Darkening Hopes
Chapter 1
Lumina held her breath in apprehension, using her delicate sense of hearing to
pick up the softest of sounds. But there was nothing, thank goddess, so she relaxed to
some extent and slid down the closet wall.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing." She replied looking up at the blue dragon on the brink of the alcove
above her. The small creature's yellow eyes narrowed, and his jewel sparkled ever so
slightly.
"They're still here, I can sense them. They're just three floors above us...oh
Lumina...." He whined softly, crouching down low. Lumina snorted.
"You aren't losing your nerve, are you Nysoro?" she taunted vaguely. Nysoro
looked down on her, and his eyes narrowed still.
"This isn't time to be a smart-alec, PRINCESS." He hissed, and Lumina
shuddered. True, she was the Crown Princess of the Dragon Tribe AND Forcena, heiress
to both thrones along with her husband, but she knew Nysoro used that word to insult her,
playful as it was. It still hurt to hear her best friend of fourteen years call her something
so informal. Nysoro obviously gained a feeling of discomfort from his friend and
crawled down from the alcove and onto her shoulder.
"I'm sorry...but...this is such a stressful situation and we really can't fool around
when there's about five hundred mind-controlled ninja FREAKS only three...no....two
floors above us now, and..." he trailed off, not wanting to continue to make Lumina feel
even worse. Lumina shuddered, and held her breath again. Nysoro went silent and
watched her. Suddenly, she gasped and flexed her fingers out, causing the conical, razor-
sharp claws to shoot out from her hands.
"What? What is it?" Nysoro questioned hysterically. Lumina turned to him, her
face dour.
"They're getting faster, that probably means the defense is completely down!
Nysoro, I don't want you to get hurt...run. Find my father and mother, if you can. Keep
them safe, and don't question this!" she shouted, interrupting his opening complaints,
"It's an order from me, your Princess...run!" Nysoro heaved a sigh and nodded.
"If that's what you want...good luck Lumina!" he exclaimed positively and
jumped back into the alcove and ran off into the shadows. Lumina listened again...only
one floor...
She rolled out of the closet, her long robes curving behind her. She left the hood
of her traveling cloak down, made sure the belt was tight, and got in a fighting stance.
So close...
Only a couple of yards...
Lumina thought for a moment and rushed out of the door to the back, heading to
the balcony of the room. Even though it was one of the very last floors, it was
underground and even still below her was a long, profound chasm. Suddenly, the door
leading to the room burst open, and a dozen ninjas dashed forth. One of them, more
heavily armored than the rest, stepped ahead of all of them and looked straight at the
young woman.
"There she is! Don't harm her at all or Master Jagan will have your heads!" he
shouted, and Lumina recoiled slightly. Jagan...that wicked vampire that was liable for
her first encounter with the Dark Prince WAS in charge!
The ninja's nodded simultaneously, a sure sign they were all under some sort of
mind-control. Three of them jumped ahead, daggers poised with some sort of green
liquid seeping through the blade. Lumina guessed this was some kind of sleep poison,
and she crouched even lower, positioning her hands. All of a sudden they launched
themselves towards her. Lumina rolled to the side and pounced on one of them, slashing
his neck for a quick kill. The other two charged again, and Lumina did her best to evade,
however, one managed to give her leg a small slice. The princess felt that part of her leg
go completely numb, and found it hard to stand up again. The other ninjas circled in
around the wounded warrior. Lumina remained down but began to chant some words in
a language indistinct to her attackers. Suddenly, a wall of fire erupted about Lumina and
swelled to the thieves. They screamed and jumped back patting themselves and rolling to
get the fire off them. Lumina stood reluctantly and ran for the door, but something held
her back. She fell to the ground from the force and only managed to turn around to see
the profoundly armored ninja's hand pointed at her, chanting a stop spell.
Lumina dug her claws into the floor and tried as hard as she could to heave herself
away from him, but he brought his hand back, making her glide more and more towards
the balcony, the railing now scorched away from Lumina's hit. She dug her claws
deeper, scratching the floor urgently. Finally, the assailant drastically pulled his arm
back and sent Lumina flying off the rail. Then, he pulled his hand up enough to stop
Lumina from going off the edge, her body rigid and flat, only her feet touching the
balcony. He stepped to her, grinning maliciously.
"Don't bother resisting. We'll only hunt you down again. Now, I believe you
should now come with us...or else..." he trailed, his eyes glinting.
