As a fore-note to my readers I have come upon a slew of complaints
about my grammar, or should I say the lack thereof. Now notably for all of
you that have gotten this far anyway; I thank you because you've been able
to put up with the fact that I do make very obvious grammar mistakes. But
you readers that have gotten this far into my books are worthy of praise,
because it is you people that are able to recognize that a book isn't about
the words, but the story, and for that I thank you. So to sum up; if
you're reading this at all, thank you.
The Origins of Magic
"Well I can't hardly find myself to disagree with Kain, he's never really been wrong before. At least about things like this, he knows what we should do a whole lot better then we ever will." Dekan said, trying to be confident, but something in his voice lacked the confidence that he was trying to boast. Phantine was still very unsure of this plan, and she was more then slightly ticked off that Kain had wished to exclude her and Dekan from the plan making. She thought that she was supposed to be the light of the dawn after all. Doesn't that mean that she should know what she should do with herself at least? "Toroian though, that place has long been nearly deserted, it's like a shell in haunted woods. you do know that the woods near Toroian are haunted right? They're haunted with imps and tree people things, and all the monsters that were said to have been killed so long ago, but there they still live!" "Phantine, please calm yourself." Dekan said calmly himself. "Kain thinks that these clerics will still be there when we arrive, all eight of them, and there is no reason to doubt what he says." Phantine was about to say something to contradict him at this point but Dekan continued. "And besides if nothing else, we shall go through the ruins, look for these elder women and then if we do not find them we shall come back here and wait for news from either Dawne and Naxos, or from Kain himself. This is a very simple task really." "I suppose there is at least nothing that could really go all that wrong should we go there, but do you think that you can jump all the way over there? There are no way to transport ourselves there, no ships, no aircraft, and the mountains from there to here would not be a fun journey either." Phantine exclaimed to Dekan. Dekan simply waited and gave her a very simple almost innocent look and said. "Yes I can take you all that way my dear, but it shall not be by legs that I am able to do so, but by the blessings of the wind itself. Now quickly we should walk a ways from this City of Mist so that none see our departure." "Is there anything that we need to take with us?" Phantine asked, and then slowly breathed out, she believed that she was relaxing more now, she always had such a hard time going from stressed to relaxed or anything for that matter. Dekan got out of their bed and put on his humble clothing picked up his spear from up against the side of a wall and looked at her and said. "If nothing else, this is all I need. Though if you wish to bring some creature comforts with you, I would not blame you." "Do you think you could have the wind lift a bed with us on our journey?" Phantine said with a giggle nearly coming out of her mouth. "I think that that might be a bit too much on the creature comforts size, how about just things that can fit inside of a small bag, such as a nice toothbrush and some extra clothing." Dekan said, making Phantine wonder if he had understood his sarcasm. Phantine picked up her sword and sheath from the table where she had left them both the night before, unsheathed the sword and placed it's edge next to Dekan's neck and said to him in a very playful manor. "I, sir dragoon, shall take with me whatever I wish, and should I wish to take an entire bedroom then you shall oblige." She said with a grin that looked sweetly evil. "Whatever you wish my lady paladin of the light." Dekan said taking himself to bow before her. "However then I believe the trip shall take a slight bit longer." He said looking into her eyes and smiling at her. "Very well then." Phantine said with fake exasperation. "I suppose I shall have to take along a few fewer items then I suppose." And with that Phantine and Dekan began to laugh and they didn't stop for quite a few minutes. Phantine stopped for a few moments and thought to herself that it felt so good to laugh now, she hadn't had a good laugh for so long. Everything had just been far too serious, trying to save the world and everything.
