Hello, good people. It is I, SirGecko, back with chapter 2: revised. Yes, this chapter has a little more description, and is more realistic, courtesy of those reviewers who were kind enough to give constructive criticism.
This is where we meet my original characters. They're a bit powerful, but hey. It's not like they're Hercules or anything. So please, once again, bear with me.
Anyway, let's move onto chapter two, shall we?
Chapter 2: History Revealed and Allies Made
They walked more slowly as they were laden with the barrels. Garet carried one under his arm, and Ivan and Isaac held up the other on their shoulders. All of a sudden, they heard the clashing of metal. Both set their barrels down and stared in awe, for in front of them, an amazing battle was taking place.
A man dressed in red armor and a cape, with a depiction of the sun on it, and a woman, in a short bluish-purple skirt, with a depiction of a night sky and a full moon, had their weapons out, and were hoarding off three ferocious-looking adepts that Isaac and company didn't recognize. They both wore dark brown boots as well.
Two of the adepts they were fighting were lying on the ground, bleeding freely and not moving. Though, on closer inspection, the wounds did not appear to be fatal, and just in a place where they would disable the opponent.
Suddenly, the red-caped man, who had a sword in his hand as tall as Ivan, leaped up in the air, spun his sword around him so fast that Isaac couldn't even see it, came down, and plunged it straight into the third man's leg, disabling him. He lay there, bleeding from his leg, not able to get up and move.
After awhile, the man and woman noticed Isaac and company standing there with their mouths open. All closed them very quickly. The man and woman studied Isaac and the others, and then approached them.
"Who are you?" asked the man.
He had a deep voice, and on closer inspection, they saw that he was very tall, muscles rippling along his arms and exposed legs. His hair was fiery red, just like Garet's, and, just like Garet's, was spiked upward, though off to one side. It also wasn't as tall as Garet's. He looked young, and well-traveled. They all determined him to be in his mid 20s. He looked like a serious man, but also mild-mannered and polite.
Isaac looked over at Mia, concerned that this man's handsome build would attract her. He was wrong. Mia was looking at him instead . . . to see his reaction, Isaac supposed. But, since the man and woman didn't appear to be a threat yet, Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia introduced themselves.
"Well, Isaac, Garet, Ivan and Mia, I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Solaris," he said, sheathing his sword and extending his hand to each of them.
"My name is Lunora," replied the woman, bowing slightly in recognition.
She had a quiet voice, and an accent to go with it. Her hair was silvery and extremely long. It fell all the way down to her waist. She was definitely in her early 20s, if not younger and she was very pale, like she had not tanned her face for several years. She was also rather tall, but not as tall as Solaris.
Garet noticed that she was extremely pretty. But, after taking in her looks more closely, his mind drifted back to Jenna. Her long, flowing brown hair, her brown eyes, her pretty face, and thin stature . . . oh man . . . so much prettier than Lunora, in his opinion . . .
"Garet! What the Hell are you drooling for?!"
Isaac's sharp voice cut into Garet's thoughts of Jenna like a knife. He closed his mouth abruptly, and turned red. Looking around, he saw that everyone was staring at him, looking torn between fear and curiosity. Then, the man who called himself Solaris now spoke up.
"Erm, sorry if we seemed violent," muttered Solaris apologetically. "Bounty hunters were after us. It's normal when we travel." He said this like someone else would remark on the weather being cloudy.
All Garet could say was, "Can I look at your sword, Solaris?"
Solaris chuckled, and unsheathed his sword. The end of it was still stained red. The sword itself was extremely long with a razor-sharp tip. It stuck Garet slightly and his finger started to bleed. He ignored it however, and began to examine the sword with interest. It had a depiction of the sun on both sides of the blade, at the widest point.
"It's difficult to lift it up," said Garet in surprise.
"You're the first who can," remarked Solaris. "Only Solar Adepts can lift that with ease."
"Huh?" said Isaac and the group together.
"Oh, I can see that this will take a little explaining," said Lunora. "Allow me." She cleared her throat.
"Many years ago, there were Adepts of two unheard elements: Sol and Luna. Now these-"
"It's like in Sol Sanctum!" interrupted Garet.
"Shut up a minute," said Isaac. "I want to hear this."
"These two elements coincided with the four main elements: Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, as you know. You have one of each type in your group."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Lunora continued, "However, a great war between Sol and Luna erupted about fifty years ago, and we basically annihilated each other. We are two of less than a hundred remaining," she finished.
"Wow," said Isaac. "However, I have one question: why didn't anything appear about your two elemental powers or the Great War in any of the History of Alchemy books?"
"That was the worst civil ever fought by Adepts. Hundreds of thousands of Adepts of all elemental types were killed. Venus Adepts were killed because of their combined power and limited healing strengths. Mars adepts were killed because of their sheer power. Jupiter Adepts were killed because of their cleverness and deceptiveness, and Mercury Adepts were killed because, naturally, of their healing powers. So, after the war ended, all clans decided not to record any history of it, as it was a memory most wanted to forget."
She sighed and her gaze fell on Garet, who was still swinging the sword. She smiled slightly as she watched Garet work with the sword.
"Like that?" remarked Solaris. "It's called the Sol Blade. One of only two in existence."
"Where's the other one?" asked Garet. "I'd sure like to use it."
"You're a Mars Adept, correct?" inquired Lunora. Garet nodded. "Well, the other blade is rumored to be in the Mars Lighthouse somewhere, high atop Magma Rock. It was left there by a man named Saturos."
At this, Isaac's, Ivan's and Mia's eyes widened. Garet stopped swinging the sword.