"Or else what?!?" Lumina shouted in anger. The raider grinned wider, and
signaled to the open door. Lumina heard footsteps enter in and onto the balcony, and also
some heavy dragging noises. The soldier flipped his hand up and Lumina flew forwards
and onto her front. She recovered and looked at who laid in front of her.
Both her father and mother lay motionless before her.
"NOOOO!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM??" she screeched, and tried to
stand up, but the power of her captor's spell was too much.
"We simply used the sleeping solution on them as well. Your father put up quite
a fight with his physical attacks, your mother wasn't bad with her magic either. But as
you can see, Miss Lumina, they both have failed. Now," he began, walked over to them,
placing his hand over them and a small ball of blue light appeared in his palm, "unless
you want me to make this slumber permanent I recommend you come with us to
Pendan!" he shouted, and Lumina's eyes widened significantly.
"Don't touch them!! I'll...I'll come...just don't..." she mumbled, shaking her
head. Conquer seemed like the only option right now, either that or the death of her
mother and father who she had barely just gotten to know truly. Her father had been
under the control of the Dark God Kuk ever since she was born, and her mother left to
become the Goddess of Mana the night after she gave birth. She had to give up...
"Excellent choice your highness! Boys! Knock her out!" he shouted at a duo of
ninjas.
"Yes sir, lieutenant Mek!" they shouted together, and Lumina watched them
march over and place their hands above her. Then, the last thing she saw was the
emerald light and pink petals waft over her...
* * *
A young man in the Forcenan Castle moaned impatiently. His long blond hair
was tied back in a ponytail, revealing an earring on his left ear with a fang hanging down
from the chain. His golden armor flashed in contrast to the sunlight pouring through the
windows and his regal blue cape flowed gently behind him. Koren paced back and forth
on the heavy carpet in the throne room of the Grasslands Kingdom. He kept looking
towards the door every time he turned that way, then looked at his father, sitting on the
throne worryingly, with eyes that told of unspeakable concern. An uncomfortable sigh
came from Koren's left and he glanced over to who made it. The young adult fiddled
with his sword, a blade with holy markings only known as the Brave Blade. His long red
hair traversed down his golden armor and his blue eyes matched his prince's disquiet.
"Sir, I'm sure that their forces could have taken care of..."
"Duran! How can only three hundred soldiers vanquish an entire army of mind-
controlled zombie-like..."
"Please sir!" interrupted a voice from behind him. Koren turned quickly, causing
his blue cape to swish beneath him. The older man stood before him, his honey colored
eyes meeting his lord's, "Have some faith in the Dragon Army. They are, after all,
Dragons and not to mention..."
"But Loki! They've only had a year to complete their training of the light arts!
Who knows...maybe that doesn't work on ninjas....maybe they have some sort of..."
"KOREN!! Listen, they're FINE! I know it!" His father finally shouted from his
throne. Koren looked sullenly at his father, the same colored eyes looking deep into his
son's. His beard and hair had become noticeably longer and whiter since last year.
"How do you know?? Maybe..."
"Please sir...stop pacing..."
"That's a really bad habit you've always had your majesty...remember when..."
"AARRRRRGGGHHHH!!" Koren shouted in frustration and reached for his
sword, the Phoenix Blade. The two Gold Knights recoiled and Koren let it go.
"Koren, please don't get hostile. If anything happens to Lumina, I can assure you
that our armies can take care of them! Haven't you noticed what good work Duran and
Loki have done with them?" he questioned, baring his eyes into his son's. Koren sighed,
and sat down on the carpet. King Richard was about to protest, but finally gave up on his
heir's fit. Duran sighed and leaned on his sword, then abruptly widened his eyes and
looked around quickly.
"What? What is it Duran?" his father asked him, walking over to him. Duran
finally focused in on a rafter to the right side of the ceiling.
"That sense...this sense...cold wind. I know who it is!" he shouted, a tone of
liberation and happiness stringing through. Koren looked up.
"What do you mean Duran? What sense? Who is it?" he asked, but his question
was soon answered. Swiftly from the rafter came a massive burst of cold wind. Purple
light swirled around like a whirlwind and finally formed into a young man with vivid
violet hair and acute golden eyes. He was rather tan, a good sign of someone from a very
hot place. A long, gleaming black cape flowed behind him and he wore light armor the
same color as his hair. Attached to his boots were crimson, needle like daggers. He
could have been no older than Duran, and was very attractive. He jumped down, and
faced his four friends.