* * *
Naxos got up from his bed finally, it had taken him nearly two days to work up the strength to finally be able to do that, and in all that time the sylph had kept him company. It had to have been the nicest creature that Naxos had ever meet, it read to him when he was awake, and talked with him about all sorts of interesting things, but most of all it listened when he wished to talk. Naxos could not remember the last time someone had really and truly listened to him while he talked, most just obliged him, this small greenish creature listened and when he was done talking it gave him a smile that told him that everything was going to be all right. Naxos wished he could look at that smile for the rest of his life, he knew that if he could he would die a happy man. "Oh how very good master Naxos, I shall go fetch Dawne and tell her that you can now stand and walk, she will be very pleased I think." The little sylph told him and then rushed out of the wooden door. "A little rest was all I needed, that is all that anyone ever needs to recover from most non-lethal wounds I would think." Naxos said to himself, and even he could tell that here was an air of snoodyness to his voice. He then sat back down on his bed of pure white, he had always wondered though where the cloth for these was created, there weren't any cotton producing areas here, magic, he thought to himself, that can make anything. Naxos began thinking for a second and then he started talking to himself. "Now I must figure out how to get these fools here to go to the surface and help us with the war that we must wage. I told Kain that I would make the overworld burn from the heat the war down here would create, now I must figure out some way to get this to happen quickly." And Naxos laid his head down on the pillow and began to ponder when suddenly something clicked in his mind, he wasn't sure if that would allow him to win these people over, but it would be something. Dawne walked through the door looking very tired, she eyed him and said. "Well good to see you up and around, we'll be walking out of here very shortly I think" "Just us?" Naxos replied "Just us." "Well then allow me to give us another option if you don't mind." Dawne raised her eyebrow and with a confused look on her face she said. "Naxos, what in the world are you. no wait, never mind. I don't care, we're leaving here tomorrow." "Very well then. But I'm not going with you, I'm going to stay here and get these people memories back. They're real memories, not the ones that Milon or someone somehow was able to put into them." Dekan said with a bit of gusto and pride in himself. "I don't think that will help, these people are set in their ways." "Well yes, they're set in their ways because they've never known anything else, never even heard of another world until we came along. I think that maybe, just maybe if we can do this it would at least be worth a second try at convincing them." "But they're just regular people now! They're not the callers of old like we have become, they don't know the slightest bit of magic. And we can't bring the summoned ones from out of here unless we summon them ourselves, and we can't keep them out too long anyway. Just forget about it Naxos, this situation is hopeless." Dawne said with a heavy breath, she was tired and frustrated, and Naxos didn't blame her for being either. "Perhaps if they had their memories back those that could create spells could remember how. Come now, let us give it a try quickly, every day here is anywhere between a couple days and a month on the surface." "Alright. We'll give it a try, and just how are you planning on doing this anyway?" "Have you ever used a dispelling spell before." "Yes of course, everyone learns those, that can learn them of course." "Well if use an inextrar dispel then." "Then all enchantments that have ever been cast upon something for it's entire life will be eradicated utterly, yes I know." Dawne interrupted, and then said calmly. "I guess we could try it; though I doubt it will work." Naxos calmly and slowly walked out of the room, with Dawne following him. "Where are you going?" Dawne asked. "I'm going to find Leviathan." "So you're going to find the most powerful of all the summoned ones, and use a spell that was designed only for humans to try and dispel what we think is a mental enchantment, but could be something else. Do I have that right?" Dawne said sounding more then a little bit worried. "Yes." Naxos said, continuing to walk towards the library. "Well I hope this doesn't blow up in your face, literally of course." Dawne said with a slight smile on her face. "It won't, I have faith in myself. I know what I'm doing and I will succeed." Naxos said to himself as much as he did to Dawne, though he hoped that she didn't figure that out. Naxos and Dawne continued to walk towards the library and Leviathan, but the experience was more then a slight hassle for Naxos, just the slow pace he was using right now was making his head spin. At one point Naxos was forced to stop and rest at a corner of a building as to give him time to make the world stop spinning. And while he stopped, Dawne just stood, and hovered above him giving him a curios look that he couldn't identify, perhaps it was pity, but more likely it was that she thought he was a fool and wished to tell him with more then just words. And when the world finally did start moving the way it was supposed to, Naxos stood up and said. "Would it be so hard for you to have a little faith in me?" The two walked the rest of the distance to the library in silence. They entered the library, the smell of old paper filling them as they wandered through the countless shelves; though they knew exactly where they were going, though it still felt like wandering. Naxos and Dawne finally reached the second basement and the throne room of Lord Leviathan. There it looked as though he was having an important conversation with a half- crazed sounding Rahum. As such Dawne and Naxos stayed on the stairwell just out of sight listening. "My lord, what they speak is heresy. They are our enemies and they have been lying to us so that we should trust them, do you not remember the lessons that King Bahamut taught us so long ago. 