Chapter 5: Childhood's End

The morning was crisp and cool; even though it was autumn, this week was called Summer Breeze because of its summer-like weather. Mist cascaded off the mountainside as cold and hot air clashed and birds chirped bringing in the new day. The sunset the previous night had been a magnificent display of colours: orange, red, pink and blue coming together in a breath taking show. This morning's sunrise however was quite plain, which would lead many to say that the weather that day would be very fair. The day and weather was good enough for Ryu and his friends to continue their journey to see the Stone Idol. That day they took down their modest camp and packed away their things. Using her magic, Topaz froze the remaining pig and bird meat and packed it away in Kuroki's things. As he was the eldest, the strongest and the biggest of the group he would supposedly be the best choice to carry extra things. Ryu seemed in a far better mood than he had the previous night and it seemed that the group as a whole was in a better frame of mind.

"Ready to go everybody?" Ryu asked cheerfully as they collected their things.

The group fell in behind him as they climbed onto a mountain path, a supposed shortcut, which would lead them into Stone Valley and the Stone Idol. Lionne and Rennard walked side by side as always.

"Weeeeeird! Ryu's acting weird, he was all moody last night and now he's all happy. Nyuuu weeeeird!" Lionne said to Rennard.

"You don't know? Well I guess you are too young to understand." Rennard replied.

"Nyuuuu?? You're only three years older than me (1). What do you know that I don't?" She demanded.

"Okay... Well Ryu likes Topaz and he wanted to impress her last night by lighting the fire by himself. It didn't work out and when Kuroki started teasing him about it, it made things worse. Now Topaz is being very nice to him this morning and that's why he's so happy. You get it now?"

"Nyuuuuuu... nope." She shrugged.

Rennard sighed at Lionne; if she didn't understand on the first try she wasn't likely to make any attempt to understand, at least not now anyways. The group was nearing a bend in the mountain when they came to a sudden halt.

"Hey, why'd you stop?" Kuroki asked.

Ryu put a finger to his lips, a sign for them to be quiet and motioned them to come have a look around the bend. There, opposite the direction of the mountain face was a wyvern. Dragons were physically like lizards and tended to be very large, wyverns were usually only a bit larger than a full- grown horse and a more bird-like physique. It's scales were brown and quite tough, nowhere near as tough as a dragon's though. Its wings were bat-like, looking like a human hand the fingers long and stretched, connected by webbing. It had a reptilian maw with razor sharp teeth, tipped with a beak shaped bone, excellent for ripping apart prey and curling ram's horns topped its head. It also had a scorpion type tail, which would secrete lethal poison into the target of such a sting. It had not yet seen the children and mad very little movement as it crouched over something unseen. Ryu and company backed away; being very quiet so as to ensure the wyvern did not hear them or attack them.

"Okay now what do we do?" Rennard asked.

"We could always turn back." Lionne whispered.

"It would take to long the other way, we've come too far to turn back now." Ryu stated.

"Are you nuts?" Kuroki said, raising his voice only a little to keep from being heard by the wyvern. "If that thing sees us we're finished."

"Then it won't see us." Ryu smiled confidently.

"But wh-what if..." Topaz began.

"Don't worry about it. Even if that thing does attack us we can take it." Ryu said.

"He's going to get us killed..." Kuroki said under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Topaz asked.

"No, nothing."

The group crept around the corner tiptoeing past the wyvern, being extremely careful not to make loud noises. They were nearing the other side, where safety lay, when Lionne tripped and fell. The noise wasn't much, but it was enough to cause the wyvern to look up from whatever it was doing. The great beast turned towards the children and growled. The wyvern stomped towards Lionne who was getting up, but not fast enough to get away from the creature.

"Drop your stuff, grab your weapons." Ryu shouted, dropping his pack and unsheathing his sword. "Rennard, distract it!"

Rennard dropped his pack and unslung his bow, knocking back an arrow with uncommon speed. Barely taking time to aim, he let the arrow fly just as the wyvern closed in on Lionne. The arrow struck just beneath the wyvern's eye and since his arrows were all fowling blunt, it would do the most damage, striking that point. The wyvern shrieked in pain, rearing its head it backed away, scratching the point where the arrow struck with the claws that were on its wingtips. It turned towards where the shot originated to find Ryu charging towards it. His short sword raked across its scales, but due to his child's strength he could do no more than scratch it. The wyvern extended on of its wings, batting Ryu away easily. He landed hard on the ground near the edge of a precipice and it seemed he was unconscious. The wyvern focused on the downed Ryu and turned to finish the boy off. Kuroki cut the beast off, smashing it in the leg with his mace. He was strong and it was a devastating blow, but not quite enough to break bones. The beast roared in agony and its stinger rose, poised to strike. It came down fast upon Kuroki, but he was saved as Lionne tackled him, bringing him and herself out of the way; the stinger impacted with the ground, sending stone shards flying, the ground stained with the poison. Rennard was still firing arrows at the wyvern, but they did no damage as they bounced harmlessly off the wyvern's tough hide and he was rapidly running out of shafts. From the other side, Topaz used her magic to fire off small balls of ice, though such meagre magics were no more than a nuisance to the wyvern. Lionne was on all fours, facing the Wyvern, fur standing on end and growling savagely as she was wont to do when faced with an opponent. The wyvern, now faced with a new target, focused its rage upon the little fur ball before it and attempted to strike Lionne with its stinger. At what seemed to be the last possible second, she leapt, clinging to the underside of the wyvern's tail. As the wyvern brought its tail up, Lionne let go, twisting in mid air, landing on the beast's head, clamping her hands over the wyvern's eyes, obscuring its vision. The beast growled and tried to pry her loose, but to no avail. The wyvern began to move erratically, shaking violently, trying to shake the little Worren girl off. The others got out of the way of the thrashing beast, except for Ryu who was only just now groggily getting up.