"Miss me?" He asked good-naturedly. Duran grinned broadly.
"Hawk! Hawk Haderi, what took you so long to get here?" the Paladin remarked,
sardonically sounding cross. Hawk smiled.
"Kinda hard when you have about two million guards patrolling this place. Ah,
your majesties...Lord Loki..." he exclaimed in recognition and bowed to the three
others. Koren rushed forth and met Hawk in contentment.
"Thank Goddess! I was beginning to think you might have been captured by the
Guild!" he shouted in glee. Hawk laughed and waved his hand, brushing the comment
away.
"Nope! I got out of there just as they went...to..." he muttered off, looking away.
Koren's face became grim again.
"Went to what? To invade?"
"No no no! I wasn't there when they left...but..." he mumbled again, this time
looking at Richard, "I saw them leaving the Dragon Palace. The entire army just rising
off and heading to the southwest. They're heading to Pendan....sir...." he trailed off.
Koren went berserk.
"GET THE GOLD KNIGHTS! GET THE AIRSHIPS! FLY TO PENDAN!
TEAR THEM APART!! DURAN!!! LOKI!!!!! WHY. ARE. YOU. STILL. HERE?!?!?
GO GO GO GO GO!!!" he shouted crazily, drawing his sword and hastening towards the
door.
"PRINCE KOREN!!! CALM DOWN!!!" Hawk yelled, the icy voice of his class,
a Nightblade, showing. Koren froze, any angry call from a person so implicated with the
dark side of Mana would cause him to stop in his tracks. Hawk continued.
"Listen, don't worry about it. Someone is already there to take care of her, get
her out, and bring her back." He said reassuringly, but Koren was not influenced.
"Only ONE person?!? But how can just one man..."
"Who said it was a man?" Hawk interrupted, raising and eyebrow. Then he
smiled mischievously, "let's just say a very 'special' bounty hunter just headed to Pendan
to go help Princess Lumina." He finished with a roguish wink. Koren paused, then...
"....OOOHHHH!! You mean..."
"Yes sir, she should be there by tonight..."
Chapter 1
Lumina held her breath in apprehension, using her delicate sense of hearing to
pick up the softest of sounds. But there was nothing, thank goddess, so she relaxed to
some extent and slid down the closet wall.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing." She replied looking up at the blue dragon on the brink of the alcove
above her. The small creature's yellow eyes narrowed, and his jewel sparkled ever so
slightly.
"They're still here, I can sense them. They're just three floors above us...oh
Lumina...." He whined softly, crouching down low. Lumina snorted.
"You aren't losing your nerve, are you Nysoro?" she taunted vaguely. Nysoro
looked down on her, and his eyes narrowed still.
"This isn't time to be a smart-alec, PRINCESS." He hissed, and Lumina
shuddered. True, she was the Crown Princess of the Dragon Tribe AND Forcena, heiress
to both thrones along with her husband, but she knew Nysoro used that word to insult her,
playful as it was. It still hurt to hear her best friend of fourteen years call her something
so informal. Nysoro obviously gained a feeling of discomfort from his friend and
crawled down from the alcove and onto her shoulder.
"I'm sorry...but...this is such a stressful situation and we really can't fool around
when there's about five hundred mind-controlled ninja FREAKS only three...no....two
floors above us now, and..." he trailed off, not wanting to continue to make Lumina feel
even worse. Lumina shuddered, and held her breath again. Nysoro went silent and
watched her. Suddenly, she gasped and flexed her fingers out, causing the conical, razor-
sharp claws to shoot out from her hands.
"What? What is it?" Nysoro questioned hysterically. Lumina turned to him, her
face dour.
"They're getting faster, that probably means the defense is completely down!
Nysoro, I don't want you to get hurt...run. Find my father and mother, if you can. Keep
them safe, and don't question this!" she shouted, interrupting his opening complaints,
"It's an order from me, your Princess...run!" Nysoro heaved a sigh and nodded.
"If that's what you want...good luck Lumina!" he exclaimed positively and
jumped back into the alcove and ran off into the shadows. Lumina listened again...only
one floor...
She rolled out of the closet, her long robes curving behind her. She left the hood
of her traveling cloak down, made sure the belt was tight, and got in a fighting stance.