'Never trust the humans with the ability to summon, for they will drag you to from your homes and leave you in their world to die.' That is what he told us m'lord. And remember just a few short months ago I myself was summoned by one of these foul creatures, I tell you now I had no control what so ever of myself I was forced to bend knee, and do their bidding. And now I barely have any recollection of the events, but I know it was the boy that summoned me, or it might have been the girl I'm not sure, but I know that it was one of them!" "It was me you old fool." Naxos said stepping into the light of the throne room, though for the first time Naxos noticed that there weren't any torches or any light producing objects in the room, where was the light coming from? He wondered to himself for a brief moment, but then continued. "You helped us to retrieve the crystal of fire, and by doing so helped save that world." Rahum was about to start what was probably going to be a long rant at Naxos about how he wouldn't haven't wanted to save their world; but Naxos stopped him before he could utter a single word. "No look, Bahamut never told you that, you just believe that he did. I believe that somehow your memories were changed, and because of that I would like to try a simple spell on one of the summoned ones to prove my theory." "What does this spell of yours do?" Leviathan asked with a cold logical tone that Naxos admired. "The spell erases all enchantments placed on a person's mind, and as there are very few mental based enchantments used commonly for beneficial use, this spell should prove little risk. If nothing happens after it is casted we should know that me and Dawne here our wrong and we will leave, and if the spell works, then we shall need to cast it on nearly everyone in this place I believe." Naxos said, knowing that part of that was a lie, but he didn't care, he needed this summoned ones to agree, he needed there help, and so did Kain. Leviathan nodded quietly, while Rahum looked at him befuddled. "My lord how can you even consider that these dark imps could be doing will help us, they probably just wish to program our minds with this spell of theirs." "As so far, they have done nothing to directly harm us, have they Rahum?" "Not directly sir, but remember the words of Bahamut, and remember that he is our true king, you are just one of his probably many, many lords." "Probably, but I think that these two have given us no reason not to trust them, and ample reasons to trust them. And to prove to you Rahum o' master of the thunder and lit, I shall be there first customer. Now how long till you can cast this spell of yours Naxos?" "Right now if you so wish my lord Leviathan." Naxos said anxiously thinking afterward that he should have said it a bit slower and more cautiously as to give Leviathan the impression that. "Very good then." Leviathan said and then moved off of the throne where he had been siting, and moved over next to Rahum and whispered to the elder summoned one, though not very well as Dawne and Naxos could hear him almost perfectly. "Rahum if I begin acting like a slave or something along those lines, make them unconscious, but don't kill them, do you understand? I had better not wake up to find you standing over their corpses triumphantly or else you shall be very sorry." "I understand." Rahum whispered back, at about the same volume. Naxos realized then that Rahum must have been very old as to him he was whispering, but he couldn't hear probably at all at this point in his age. As from what Naxos last remembered. This particular summoned one was nearly 14,000 years old. "Now Naxos come over hear and cast this miracle spell of yours if you would, I'm very entertained by the chance that my whole life has been a lie." "Not your whole life just, very important parts of it lord Leviathan." Naxos said almost sounding cheerful, suddenly he could feel hot eyes on the back of his neck. He turned around to see Dawne, he had nearly forgotten that she was back there, and for some reason she looked incredibly annoyed. But now was not the time to care about that, Naxos thought to himself. "Now my lord if you would be kind enough to have a seat." "Of course child." Leviathan said and then walked up a step to his throne that was very little more then a nice looking chair. "Now do your worst." Leviathan said with a hearty laugh. Naxos stood to the right of the great lord and concentrated trying to remember everything exactly the way they had taught him. Every hand movement, gesture and the pronunciation of every dead word he spoke, and then at the end he remembered the part that he wanted to tweak. "Ura omernason zon amtros edan, me clartio char." Suddenly light appeared around the old lord of the summoned. An odd grey light, Naxos couldn't remember ever seeing a grey light before, but decided that it most just be a side reaction of the slight change he had made. The grey light though seemed to be absorbed by Leviathan and then a few seconds after it had all disappeared the light flared out in small balls of light that looked like the balls of light created from the use of the crystal on Zeromus. The room then became a great deal smaller all of a sudden as Leviathan was reverted back to his original form of a huge sea serpent. The began to flail around and Naxos was thrown against a wall by the force of a 300 foot long serpent trying to move everywhere and anywhere at once. And then the room began to spin for Naxos and he couldn't concentrate any longer, his vision was becoming blurry. Then suddenly the flailing serpent body disappeared from over his head and he looked up to see an old kingly looking man staring down at him with an odd look on his face. Then there was another face looking down on him, but from further away. "Dawne, nice to see you curios about my health now help me up if you please." Dawne gave a small frown and put her hand down for him to grasp onto. Naxos lifted himself up at great difficulty as the room would not stay still, but somehow he managed to stand up on his own two feet again. Then he looked at the three, no two, no three, Leviathans standing in front of him. "That was a very dangerous thing you just did there Naxos, if I were you I wouldn't use that spell on your old teacher Hannister, he would have your head for trying such a trick." Leviathan said with a strange smile being created on all three faces. Or maybe it was just one, the sound was coming from only one direction how odd. Naxos thought. "Yes I may just not go, to do what I did not want to just do, not to do with the not doing that your lordships." Naxos said with a confused dignity, that he was not sure how he mustered. "Naxos are you alright? You look pale." Dawne said with at least five eyes staring directly into his. "Nothing a little sleep can't cure, didn't I tell you that before sleep will cure all wounds, even the fatal ones, or was that the non fatal ones but the fatal ones are to be expunged at a later date. Well I don't remember, but I'm sure you do, you seem to know everything; or at least you think you do." Dawne looked almost horrified for some reason. "Naxos I think you have no idea what you're talking about, now hold on just a sec, just stand still and don't say anything." Naxos was greatly angered by this as he thought to himself, she's telling me to shut up. how dare she do that! I'm far supierious to her why if it weren't for me she'd still be a baby in her mother's womb. In fact if it weren't for me she probably never would have been conceived by her father and her uncle. Or was it her grandfather and her something, well I can't remember who her parent's are, but they never even would have met if it weren't for me being at that party to tell them about her and how pretty Dawne is. Light curse me she's beautiful, not that it matters though I mean hell everyone knows that she wants to get inside of Kain's pants, not mine. Eh I don't even have that great of pants anyway, they're kind of ratty; I should get a decent pair of pants. Yeah, a decent pair of pants would be nice. As Naxos thought this out in his head he never even heard Dawne's arcane words, and never really noticed when he went from standing up to sitting down and then laying down and then suddenly he was asleep. Oh well, Naxos thought, I like sleeping its very relaxing.