"NYAAAAAOUUUUUUUUUUU!" Lionne squealed in pure delight.

The wyvern danced about trying to nock Lionne off and in the process, disturbed the leaves, sticks and other assorted stuff that it had been hovering over prior to Ryu and company's arrival. The spot was a nest of sorts, the beast had been preparing for the winter and protecting the egg it had lain there.

"I see now." Rennard said. "She was protecting her egg. She thought we were after her and her egg."

The wyvern continued to thrash about and finally succeeded at throwing Lionne off, however in doing so she knocked the egg from its nest. The egg, propelled by a great force rolled quickly towards Ryu, who had just now regained his feet. Ryu was bowled over by the egg and both went over the edge of the mountain.

"RYU!!!" Topaz screamed.

They all rushed to the edge of the mountain, the Wyvern plodding just behind the children, far more concerned about her egg than about Ryu. They all looked over the edge to find Ryu, hanging by his legs to a sturdy and thick branch. He held the egg in his arms, it was obvious he wouldn't be able to hold on forever.

"Don't just stand there, HELP ME!" Ryu yelled.

"What can we do?" Kuroki demanded.

"Get the rope, tie it from the middle around yourself, then tie the other two ends to Rennard and Lionne. They'll come down; you can be their anchor. Take down a blanket and I'll put the egg in it and after you've done that you can come back and get me." Ryu shouted back.

"Why not just drop the egg?" Kuroki asked.

"'Cause then the wyvern'll attack us again." Ryu replied. "Now hurry."

Kuroki grabbed a long rope from out of his bag and tied it around himself. Lionne grabbed a blanket out of a bag and tossed one end to Rennard. Securely tied, Kuroki sat down, his weight and strength to keep the other two from falling down the mountain. Rennard and Lionne took up positions on either side of where Ryu was and began to scale down the side of the cliff. Once they reached Ryu, he gently placed the egg in the outstretched blanket. The two began to climb back up the mountain face, but did not make much progress as Kuroki slid towards the cliff. Topaz tried to hold him ack, to keep him from slipping, but to no avail.

"Guys! Hurry up, I'm slipping!" Kuroki yelled.

The wyvern, which had been watching them save her egg, looked back at Kuroki and then marched towards him. Kuroki looked up in fear at the beast, but she did not attack; instead she wrapped her tail delicately around him, making sure not to harm him with the stinger. Once secured, the wyvern began to pull Kuroki back form the edge, its strength easily carrying Rennard and Lionne up the cliff face. Once safe they rolled the egg back to its place in its niche against the mountain wall. They thought they were out of danger; they removed the rope from around themselves, the rest would be easy, until they heard Ryu scream.

"IT'S BREAKING!" He screamed.

Once more they charged to the edge and they gasped in horror as they looked down: the branch Ryu clung to had begun to break. Despite the decrease in weight, the branch had been weakened and now it would break.

"W-what can we do?" Topaz asked desperately.

"We gotta save him. We gotta!" Lionne said, trying to reach down to Ryu.

"Get the rope!" Kuroki shouted.

"No time!" Rennard said looking back to where the rope lay behind them.

They heard the crack that signalled the breaking of the branch. Topaz averted her eyes, not wanting to see Ryu become a smear on the rocks below. A great wind rushed downwards and they watched in awe as the wyvern flew down towards Ryu. She flapped her wings once as she dove, passed by Ryu, then stopped and caught him in her talons and then flew gently, gracefully back up. The group stood back from the edge as the wyvern dumped him on ledge.

"I don't get it... why'd it do that?" Kuroki asked confused.

"Heh... heh..." Ryu breathed heavily as he got up. "Even if we were trespassing on its territory, it saw that we were willing to risk our lives to save its egg. So it helped us, I guess."

"Nyuuuuuuuu... That was fun, can we do that again?" Lionne asked as they left that outcropping.

"NO!" Was the resounding answer of the group.