So close...
Only a couple of yards...
Lumina thought for a moment and rushed out of the door to the back, heading to
the balcony of the room. Even though it was one of the very last floors, it was
underground and even still below her was a long, profound chasm. Suddenly, the door
leading to the room burst open, and a dozen ninjas dashed forth. One of them, more
heavily armored than the rest, stepped ahead of all of them and looked straight at the
young woman.
"There she is! Don't harm her at all or Master Jagan will have your heads!" he
shouted, and Lumina recoiled slightly. Jagan...that wicked vampire that was liable for
her first encounter with the Dark Prince WAS in charge!
The ninja's nodded simultaneously, a sure sign they were all under some sort of
mind-control. Three of them jumped ahead, daggers poised with some sort of green
liquid seeping through the blade. Lumina guessed this was some kind of sleep poison,
and she crouched even lower, positioning her hands. All of a sudden they launched
themselves towards her. Lumina rolled to the side and pounced on one of them, slashing
his neck for a quick kill. The other two charged again, and Lumina did her best to evade,
however, one managed to give her leg a small slice. The princess felt that part of her leg
go completely numb, and found it hard to stand up again. The other ninjas circled in
around the wounded warrior. Lumina remained down but began to chant some words in
a language indistinct to her attackers. Suddenly, a wall of fire erupted about Lumina and
swelled to the thieves. They screamed and jumped back patting themselves and rolling to
get the fire off them. Lumina stood reluctantly and ran for the door, but something held
her back. She fell to the ground from the force and only managed to turn around to see
the profoundly armored ninja's hand pointed at her, chanting a stop spell.
Lumina dug her claws into the floor and tried as hard as she could to heave herself
away from him, but he brought his hand back, making her glide more and more towards
the balcony, the railing now scorched away from Lumina's hit. She dug her claws
deeper, scratching the floor urgently. Finally, the assailant drastically pulled his arm
back and sent Lumina flying off the rail. Then, he pulled his hand up enough to stop
Lumina from going off the edge, her body rigid and flat, only her feet touching the
balcony. He stepped to her, grinning maliciously.
"Don't bother resisting. We'll only hunt you down again. Now, I believe you
should now come with us...or else..." he trailed, his eyes glinting.
"Or else what?!?" Lumina shouted in anger. The raider grinned wider, and
signaled to the open door. Lumina heard footsteps enter in and onto the balcony, and also
some heavy dragging noises. The soldier flipped his hand up and Lumina flew forwards
and onto her front. She recovered and looked at who laid in front of her.
Both her father and mother lay motionless before her.
"NOOOO!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM??" she screeched, and tried to
stand up, but the power of her captor's spell was too much.
"We simply used the sleeping solution on them as well. Your father put up quite
a fight with his physical attacks, your mother wasn't bad with her magic either. But as
you can see, Miss Lumina, they both have failed. Now," he began, walked over to them,
placing his hand over them and a small ball of blue light appeared in his palm, "unless
you want me to make this slumber permanent I recommend you come with us to
Pendan!" he shouted, and Lumina's eyes widened significantly.
"Don't touch them!! I'll...I'll come...just don't..." she mumbled, shaking her
head. Conquer seemed like the only option right now, either that or the death of her
mother and father who she had barely just gotten to know truly. Her father had been
under the control of the Dark God Kuk ever since she was born, and her mother left to
become the Goddess of Mana the night after she gave birth. She had to give up...
"Excellent choice your highness! Boys! Knock her out!" he shouted at a duo of
ninjas.
"Yes sir, lieutenant Mek!" they shouted together, and Lumina watched them
march over and place their hands above her. Then, the last thing she saw was the
emerald light and pink petals waft over her...
* * *
A young man in the Forcenan Castle moaned impatiently. His long blond hair
was tied back in a ponytail, revealing an earring on his left ear with a fang hanging down
from the chain. His golden armor flashed in contrast to the sunlight pouring through the
windows and his regal blue cape flowed gently behind him. Koren paced back and forth
on the heavy carpet in the throne room of the Grasslands Kingdom. He kept looking
towards the door every time he turned that way, then looked at his father, sitting on the
throne worryingly, with eyes that told of unspeakable concern. An uncomfortable sigh
came from Koren's left and he glanced over to who made it. The young adult fiddled
with his sword, a blade with holy markings only known as the Brave Blade. His long red
hair traversed down his golden armor and his blue eyes matched his prince's disquiet.