* * *
Dawne looked down at the poor fool then she looked at Leviathan and said. "You know, I always knew he was insane, and now I have proof." Leviathan and Rahum both gave a scoffing laugh to this. "How odd," Leviathan commented "I would have thought that a severe blow to the head wouldn't have done that kind of injury. If you know the white magic Dawne I would ask you to use it now for him." "No." Dawne said slowly after a pause. "I want him to wake up with a terrible headache for all that he has put me through." "And just what horribleness has he put you through for you to wish this upon him?" "Well he's always just making things up off the top of his head, he never thinks things through anymore. he used to thorough. He used to be nothing but stone, thanks to Kain. I think maybe being in this place has brought out something in him, he's never cast spells of such variety before either. " "That sounds like a good thing." Leviathan said in a wise yet coy tone. Dawne was enraged by this old fool, she thought for a second maybe he had his memory back, but apparently he still had no idea about the methods of sorcery. "Lord Leviathan, not to sound arrogant or anything about this, but you must not have any idea about what you're talking about! Naxos was tweaking with spells, you're not allowed to do that! Ever person that has ever studied any form of magic knows that, everyone. I mean should that not have worked the way that he thought that it would have it could have killed us all. It could have wiped out your entire mind, and left you a hollow shell. So I must tell you that, no it is not a good idea to use such 'variety' in ones spells, you should only use those spells that have been taught and memorized. Not just throwing around arcane words, gestures, and symbols around as he wills." Dawne breathed out slowly and heavily to signify that she had finished. "Where do you think magic came from Dawne?" "Magic comes from the words and the gestures and the symbols and runes and all of the other things that we use in our sorcery." Dawne said simply. "No child, where did magic come from originally?" Leviathan asked slowly and solidly, sounding quite the sage. Dawne stood puzzled for nearly a minute. She had never truly thought about where magic had come from. Well in fact no one had ever taught her; so she just assumed that either no one knew or cared. This made her more curios that Leviathan might know this and had never told anyone. As such Dawne made the most logical guess that came to her mind. "The summoned ones created magic?" "No child." Dawne stood wondering what it could possibly be then, and had a look on her face to show Leviathan that was what was on her mind. "You see child, it is people like Naxos that created magic." Dawne now stood with her jaw hanging wondering if what Leviathan had just said was true. "Now if you will excuse me I will take Naxos here to Asura, she is fluent in the healing arts and will be delighted to heal the boy when I tell her that he can unlock her true memories." And at that, Leviathan, a skinny old man with as many liver spots as children have freckles lifted up Naxos and carried him up the stairs to wherever Asura was with Rahum following him asking him questions. Dawne just stood in the throne room however completely confused and wishing that Kain could be there to explain it all to her, she was so confused, and that made her cold. Light how she hated being confused.
* * *
Phantine and Dekan walked briskly out of the town of mist, a slight cold had entered the valley this morning and she was not the kind of person that enjoyed the cold, at all. As they walked through the streets she noticed that there was a newfound sense of mourning and confusion on the people's faces. She knew then that the news of what had happened in Baron was finally getting to the people, no one wanted to believe whatever they had been told, and she was sure that there were thousands of rumors abounding about the situation. Though she hadn't even talked to one person about it, she knew that that was what had happened. As she walked further through the city of Mist, a woman sat behind a small wooden counter that she must use for selling wares during the day, but today there were now wares out, only a sign overhead that read. "Repent the time of the turning is here." Written in a calm cool hand Phantine noted. The woman behind the counter must not have written it then as she could barely look up to stop from crying, must have had family or friends she thought. The two finally reached the city limits of Mist and as they walked through the countryside Dekan turned to face her while she was walking and said to her. "Do you think we should have done something about that back there?" "Done something about what?" Phantine said confused. "Done something about all those people that didn't know what was going on, we could have rallied them or something, we could have told them to the truth of what happened and probably some of them might have become sympathizers or something like that to us. But we just ignored them." Dekan said sounding sad and she could tell that he thought they should have done a lot. "Kain told us to go to Toroian, and that's where we are going. There we shall meet eight wise cleric women at the castle, or ruins thereof. These women, can and will act as some sort of guides for us, or at least tell us what we should do. And if nothing else, they can aid me in learning how to fight sense Toroian used to be the kingdom of women warriors. That's what were doing, and we are to do it with all immediate speed." Dawne said sounding dry and dull. "I understand." Dekan said bleakly as well, both of them thought that they should have done something, but there was always the chance that that wouldn't have worked out right. And then where would they be? They would be two silly teenagers who think they're going to save the world with a great deal more enemies. Dekan sighed and looked around and then at Phantine. "I don't see anyone around here, we could try jumping right here if you'd like?" "I suppose, but be gentle Dekan, I've never done this before with you and I won't kid you by saying that I'm a bit nervous." Phantine said, and to her word she did sound nervous. Dekan smiled, that loving smile that Phantine had fell in love with a long time ago and said to her as he grabbed onto her and wrapped his arms around her. "I shall be as gentle as a warm breeze." And he jumped into the air, but before his jump could arc, something caught them. Dekan was right, Phantine thought as the wind swept them up, gentle as a warm breeze.
