Chapter Two
"I
am known as Anglarana," the silver-haired woman said, her bright
eyes firmly fixed on the men before her.
"Why did you
just help us now, and how did you know that creature?" Sage
asked, suspicion lacing his tone. Anglarana held up a pale hand.
"Please, I will answer all of your questions soon enough, but
for now I think it best that you rest and see that your friend has
some time to recover from the attack." None of the Ronins
replied, but they also didn't make any move to go back inside.
Anglarana stood for a moment staring back at the men with something
akin to sympathy shining in her eyes, then turned and disappeared
into the shadows of the forest surrounding the lake. Kento shook his
head confusedly, "Well, I don't know what either of those people
were or what they were about. But I am now really starving." The
rest of the Ronins broke into an uneasy laughter releasing some of
the tension the encounter had brought. Rowen and Ryo helped Cye to
his feet and everyone slowly made their way inside to eat a the now
cold dinner. For no reason at all, they did not concern themselves
that a stranger was lurking so nearby somehow instinctively trusting
the strange woman with ancient eyes.
The sun was at its
peak the next day and the Ronins were outside training for their new
enemy as they had been since the break of dawn. The sky was cloudless
and as blue as the water of the lake below and there was only a
slight breeze to ruffle the surface and the hair of combatants.
Everything was as it should be. It was hard to believe that mere
hours ago they had fought with an enemy strong enough to easily
withstand Ryo's feared attack. Mia walked outside laden with a tray
of lemonade escorted by Whiteblaze. She was practically mobbed by the
guys as they went for the frosty glasses. Once everyone had received
their refreshment from the gathering heat of the day, they sat in the
shade and enjoyed a moment of relaxation. Whiteblaze lay next to Ryo
with his tail twitching contentedly ignoring the easy chatter amongst
the guys. His nose twitched then his ears snapped forward on his
head. His nose twitched some more as he agilely sprung up from the
ground and ran into the forest. "Hey! Whiteblaze, where are you
going?" Ryo called after the tiger but Whiteblaze did not
respond. All sounds in the forest stilled breaking the serenity
they had enjoyed earlier. Everyone stood and stared into the thick
foliage uneasily. After a lengthy silence where even the birds held
their breath a figure emerged from the spot where Whiteblaze had
disappeared accompanied by the tiger. It was Anglarana, now carrying
a five foot wooden walking stick.
"Yes,
I am always true to my word."
"Then will you tell us
about that monster?" Ryo urged. She nodded again.
"Come
sit down in the shade with us, I can fix another cup of lemonade,"
Mia offered with a welcoming smile.
Anglarana returned her
smile. "Thank you, but I don't need anything to drink."
They all returned to their seats with Anglarana sitting with her legs
tucked underneath her across from them. "What do you wish to
know?"
The Ronins glanced at one another. "Let's
start with that creature from last night," Rowen replied.
"All
right." She briefly closed her eyes gathering together her
thoughts, "Crynis is what some have called an elemental demon
who thrives on the destructive forces of nature. He is originally
from the Nether Realm, but escaped from Talpa's control two thousand
years ago. He ravaged this world commanding the chaotic forces of
nature. Talpa, enraged with Crynis's betrayal, fought with him but
the cost proved too high to be worth his wrath so eventually he just
ignored Crynis leaving him to destroy as he would. My people
assembled and attacked Crynis while he was still weak from his battle
with Talpa. We put him into an unnatural slumber and trapped his body
underground. He has stayed there undisturbed until now."
"What
happened to set him free?" Mia asked.
"I'm not sure.
But I do know that someone managed to waken his mind. From there it
was only a matter of time before Crynis could break through his
cage." Anglarana paused for a moment in reflection, then raised
her head proudly. "My people have guarded his prison all this
time. But our numbers have greatly diminished over time and we were
forced to go into hiding. Recently, I felt a great disturbance in
nature and came to investigate, I have been wandering the world for
over two years searching for the source. I originally thought it to
be Crynis, but now I am not so sure. I have been able to pinpoint the
source of the disturbance to this area. Do you know of any kind of
disturbance of that sort which has occurred here recently?"
"Yeah,
Talpa tried to take over the world twice," Sage said.
"Not
to mention all the Dynasty's attacks in between," Cye added.
Anglarana's face fell slightly, "Oh dear," she whispered,
"that explains it then." She raised her voice to address
the others, "From the fact that you all are still here, I assume
that you defeated Talpa. But what of the Dynasty?"
"We
destroyed that too," Ryo replied.
"Not all of it,
apparently. There must have been one that escaped you."
"Why
do you say that?" Mia asked.
"Crynis is very strong,
but due to his nature as an elemental demon he has little patience
and no ability to plan long-term battles. Elemental demons such as he
care nothing for domination nor control, they only take pleasure in
destruction. His fighting and control on the battlefield last night
betray the will of another. I believe he was freed by someone and
they are now using him to gain some goal. What that is, I cannot say
but I have an uneasy feeling that it is worse than any kind of desire
to dominate." A silence fell over the group as they considered
the new information.