"Saturos had a blade like this?" asked Garet.
"Saturos was in the Mars Lighthouse?" gasped Mia.
"What, do you know him?" asked Ivan, looking astonished.
"Yes," said Lunora. "Well, kind of. I only know what I've been told, though. He used it for a little while. It was passed down from the famous warrior Agatio."
The group's eyes widened even more. Solaris interjected, "Saturos, Agatio's 'apprentice', was instructed to leave it in the lighthouse to gain some of its magical energy back, or do he said. However, the sword fell down a crevice, and Saturos was never able to find it. Agatio was most displeased."
"Why did Agatio put it in the lighthouse in the first place? Swords don't run out of magical energy, do they?" asked Ivan.
"You're a bright youngster," said Lunora, smiling at him. "You are quite correct. That was Agatio's lie to Saturos. The truth is that Agatio didn't need it anymore. It became too easy to use and he became so dangerous with it that he decided to have Saturos leave it in the Mars Lighthouse. But as Solaris said, Saturos lost it."
"How do you know all this?" asked Isaac, listening hard.
Solaris's face darkened. "It's a fact about myself that I try hard to hide, except from those I trust," he said. "I was related to him."
Isaac looked baffled. So did everyone else, except Lunora.
"Yes," Solaris said, irritation now in his voice. "Hey Garet, is that your name?"
"Yep," said Garet, finally putting the sword down.
"The reason you can handle that sword so well is because you're a Mars Adept. The Solar Adepts stemmed from them. Though it is better equipped with a Solar Adept, Mars Adepts can use it almost as well.
"When I was merely a small lad, I often went with my older brother, Saturos, to his training lessons to see Master Agatio. That's what Saturos called him, anyway. I was in awe of Agatio's power. Agatio used that Sol Blade with such grace, speed, and precision, that no one could see it or know where it went until Agatio stopped moving his hand. Saturos learned how to use the blade efficiently as well, but he was never as good with it as Master Agatio. Agatio sensed that, so he never entrusted the sword to him.
"But man oh man, could Agatio use that sword! He was my hero, my idol. When I was young, I always aspired to be like him . . . a traveling warrior. A warrior with such skill as a swordsman that I could take on an army!
"When I grew older however, and learned of what he was about to do with the Elemental Stars, I grew to despise him, as I still do today. I stole his other Sol Blade from his sleeping quarters, and have been training with it ever since, remembering the movements he taught Saturos. I'm not as good with it as Agatio either, but, as you saw, I can get by," Solaris finished.
Isaac couldn't think of what to say. All he knew right now is that if Solaris could do what Isaac had just seen him do, then Agatio must have been something else. Of course, he knew that Solaris and Lunora were not evil like Karst and Agatio, but it took him awhile to absorb it.
"Karst and Agatio have our elemental stars," said Lunora, "and I sense that you have the Mars Star, Garet."
"Yes," said Ivan. "They have the Jupiter Star, as well. Hey, wait a minute. You said that Karst and Agatio have your elemental stars? If so then you must have lighthouses for each of them, right?"
"You are bright," said Lunora, smiling at him again. "I'm quite fond of intelligent people." Ivan grinned and looked away. "Yes, we do have Sol and Luna lighthouses. The Luna Lighthouse is at the southern tip of Tundaria, the continent to the far south. When night falls upon Tundaria, a moon is visible off of Gaia falls, only to those who live south of the ridge in Tundaria."
"Cool," said Garet, picking up the Sol Blade, and starting to swing it around again. "What about the Sol Lighthouse? Where's it at?"
"Eheheh . . ." said Solaris. "We don't know."
"You don't know?" said Mia. "Oh well, I'm sure we'll find it."
"That's what I was going to ask you," said Lunora cautiously. "Will you let us accompany you on your travels?"
Isaac looked to the rest. "What do you think guys? I'm up for it." The rest agreed. Both Solaris and Lunora grinned. "Great," she said. "We like to keep to ourselves most of the time, so we'll be out of your way."
"By the way, Lunora, what is your weapon? We've heard so much about the Sol Blade that we didn't even see yours," said Mia.
Lunora smiled at Mia, and withdrew her weapon. Mia gasped. It was one of the most beautiful staffs she had ever seen. It appeared to be made of pure silver, and a glistening crystal blue orb rested at the top, a moon-rock carved into a perfect crescent moon encased inside it. A mystical aura hung around the sphere, silvery stuff twinkling out at all of them, reflecting the sunlight.
"It's quite pretty, isn't it?" remarked Lunora. "It is the only one in the world, and it was said to have been made in the Luna Lighthouse many hundreds of years ago."
After admiring the weapon at all angles, they decided to go. Garet handed back Solaris's Sol Blade. Solaris grinned at him and sheathed it. Then the new party of six: Isaac, hand in hand with Mia, and Garet, Ivan, Solaris (who carried both of the food barrels under his arms), and Lunora all set off for their Lemurian ship.
"Are you sure we can trust them, though?" asked Ivan, looking at Isaac.
"Listen, we need all the help we can get," said Isaac. "I'm a little wary of them right now too, but who knows. They may turn out to be very nice people, and by the looks of it, they're good warriors."
"But so are Karst and Agatio," said Mia.
"That's why we need these two," said Garet, siding with Isaac. "I agree. Even if we don't know them, like Isaac said, we need all the help we can get."
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Well, that's that. I really don't have much to say, except that I hope these changes made the chapter better. I really do . . . I'm learning as I go, you know.
Oh, and if you don't review, I'll make sure that you'll be afraid of geckos for the rest of your life. Got it?