"Those who right reviews shall be karmically rewarded." -Kain DeLuman
The Origins of Magic
"Well I can't hardly find myself to disagree with Kain, he's never really been wrong before. At least about things like this, he knows what we should do a whole lot better then we ever will." Dekan said, trying to be confident, but something in his voice lacked the confidence that he was trying to boast. Phantine was still very unsure of this plan, and she was more then slightly ticked off that Kain had wished to exclude her and Dekan from the plan making. She thought that she was supposed to be the light of the dawn after all. Doesn't that mean that she should know what she should do with herself at least? "Toroian though, that place has long been nearly deserted, it's like a shell in haunted woods. you do know that the woods near Toroian are haunted right? They're haunted with imps and tree people things, and all the monsters that were said to have been killed so long ago, but there they still live!" "Phantine, please calm yourself." Dekan said calmly himself. "Kain thinks that these clerics will still be there when we arrive, all eight of them, and there is no reason to doubt what he says." Phantine was about to say something to contradict him at this point but Dekan continued. "And besides if nothing else, we shall go through the ruins, look for these elder women and then if we do not find them we shall come back here and wait for news from either Dawne and Naxos, or from Kain himself. This is a very simple task really." "I suppose there is at least nothing that could really go all that wrong should we go there, but do you think that you can jump all the way over there? There are no way to transport ourselves there, no ships, no aircraft, and the mountains from there to here would not be a fun journey either." Phantine exclaimed to Dekan. Dekan simply waited and gave her a very simple almost innocent look and said. "Yes I can take you all that way my dear, but it shall not be by legs that I am able to do so, but by the blessings of the wind itself. Now quickly we should walk a ways from this City of Mist so that none see our departure." "Is there anything that we need to take with us?" Phantine asked, and then slowly breathed out, she believed that she was relaxing more now, she always had such a hard time going from stressed to relaxed or anything for that matter. Dekan got out of their bed and put on his humble clothing picked up his spear from up against the side of a wall and looked at her and said. "If nothing else, this is all I need. Though if you wish to bring some creature comforts with you, I would not blame you." "Do you think you could have the wind lift a bed with us on our journey?" Phantine said with a giggle nearly coming out of her mouth. "I think that that might be a bit too much on the creature comforts size, how about just things that can fit inside of a small bag, such as a nice toothbrush and some extra clothing." Dekan said, making Phantine wonder if he had understood his sarcasm. Phantine picked up her sword and sheath from the table where she had left them both the night before, unsheathed the sword and placed it's edge next to Dekan's neck and said to him in a very playful manor. "I, sir dragoon, shall take with me whatever I wish, and should I wish to take an entire bedroom then you shall oblige." She said with a grin that looked sweetly evil. "Whatever you wish my lady paladin of the light." Dekan said taking himself to bow before her. "However then I believe the trip shall take a slight bit longer." He said looking into her eyes and smiling at her. "Very well then." Phantine said with fake exasperation. "I suppose I shall have to take along a few fewer items then I suppose." And with that Phantine and Dekan began to laugh and they didn't stop for quite a few minutes. Phantine stopped for a few moments and thought to herself that it felt so good to laugh now, she hadn't had a good laugh for so long. Everything had just been far too serious, trying to save the world and everything.
* * *
Naxos got up from his bed finally, it had taken him nearly two days to work up the strength to finally be able to do that, and in all that time the sylph had kept him company. It had to have been the nicest creature that Naxos had ever meet, it read to him when he was awake, and talked with him about all sorts of interesting things, but most of all it listened when he wished to talk. Naxos could not remember the last time someone had really and truly listened to him while he talked, most just obliged him, this small greenish creature listened and when he was done talking it gave him a smile that told him that everything was going to be all right. Naxos wished he could look at that smile for the rest of his life, he knew that if he could he would die a happy man. "Oh how very good master Naxos, I shall go fetch Dawne and tell her that you can now stand and walk, she will be very pleased I think." The little sylph told him and then rushed out of the wooden door. "A little rest was all I needed, that is all that anyone ever needs to recover from most non-lethal wounds I would think." Naxos said to himself, and even he could tell that here was an air of snoodyness to his voice. He then sat back down on his bed of pure white, he had always wondered though where the cloth for these was created, there weren't any cotton producing areas here, magic, he thought to himself, that can make anything. Naxos began thinking for a second and then he started talking to himself. "Now I must figure out how to get these fools here to go to the surface and help us with the war that we must wage. I told Kain that I would make the overworld burn from the heat the war down here would create, now I must figure out some way to get this to happen quickly." And Naxos laid his head down on the pillow and began to ponder when suddenly something clicked in his mind, he wasn't sure if that would allow him to win these people over, but it would be something. Dawne walked through the door looking very tired, she eyed him and said. "Well good to see you up and around, we'll be walking out of here very shortly I think" "Just us?" Naxos replied "Just us." "Well then