Prologue
Arrows flew through the air. Cries of men, dying from terrible wounds, echoed in the still air. One soldier stood in the midst of this entire battle, alone, not fighting. In his hands was a staff of brilliance. It held the Wild Crystal and was crafted for battle. The young man, barely fourteen*, cried silently at the sight of this terrible war. This thoughtless fighting. And over what? Over his weapon. Over his staff. Over his Wild Lance.
At that moment, the Moment of Tears as it would be later called, the main enemy came. Everyone froze. The fighting stopped. At the sight of the enemy, many dying men died from its power. Even a few living died from the greatness of the magic. The Enemy approached the young man, looking him over with piercing eyes. It looked from his flashing blue hair to stunning armor to his finely booted feet. The young man stood his ground, his Wild Lance gripped tightly in his hands. He could feel the Enemy's eyes boring into him, looking into his soul, searching his mind. 'What do you fear?' a voice said in his head. The young man winced. 'I fear…' The boy paused. What did he fear?
The Enemy waited. The boy did not reply right away. "I fear…" The Enemy could see the wonder in his eyes. He didn't know what he feared. Then… it came to him. "I fear… life." The Enemy stared at the young child. There he was, a child on a battlefield, and he was not crushed by the power of the Enemy's voice. "If… if it is life you fear… then it is life you lose." The Enemy finally said after a long moment's pause.
There was a brilliant flash as The Enemy withdrew its large sword and pointed it at the boy. The child lifted his Lance up fully, preparing to defend himself. He could feel everyone staring at him and The Enemy. The attack came suddenly. The young boy was flung into a wall of stone, his Lance falling at his side.
He heard a cry of horror and saw his best friend come running to his side, flinging down his helmet and kneeling down. "Please, no…" the other child said. The Lance Holder smiled weakly, sensing death was upon him. "You will go on, Tokatai… Go on, and win this war, whether it must be you…you or your descendants many years from now…" he winced as pain twanged through his body. Tokatai stroked his friend's face. "I will. I promise," he whispered. The dying child took a deep breath, feeling warmth pass over him and the darkness clouding his eyes. "And so… it ends…" he whispered. And with that… the Lance Holder died, young and innocent.
Tokatai cried but his tears and mourning was interrupted by the approach of The Enemy. He looked up abruptly, glaring at The Enemy in both anger and fear. The Enemy smirked and raised its sword to deal a killing blow to Tokatai. Tokatai froze then grabbed half of the Wild Lance, which had broken in two in the fall, and slashed at The Enemy. The Enemy roared in pain and staggered backwards. An arm fell to the ground, the Brace of Power falling with it, shattering due to its delicateness. Tokatai smiled weakly as The Enemy roared once more then vanished in a cloud of dust.
Tokatai suddenly felt weak. He fell onto his back and a feeling of warmth came over him.
He slowly realized that he, too, was dying. He wondered why then it came to him. He had destroyed The Enemy, who refused to die alone. The Enemy was taking his life too. Tokatai closed his eyes and he silently died beside his best friend. Tokatai's last words were: "Wait for me, Jenrya Wong..."
*In this time, as a head note, people married and had children young due to the war.
Fwa. Tis just the prologue. I'll have the next chapters up VERY soon. ^^
Akiyama Shadow