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Frozen Night

By Djinn Xpert

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Chapter Two: Meetings

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Alex lashed out at the Mauler with the Ocean Blade, decaptitating it. But there were still five more.

Damn it, thought Alex. Then the Ocean Blade in his hand howled.

"Poseidon's Wrath!" Alex yelled as water energy took out another two Maulers.

But then one of the Maulers knocked Alex to the ground. It roared, then moved in for the kill.

Alex blacked out as the Mauler's gigantic paw smashed against his skull.



"You're awake." The voice was as if it was demanding Alex was awake, rather than asking him if he was.

"Yes..." Alex's vision was still blurred. He could make out a female face. Yellow hair... Pale face... Strange, scaly skin...

"Good," said the woman. "Saturos! He's awake!"

"Wonderful," the man named Saturos smiled. Alex noticed he too had scaly skin, but it was grey, as was his hair.

"Who are you?" Alex's voice was coarse.

"I am Saturos," the man said, though Alex already knew that. "This is Menardi."

"You saved me?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Menardi replied.

"Why?"

"Why not?" laughed Saturos. "We just decided to be Good Samaritans."

"You don't look like the sort of people," Alex said. "Who would save somebody if there wasn't some benefit on your part."

They looked like his parents.

"Heh." Saturos smirked. "What's taking Felix?"

Felix? Alex thought. A normal name for once...

"He's probably too scared to pull it off." Menardi laughed. "He is only just 16."

"16 is old enough." Saturos grumbled.

Then, a young man with long brown hair tied in a ponytail entered the tent, panting.

"I've got it," said he.

"Good, Felix." Saturos said. "You, boy!"

"Call me Alex, please."

"Alex, you won't prove useful if you weren't skilled enough." Saturos said. "I had Felix steal the scrolls of Psyenergy from Imil's sanctum so you may learn them."

"Did you hurt anybody?" Alex glared at Felix.

Menardi laughed. "Felix barely dared to go steal the scrolls, let alone hurt anyone!"

"Stop it, Menardi," commanded Saturos. "Now, Alex, will you help us?"

"Help you?"

"Felix, explain."

Felix *did* explain, he explained to the very last detail about alchemy and how the lack of it would destroy the world and how the lighting of the Elemental Lighthouses would save it and that in order to enter the Mercury Lighthouse, they needed his help.

"But..." Alex said in disbelief. "My Clan's sole aim is to prevent the Mercury Lighthouse from being lit!"

"You are no longer part of that clan," Saturos smirked.

"But..." Then it hit him. He *was* no longer part of the clan. They had banished him. Forever.

"So?" Menardi asked, tapping her feet with impatience.

"Alright," agreed Alex.

"Good," Saturos smiled triumphantly. "Concentrate on learning what the scrolls say. We will go to Sol Sanctum as soon as you master them."



"What?" Mia said in disbelief.

"Yes," her teacher said. "Someone stole the scrolls. We're lucky we have some spares, but there were only one copy for some of the better Psyenergy, including a teleportation one..."

"Any suspects?" Mia demanded.

"He's definitely not from this village," said the teacher.

"Who would want..." Then Mia thought of one person. Alex.

"We believe he's Alex."

"But, Tesya-sensei!" Mia protested.

"The mayor has decided to send a search party to find him and retrieve the scrolls." Tesya said calmly.



Miern led the search party out into the wilderness. Alex was always a kind, good boy, but if he really had stolen the scrolls he would have to be punished.

"There's smoke rising from down there, Miern!"

"Let's head there," ordered Miern. "Move!"



"Visitors," Saturos said. "They'll be arriving in about 3 minutes."

"Two." Menardi argued. "Imil warriors are seasoned on the ice."

"Imil warriors?" Alex exclaimed.

"You don't have to fight them," Felix said assuringly.

"Wait... Are you going to... kill them?" Alex asked.

Saturos looked at Alex coldly. "Yes."

"But..."

"Silence, Alex!" Saturos shouted angrily. "Or I'll kill you here and now."

"You can't do that, you need me!" Alex said.

"What impudence!" Menardi screeched. "We could always get another Mercury Adept! I hear there's a girl back in Imil who's about your age..."

"They've arrived." Felix said.

Saturos nodded and left the tent. Not one person on the search party returned to Imil alive.



"Felix," Alex asked that night. "Why do you follow them?"

"They saved my life," Felix said. "Just as they have saved yours."

"Surely you don't help people like them just because they saved you," Alex probed deeper. "To save the world?"

"Yeah," smiled Felix. "But I long for the life I used to have back in Vale with my friends."

"You're an Adept, right?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." Felix smiled. "An Earth Adept."

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2nd chapter! I'm working on this quite fast. Strange, considering I consider Alex the evilest of evil characters. XD

MORE COMING UP!