allow me to give us another option if you don't mind." Dawne raised her eyebrow and with a confused look on her face she said. "Naxos, what in the world are you. no wait, never mind. I don't care, we're leaving here tomorrow." "Very well then. But I'm not going with you, I'm going to stay here and get these people memories back. They're real memories, not the ones that Milon or someone somehow was able to put into them." Dekan said with a bit of gusto and pride in himself. "I don't think that will help, these people are set in their ways." "Well yes, they're set in their ways because they've never known anything else, never even heard of another world until we came along. I think that maybe, just maybe if we can do this it would at least be worth a second try at convincing them." "But they're just regular people now! They're not the callers of old like we have become, they don't know the slightest bit of magic. And we can't bring the summoned ones from out of here unless we summon them ourselves, and we can't keep them out too long anyway. Just forget about it Naxos, this situation is hopeless." Dawne said with a heavy breath, she was tired and frustrated, and Naxos didn't blame her for being either. "Perhaps if they had their memories back those that could create spells could remember how. Come now, let us give it a try quickly, every day here is anywhere between a couple days and a month on the surface." "Alright. We'll give it a try, and just how are you planning on doing this anyway?" "Have you ever used a dispelling spell before." "Yes of course, everyone learns those, that can learn them of course." "Well if use an inextrar dispel then." "Then all enchantments that have ever been cast upon something for it's entire life will be eradicated utterly, yes I know." Dawne interrupted, and then said calmly. "I guess we could try it; though I doubt it will work." Naxos calmly and slowly walked out of the room, with Dawne following him. "Where are you going?" Dawne asked. "I'm going to find Leviathan." "So you're going to find the most powerful of all the summoned ones, and use a spell that was designed only for humans to try and dispel what we think is a mental enchantment, but could be something else. Do I have that right?" Dawne said sounding more then a little bit worried. "Yes." Naxos said, continuing to walk towards the library. "Well I hope this doesn't blow up in your face, literally of course." Dawne said with a slight smile on her face. "It won't, I have faith in myself. I know what I'm doing and I will succeed." Naxos said to himself as much as he did to Dawne, though he hoped that she didn't figure that out. Naxos and Dawne continued to walk towards the library and Leviathan, but the experience was more then a slight hassle for Naxos, just the slow pace he was using right now was making his head spin. At one point Naxos was forced to stop and rest at a corner of a building as to give him time to make the world stop spinning. And while he stopped, Dawne just stood, and hovered above him giving him a curios look that he couldn't identify, perhaps it was pity, but more likely it was that she thought he was a fool and wished to tell him with more then just words. And when the world finally did start moving the way it was supposed to, Naxos stood up and said. "Would it be so hard for you to have a little faith in me?" The two walked the rest of the distance to the library in silence. They entered the library, the smell of old paper filling them as they wandered through the countless shelves; though they knew exactly where they were going, though it still felt like wandering. Naxos and Dawne finally reached the second basement and the throne room of Lord Leviathan. There it looked as though he was having an important conversation with a half- crazed sounding Rahum. As such Dawne and Naxos stayed on the stairwell just out of sight listening. "My lord, what they speak is heresy. They are our enemies and they have been lying to us so that we should trust them, do you not remember the lessons that King Bahamut taught us so long ago. 'Never trust the humans with the ability to summon, for they will drag you to from your homes and leave you in their world to die.' That is what he told us m'lord. And remember just a few short months ago I myself was summoned by one of these foul creatures, I tell you now I had no control what so ever of myself I was forced to bend knee, and do their bidding. And now I barely have any recollection of the events, but I know it was the boy that summoned me, or it might have been the girl I'm not sure, but I know that it was one of them!" "It was me you old fool." Naxos said stepping into the light of the throne room, though for the first time Naxos noticed that there weren't any torches or any light producing objects in the room, where was the light coming from? He wondered to himself for a brief moment, but then continued. "You helped us to retrieve the crystal of fire, and by doing so helped save that world." Rahum was about to start what was probably going to be a long rant at Naxos about how he wouldn't haven't wanted to save their world; but Naxos stopped him before he could utter a single word. "No look, Bahamut never told you that, you just believe that he did. I believe that somehow your memories were changed, and because of that I would like to try a simple spell on one of the summoned ones to prove my theory." "What does this spell of yours do?" Leviathan asked with a cold logical tone that Naxos admired. "The spell erases all enchantments placed on a person's mind, and as there are very few mental based enchantments used commonly for beneficial use, this spell should prove little risk. If nothing happens after it is casted we should know that me and Dawne here our wrong and we will leave, and if the spell works, then we shall need to cast it on nearly everyone in this place I believe." Naxos said, knowing that part of that was a lie, but he didn't care, he needed this summoned ones to agree, he needed there help, and so did Kain. Leviathan nodded quietly, while Rahum looked at him befuddled. "My lord how can you even consider that these dark imps could be doing will help us, they probably just wish