Unbeknownst to them, someone had been watching them; an old man in a dusty brown robe, carrying a weatherworn staff was watching them from above and as he stroked his white beard he smiled, just before vanishing into thin air. They walked a long ways away from the wyvern's nest, heading northeast along the mountain wall, towards the Stone Valley. There were no further incidents as most creatures had begun preparations for hibernation, left south or were already hibernating. Just as the sun began to set, they reached the edge of Stone Valley. The sun cast a golden red glow upon the Valley and they all gasped in awe of the great Stone Idol. Standing taller than the walls of the valley it stood, a sleeping guardian, its unblinking eye keeping silent watch over the land. It was said that its power could decimate mountains and cause lakes to form. And here it was in the valley, a stone robot, forever asleep.

It's... it's incredible." Topaz whispered.

"Something else alright..." Ryu agreed.

"Myuuuuuuuuuuu..." Lionne mewed.

Rennard gave a soft, amazed whistle and Kuroki just stared, admiring the great machine. The group spent the night there, admiring the Stone Idol, telling each other legends and stories they'd heard about it until they got tired and went to sleep. They got up early, waking with the sun, packed their things, took one last look at the Idol and headed home. Even though there were no incidents on the way home, it still took them three days to get back; with the two days they spent going there it was, in total, a five day trip. However, they did not make it back before Liem and his hunter group returned. The one time Dragon General stood at the gate, scowling after his little prodigies when they came in sight of the village.

"They told me you had gone the moment I returned. They said they could send no one after you when they saw you leaving through the northern exit because they lacked manpower." Liem told them as he dragged them to the house the orphans lived in.

Liem continued his speech saying how that now that the winter season approached, manpower for guarding would no longer be a problem. He then went on to berate them for their stupidity, immaturity and over all empty- headedness for pulling such a brainless stunt. The punishment was simple, they'd be using wooden weapons for months, no access to their metal equipment and they'd not be allowed to leave the house, except for training exercises for a month. Ryu wasn't even allowed to go home, he'd be bunking with the orphans for a while; that, however, was not much of a punishment for Ryu, he'd felt far worse before. No the true punishment, for Ryu at least, was the look of utter disappointment in Liem's eyes.

Liem left them and went to the local shrine. It was not dedicated to any particular god or deity, thought the locals did direct their prayers to Myria. It was plain and small, no great decorations or anything, just a small alter with some chairs for those who could not kneel. Liem knelt before the altar and offered his prayers to Ladon, the Dragon God.

"Ladon... What can I do? How can I make the boy understand how important he is without dragging him into the war? I need help, guidance... Something, anything..." He pleaded with his god.

"'Tis rather reckless to use the word 'anything' when speaking with a god you know." An aged voice said from behind him.

Liem turned to see an aged monk type person in a dusty brown robe and weatherworn staff in hand.

"Bishop (2)... Do you have any advice for me?" Liem asked with a soft smile.

"Well... you can only continue doing what you're doing, that is, raise the boy as only you can. But you cannot be around forever and there may be a time when you aren't around to tell the boy who he is. My advice is this: write a note, a letter to Ryu explaining everything and any advice you would give him. Place it in a treasure chest with things that you think he may need at such a time and then lock it so it may not be opened until such a time comes. Use this key, you would be doing me a great favour if you did." Bishop said pulling a key out of his robe pockets.

Liem accepted the heavily ornate key, looking at the emblazoned character for 'King' (3) on it.

"Sound advice..." Liem said.

"There are other ways to help him as well." Bishop continued. "If they can grow strong they can support him in any endeavour. The girl, er... Topaz was it? She has great magical potential. Ask her if she would like to become stronger, tell her she can learn more magic at the mystic city of Wisdon. If she accepts, take her there and take this letter with you. The sealing crest on the envelope will gain you entry into the city and you should give the letter only to Lady Bleu."

Bishop handed the envelope to Liem, who examined the crest upon it, the symbol of the Dragon God, Ladon.

"The Mirage City of the Kairi desert... I've heard of it, know its general location..." Liem than asked the question he knew he must. "Why do you do this, Bishop? What do you hope to gain?"

"Myself, nothing. But, I believe the boy has the potential to change the world." Bishop said as he left the shrine.

Weeks later Liem and Topaz set out for the Magic City of Wisdon, for she had timidly and reluctantly, but willingly accepted the offer of being taught magic there.


"Little dreamt could be so cruel as waiting for the wings outspread, the jagged teeth, the burning eyes and dagger claws that pinch to nerves." (Magic: The Gathering, Azure Drake)

Music: "Battle" (Game: Rudra No Hihou)

1)- At this point in the story, Ryu and topaz are 8 years old, Rennard is 9, Kuroki is 10 and Lionne is 6 years old.

2)- Bishop, the old sage that Maru was speaking to in the first chapter.

3)- One of the Goddess Keys, the King Key.