"Sir, I'm sure that their forces could have taken care of..."
"Duran! How can only three hundred soldiers vanquish an entire army of mind-
controlled zombie-like..."
"Please sir!" interrupted a voice from behind him. Koren turned quickly, causing
his blue cape to swish beneath him. The older man stood before him, his honey colored
eyes meeting his lord's, "Have some faith in the Dragon Army. They are, after all,
Dragons and not to mention..."
"But Loki! They've only had a year to complete their training of the light arts!
Who knows...maybe that doesn't work on ninjas....maybe they have some sort of..."
"KOREN!! Listen, they're FINE! I know it!" His father finally shouted from his
throne. Koren looked sullenly at his father, the same colored eyes looking deep into his
son's. His beard and hair had become noticeably longer and whiter since last year.
"How do you know?? Maybe..."
"Please sir...stop pacing..."
"That's a really bad habit you've always had your majesty...remember when..."
"AARRRRRGGGHHHH!!" Koren shouted in frustration and reached for his
sword, the Phoenix Blade. The two Gold Knights recoiled and Koren let it go.
"Koren, please don't get hostile. If anything happens to Lumina, I can assure you
that our armies can take care of them! Haven't you noticed what good work Duran and
Loki have done with them?" he questioned, baring his eyes into his son's. Koren sighed,
and sat down on the carpet. King Richard was about to protest, but finally gave up on his
heir's fit. Duran sighed and leaned on his sword, then abruptly widened his eyes and
looked around quickly.
"What? What is it Duran?" his father asked him, walking over to him. Duran
finally focused in on a rafter to the right side of the ceiling.
"That sense...this sense...cold wind. I know who it is!" he shouted, a tone of
liberation and happiness stringing through. Koren looked up.
"What do you mean Duran? What sense? Who is it?" he asked, but his question
was soon answered. Swiftly from the rafter came a massive burst of cold wind. Purple
light swirled around like a whirlwind and finally formed into a young man with vivid
violet hair and acute golden eyes. He was rather tan, a good sign of someone from a very
hot place. A long, gleaming black cape flowed behind him and he wore light armor the
same color as his hair. Attached to his boots were crimson, needle like daggers. He
could have been no older than Duran, and was very attractive. He jumped down, and
faced his four friends.
"Miss me?" He asked good-naturedly. Duran grinned broadly.
"Hawk! Hawk Haderi, what took you so long to get here?" the Paladin remarked,
sardonically sounding cross. Hawk smiled.
"Kinda hard when you have about two million guards patrolling this place. Ah,
your majesties...Lord Loki..." he exclaimed in recognition and bowed to the three
others. Koren rushed forth and met Hawk in contentment.
"Thank Goddess! I was beginning to think you might have been captured by the
Guild!" he shouted in glee. Hawk laughed and waved his hand, brushing the comment
away.
"Nope! I got out of there just as they went...to..." he muttered off, looking away.
Koren's face became grim again.
"Went to what? To invade?"
"No no no! I wasn't there when they left...but..." he mumbled again, this time
looking at Richard, "I saw them leaving the Dragon Palace. The entire army just rising
off and heading to the southwest. They're heading to Pendan....sir...." he trailed off.
Koren went berserk.
"GET THE GOLD KNIGHTS! GET THE AIRSHIPS! FLY TO PENDAN!
TEAR THEM APART!! DURAN!!! LOKI!!!!! WHY. ARE. YOU. STILL. HERE?!?!?
GO GO GO GO GO!!!" he shouted crazily, drawing his sword and hastening towards the
door.
"PRINCE KOREN!!! CALM DOWN!!!" Hawk yelled, the icy voice of his class,
a Nightblade, showing. Koren froze, any angry call from a person so implicated with the
dark side of Mana would cause him to stop in his tracks. Hawk continued.
"Listen, don't worry about it. Someone is already there to take care of her, get
her out, and bring her back." He said reassuringly, but Koren was not influenced.
"Only ONE person?!? But how can just one man..."
"Who said it was a man?" Hawk interrupted, raising and eyebrow. Then he
smiled mischievously, "let's just say a very 'special' bounty hunter just headed to Pendan
to go help Princess Lumina." He finished with a roguish wink. Koren paused, then...
"....OOOHHHH!! You mean..."
"Yes sir, she should be there by tonight..."