctor, but I assure you bud, this trick won't hurt a bit. IT'LL JUST HURT A LOT, HEHEHEHEHE!" The mad magician cackled as she pointed the saw at Riku and prepared to strike like a baseball bat.
Riku soon noticed something. A vial filled with orange liquid was beginning to slip from the pouch. He had an idea.
"Goin' down,"
"HA!" The magician swung her saw, only for Riku to fall to the ground at the same time, making the demon collide with the tree. The saw was caught in the tree. Sage looked down as Riku crawled to the position of the tree branch, making the demon growl.
"Heheeh, a minor inconvenience, ladies and germs, but don't worry, we'll have our diced-up body…SHOOOORTLY!" The magician says as she tried to pull the saw out of the tree…but to no avail, her strength wasn't enough.
Evidently, she was shaking the tree…making the vial fall.
POOOF!
"AH! Alrighty, got it!" Like a cork, the saw popped off of the tree, making the little magician almost tumble. With a toothy grin, she turned to Riku…only to see him dusting off the remaining flames on his labcoat. He soon glares at the toon.
"Ehehe…" Sage giggles bashfully as the two awkwardly looked at each other.
Immediately Riku went in to grab the saw, only for Sage to keep a firm grip. Immediately, the toon's hands detached from her arms, once more, making the toon chuckle.
"Hehehehe, meatbrain like you already forgot~?" She taunts.
"Of course not, but I wonder…" Riku starts.
"It's always like you smartys to keep thinking. Whacha wondering about now? How quick you'll die?" She says maintaining her wide grin.
"Nope." Riku says. Without warning, the alchemist stomped on the toon's foot, making her pie eyes dialate.
"YEEEEEEEEEEOWWWWWWWWW! Owowowowowowowowo!" She howls as she immediately began to hop around. Riku looked to her detached hands, as they shook to the point of letting go of the saw. To which he grabbed it.
"I was wondering: you can detach your arms at a whim…but do they feel pain, once they leave the body?" He asks smugly as he threw the saw up in the air, chopping the tree branch, and grabbing both the saw and his utility belt of potions.
"You….." Sage hissed as her eyes were shadowed by her top hat…and yet, a pitch-black substance began dripping all over her pristine-white face. "To think I was SO looking forward to take up the old hag's teaching, solo. This is MY show, and you're in MY forest. I ain't gonna be humiliated by the likes of some pompous, high n' mighty HUMAN-"
FOOOOSH!
Bored, the alchemist threw a chemical at the magician. The atmosphere immediately grew cold. As the cold air cleared, the magician's eyes were back to normal…yet she was encased in a block of ice.
"Don't want humans coming to your forest?" Riku says as he grabs his small pouch. "Then don't steal from them. The true irony, here." The alchemist got the last words as he made sure to get everything, and made his way out of the forest.
The Blacksmith's Cottage
SLAM!
"You took your sweet time, didn't ya?" Thurston casually says as Riku slammed the door and entered the house. The boy sighs in relief.
"What's got you worked up, lad?" The Blacksmith couldn't help but ask.
"That's it, old man? No stern yelling, no scolding that I was out for too long, or something?" Riku couldn't help but ask, amidst his exasperated panting.
"Why? You're a big boy, now. As troublesome as you are. At this point, I expected you to be a handful." Thurston casually answers as he went into the kitchen. The silver-haired boy sits down on a stray rocking chair, looking to the warm fire.
And to think this day started off as any old day would.
"Thurston?" Riku starts, gaining the blacksmith's attention.
"Hmm?"
"What do you know about…Baba Yaga?" Riku asks.
"Baba Yaga? By Odin's beard, that's a name that hasn't been uttered in a loooooong time." Thurston simply says, gaining the boy's attention.
"So, you know of her?" Riku asks. Thurston nods his head, slowly, as he got comfortable as his food came forward. Food, for the both of them. But it seems like story time's coming up, in addition.
"In ancient Folktales, Baba Yaga is some supernatural being in the form of a grotesque ol' hag. She has a choice to either eat upon her visitors, or help them. But that just seems like a buncha balderdash." He answers.
"But I've heard legends that guards entered the Dusk Grove, and they've never returned."
"Then, they could've just as well gotten snacked on by some bear or some mythical creature." Thurston answered. "Now, eat your food, kiddo. You've been out for a while now; be glad I got some ready." He says as he began to go upstairs. Soon, the silver-haired alchemist looked up in realization.
"Right…uhhh, sorry about the uhh…"
"The scrap? Heheh, no need, boy!" Thurston replies with a gruff smile. "Your lil' apothecary friend stopped by and delivered the scrap ya bought. Enough for tomorrow's fair, good work, boy!"
"Had it not been for a um…unforeseen circumstance, I would've brought it sooner." The boy says lowering his head in disappointment.
"Heh, you're just like your mother, boy." The blacksmith says with a smile. Riku snapped his head to the boy, in surprise.
"W-what?"
"Adventure. It fills the both of ya. I know that ya can't help it, boy. Heh. Now eat up." The blacksmith soon went upstairs to his room. Riku was alone…sitting in front of the fire.
The boy sighs. "Mom…" Riku says as he turned his attention to the stars in the night sky…surrounding the village.
Outside
Meanwhile, outside of not only the house, but in the outskirts of the village itself…creatures appear to stir. Rising from the ground are small creatures of darkness. Creatures with shadowy pelts, and eyes glowing gold.
Towering them is a tall mechanical creature with purple skin. A purple cyborg-like creature with monkey-like features. The creature has shining red eyes, and a metallic facemask with a rhino-like horn.
Finally, there came a creature, on top of it. A small turtle-like creature with claws, yellow scales, and a spiky, blue shell on its back. The anthropomorphic reptile has a green face, and wild, blue hair. Shimmering with magic is his blue scepter.
"Hehehehehehe~ How quaint. This village looks as if they've no defenses or Magic to rival my own. Hehehehe. Tomorrow night, shall be our…grand symphony." The reptile says with a malicious grin.
?
Outside of the very empire…perhaps even farther from the atmosphere of Bravia Imperia…is a library. A massive library with endless knowledge throughout these halls. In the center of the hall is a glistening green sphere radiating off a powerful energy.
Scurrying across this hall…is a small pink and spherical creature with magenta toeless feet and nubs for arms. The creature is wearing a tall wizard's hat with glasses as he scurries to one of the tables.
He grabs a seat on one of the tables, grabbed an inkwell pen, and a parchment…and begins writing.
"I send this letter to all the heroes of the Magic Dimension. An urgent meeting is requested here, in Aregus. Prince Mario has already departed by request of the Sorceress. Now, it's time for you all to heed the call…and now. I fear that if not…then all our worlds are at stake."
I have finally made my decision of the characters to put in this story. Apologies for taking too long, and constantly changing the title...as this story has went through MANY development changes and issues.