to program our minds with this spell of theirs." "As so far, they have done nothing to directly harm us, have they Rahum?" "Not directly sir, but remember the words of Bahamut, and remember that he is our true king, you are just one of his probably many, many lords." "Probably, but I think that these two have given us no reason not to trust them, and ample reasons to trust them. And to prove to you Rahum o' master of the thunder and lit, I shall be there first customer. Now how long till you can cast this spell of yours Naxos?" "Right now if you so wish my lord Leviathan." Naxos said anxiously thinking afterward that he should have said it a bit slower and more cautiously as to give Leviathan the impression that. "Very good then." Leviathan said and then moved off of the throne where he had been siting, and moved over next to Rahum and whispered to the elder summoned one, though not very well as Dawne and Naxos could hear him almost perfectly. "Rahum if I begin acting like a slave or something along those lines, make them unconscious, but don't kill them, do you understand? I had better not wake up to find you standing over their corpses triumphantly or else you shall be very sorry." "I understand." Rahum whispered back, at about the same volume. Naxos realized then that Rahum must have been very old as to him he was whispering, but he couldn't hear probably at all at this point in his age. As from what Naxos last remembered. This particular summoned one was nearly 14,000 years old. "Now Naxos come over hear and cast this miracle spell of yours if you would, I'm very entertained by the chance that my whole life has been a lie." "Not your whole life just, very important parts of it lord Leviathan." Naxos said almost sounding cheerful, suddenly he could feel hot eyes on the back of his neck. He turned around to see Dawne, he had nearly forgotten that she was back there, and for some reason she looked incredibly annoyed. But now was not the time to care about that, Naxos thought to himself. "Now my lord if you would be kind enough to have a seat." "Of course child." Leviathan said and then walked up a step to his throne that was very little more then a nice looking chair. "Now do your worst." Leviathan said with a hearty laugh. Naxos stood to the right of the great lord and concentrated trying to remember everything exactly the way they had taught him. Every hand movement, gesture and the pronunciation of every dead word he spoke, and then at the end he remembered the part that he wanted to tweak. "Ura omernason zon amtros edan, me clartio char." Suddenly light appeared around the old lord of the summoned. An odd grey light, Naxos couldn't remember ever seeing a grey light before, but decided that it most just be a side reaction of the slight change he had made. The grey light though seemed to be absorbed by Leviathan and then a few seconds after it had all disappeared the light flared out in small balls of light that looked like the balls of light created from the use of the crystal on Zeromus. The room then became a great deal smaller all of a sudden as Leviathan was reverted back to his original form of a huge sea serpent. The began to flail around and Naxos was thrown against a wall by the force of a 300 foot long serpent trying to move everywhere and anywhere at once. And then the room began to spin for Naxos and he couldn't concentrate any longer, his vision was becoming blurry. Then suddenly the flailing serpent body disappeared from over his head and he looked up to see an old kingly looking man staring down at him with an odd look on his face. Then there was another face looking down on him, but from further away. "Dawne, nice to see you curios about my health now help me up if you please." Dawne gave a small frown and put her hand down for him to grasp onto. Naxos lifted himself up at great difficulty as the room would not stay still, but somehow he managed to stand up on his own two feet again. Then he looked at the three, no two, no three, Leviathans standing in front of him. "That was a very dangerous thing you just did there Naxos, if I were you I wouldn't use that spell on your old teacher Hannister, he would have your head for trying such a trick." Leviathan said with a strange smile being created on all three faces. Or maybe it was just one, the sound was coming from only one direction how odd. Naxos thought. "Yes I may just not go, to do what I did not want to just do, not to do with the not doing that your lordships." Naxos said with a confused dignity, that he was not sure how he mustered. "Naxos are you alright? You look pale." Dawne said with at least five eyes staring directly into his. "Nothing a little sleep can't cure, didn't I tell you that before sleep will cure all wounds, even the fatal ones, or was that the non fatal ones but the fatal ones are to be expunged at a later date. Well I don't remember, but I'm sure you do, you seem to know everything; or at least you think you do." Dawne looked almost horrified for some reason. "Naxos I think you have no idea what you're talking about, now hold on just a sec, just stand still and don't say anything." Naxos was greatly angered by this as he thought to himself, she's telling me to shut up. how dare she do that! I'm far supierious to her why if it weren't for me she'd still be a baby in her mother's womb. In fact if it weren't for me she probably never would have been conceived by her father and her uncle. Or was it her grandfather and her something, well I can't remember who her parent's are, but they never even would have met if it weren't for me being at that party to tell them about her and how pretty Dawne is. Light curse me she's beautiful, not that it matters though I mean hell everyone knows that she wants to get inside of Kain's pants, not mine. Eh I don't even have that great of pants anyway, they're kind of ratty; I should get a decent pair of pants. Yeah, a decent pair of pants would be nice. As Naxos thought this out in his head he never even heard Dawne's arcane words, and never really noticed when he went from standing up to sitting down and then laying down and then suddenly he was asleep. Oh well, Naxos thought, I like sleeping its very relaxing.
* * *
Dawne looked down at the poor fool then she looked at Leviathan and said. "You know, I always knew he was insane, and now I have proof." Leviathan and Rahum both gave a scoffing laugh to this. "How odd," Leviathan commented "I would have thought that a severe blow to the head wouldn't have done that kind of injury. If you know the white magic Dawne I would ask you to use it now for him." "No." Dawne said slowly after a pause. "I want him to wake up with a terrible headache for all that he has put me through." "And just what horribleness has he put you through for you to wish this upon him?" "Well he's always just making things up off the top of his head, he never thinks things through anymore. he used to thorough. He used to be nothing but stone, thanks to Kain. I think maybe being in this place has brought out something in him, he's never cast spells of such variety before either. " "That sounds like a good thing." Leviathan said in a wise yet coy tone. Dawne was enraged by this old fool, she thought for a second maybe he had his memory back, but apparently he still had no idea about the methods of sorcery. "Lord Leviathan, not to sound arrogant or anything about this, but you must not have any idea about what you're talking about! Naxos was tweaking with spells, you're not allowed to do that! Ever person that has ever studied any form of magic knows that, everyone. I mean should that not have worked the way that he thought that it would have it could have killed us all. It could have wiped out your entire mind, and left you a hollow shell. So I must tell you that, no it is not a good idea to use such 'variety' in ones spells, you should only use those spells that have been taught and memorized. Not just throwing around arcane words, gestures, and symbols around as he wills." Dawne breathed out slowly and heavily to signify that she had finished. "Where do you think magic came from Dawne?" "Magic comes from the words and the gestures and the symbols and runes and all of the other things that we use in our sorcery." Dawne said simply. "No child, where did magic come from originally?" Leviathan asked slowly and solidly, sounding quite the sage. Dawne stood puzzled for nearly a minute. She had never truly thought about where magic had come from. Well in fact no one had ever taught her; so she just assumed that either no one knew or cared. This made her more curios that Leviathan might know this and had never told anyone. As such Dawne made the most logical guess that came to her mind. "The summoned ones created magic?" "No child." Dawne stood wondering what it could possibly be then, and had a look on her face to show Leviathan that was what was on her mind. "You see child, it is people like Naxos that created magic." Dawne now stood with her jaw hanging wondering if what Leviathan had just said was true. "Now if you will excuse me I will take Naxos here to Asura, she is fluent in the healing arts and will be delighted to heal the boy when I tell her that he can unlock her true memories." And at that, Leviathan, a skinny old man with as many liver spots as children have freckles lifted up Naxos and carried him up the stairs to wherever Asura was with Rahum following him asking him questions. Dawne just stood in the throne room however completely confused and wishing that Kain could be there to explain it all to her, she was so confused, and that made her cold. Light how she hated being confused.
* * *
Phantine and Dekan walked briskly out of the town of mist, a slight cold had entered the valley this morning and she was not the kind of person that enjoyed the cold, at all. As they walked through the streets she noticed that there was a newfound sense of mourning and confusion on the people's faces. She knew then that the news of what had happened in Baron was finally getting to the people, no one wanted to believe whatever they had been told, and she was sure that there were thousands of rumors abounding about the situation. Though she hadn't even talked to one person about it, she knew that that was what had happened. As she walked further through the city of Mist, a woman sat behind a small wooden counter that she must use for selling wares during the day, but today there were now wares out, only a sign overhead that read. "Repent the time of the turning is here." Written in a calm cool hand Phantine noted. The woman behind the counter must not have written it then as she could barely look up to stop from crying, must have had family or friends she thought. The two finally reached the city limits of Mist and as they walked through the countryside Dekan turned to face her while she was walking and said to her. "Do you think we should have done something about that back there?" "Done something about what?" Phantine said confused. "Done something about all those people that didn't know what was going on, we could have rallied them or something, we could have told them to the truth of what happened and probably some of them might have become sympathizers or something like that to us. But we just ignored them." Dekan said sounding sad and she could tell that he thought they should have done a lot. "Kain told us to go to Toroian, and that's where we are going. There we shall meet eight wise cleric women at the castle, or ruins thereof. These women, can and will act as some sort of guides for us, or at least tell us what we should do. And if nothing else, they can aid me in learning how to fight sense Toroian used to be the kingdom of women warriors. That's what were doing, and we are to do it with all immediate speed." Dawne said sounding dry and dull. "I understand." Dekan said bleakly as well, both of them thought that they should have done something, but there was always the chance that that wouldn't have worked out right. And then where would they be? They would be two silly teenagers who think they're going to save the world with a great deal more enemies. Dekan sighed and looked around and then at Phantine. "I don't see anyone around here, we could try jumping right here if you'd like?" "I suppose, but be gentle Dekan, I've never done this before with you and I won't kid you by saying that I'm a bit nervous." Phantine said, and to her word she did sound nervous. Dekan smiled, that loving smile that Phantine had fell in love with a long time ago and said to her as he grabbed onto her and wrapped his arms around her. "I shall be as gentle as a warm breeze." And he jumped into the air, but before his jump could arc, something caught them. Dekan was right, Phantine thought as the wind swept them up, gentle as a warm breeze.
"Those who right reviews shall be karmically rewarded." -Kain DeLuman