Phase 1: Log No. 1

A soft melody, played on a panpipe, sounded throughout the forest. A turquoise haired girl rested along the trees, in a small cottage in the direct middle of the greenery. She smiled as she listened to the wonderful music, and then got up. She walked over a small decorated chest. She sighed.

You see, I am this person who listened to this music. I am Elenai.

I suddenly heard a war cry from the trees, and the music stopped. My archrival, the mischievous – but evil – Ember. Both a master of the fire and darkness magics, she was a formidable foe. I knew she held a dark secret deep within her, but I didn't pry that deep into her.

She jumped down from the trees, a kick aiming for my head. I quickly dashed aside, and she landed on the wood of the balcony.

"You're so predictable, Ember," I said.

She scoffed and pulled out her sword. I pulled out my shining blade and stood at ready. She lunged, and as she sped toward me, I pulled up my sword in a block. The swords clanged in conflict, and we pulled back into our starting positions. This time it was me who delivered the offensive with a fierce slash toward her midsection. She jumped back, her eyes wide, but then her fiery resolve set in. To kill me once and for all.

She was actually the ruler of the forest, and made it clear that that was her title to all who lived within. When I approached it, she quickly met me, even though it wasn't on the friendliest of terms.

"Why do you approach my forest?" she said, her iron eyes seeming to bore into my soul. "If you seek medicine for your little insect village, don't bother. I've turned away all of the healers of this land. Anyone who dares enter uninvited will suffer my wrath."

I stayed silent, trying to keep my will standing against this person. "Answer me, or I'll sic the bears on you!" she yelled.

"Some ruler of the forest you are. The bears aren't even here," I countered. She scoffed – her famous scoff – and said, "Well, they're going to be here!"

On that day, she was wearing a pair of dark jeans with a black t-shirt on. The shirt had purple flames on on it, and her hair was the color of sand, with half of her frontal two bangs a orangish red. Her necklace, the most noticeable thing about her, was a purple amethyst surrounded by antiqued silver, on a black cord. But I've noticed as I've lived here, she always seems to wear the same thing.

I was a direct contrast, I was wearing faded blue jeans with a white shirt with slightly draping sleeves. I wore a gold cross pendant with an opal embedded in the center. My hair was the color of light turquoise, due to the days I had been traveling in the sun. I had a navy blue bag slung over my shoulder, with some food, water, and other things from my past.

Suddenly, the birds that had always been singing stopped, and the sky turned red. Black creatures – the Heartless, I presumed – started to attack the animals. Fires burned in the distance, cries sounded throughout my ears. The screams intensified, until it felt like my ears were bursting.

Again, suddenly, the girl I was standing before was yelling at me again, and the world turned back to normal. It was then I dove deep inside her, to find her intentions. She was evil, no doubt about that, and she knew about the Heartless. Then, when I started to dig deeper, I saw immense power, probably more than she even knew she had. If she knew about this power, she could heal the world, or kill it.

"Okay, fine. I'll give you a simple quiz on common knowledge to see if you are worthy to live in this forest," she said sadly.

"Heartless, Grim, daggers, and wyverns. Can I come now?" I said, knowing the answers from the start. The girl gaped at me, then jumped – well, almost flied – to the top of the trees.

"You've bothered me for the last time!" she yelled, and charged at me, and went into an attacking frenzy. I tried to block against the attacks, but I couldn't defend against all of them. When she had finally calmed down, I was on my knees, close to unconsciousness. "Face it, you lost," she said, holding her sword to my throat. I narrowed my eyes, but knew that she had the right to kill me – common tournament rules.

"Stop!" yelled someone from the other side of my little cottage. Both me and Ember looked toward that way, and saw another person, a teen girl, really. She was wearing a light green blouse, and she had deep blue hair. She had a pair of jade green jeans on, and around her neck was a black cord with a silver lining with the ancient runes on it. She had a battle axe strapped to her back.. Her hand was up in the universal language for stop.

Ember walked away, and jumped up from tree to tree back to where she lived, and the girl that had just basically saved my life ran toward me. She helped me get up, and asked me, "You need any help?" I immediately rejected.

"I'm fine," I assured her. It would only be moments until my healing magic kicked in anyway.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Nervousness went across her green eyes more than once, more probably because she was in an unknown territory or Ember than me. "Who was that?"

"Oh, her?" The girl nodded. My magic finally started working its, well, magic, and I answered, "She's Ember the 'ruler' of this forest. You've probably proved that you are 'worthy' to live here, so she probably won't bother you much more," I said. "Fat chance, though. Never happened to me," I thought to myself. "Oh, by the way, I'm Elenai. Don't bother with your name, though. I already know it's Ana."

"What? How did you know-" she said.

"Telepathy," I said, pointing to my head. "Come with me. Looks like you need some food and water," I said.

We walked into my house, and I brought out some bread and butter. She chomped down on it furiously. "Take it you haven't eaten lately," I said, bringing out a cup and filling it with water.

"Nope. This is the only meal I've had in the last two days," Ana answered. I dug through some shelves and uncovered a potion and a few ethers.

"You use magic?" I asked.

"Yeah, sorta. I mean, I was a weather-witch where I came from, but here it may be common. I don't really know much about here. Before I forget, what are you doing here?" she said, gulping down the water in between gulps.

"Oh, me? I'm a... well..." I really did know what I was. A hermit. But I didn't want to have Ana, the only good person I had seen in days, to think I was weird. Common teenage thinking.

"It's okay if you don't feel like telling me," she consoled. "Another question: Did you ever hear of this 'Keyblade Master?'"

I tossed her a small book, with a picture of a crown on the cover. "Read this. Keep it. Know it. Someday, history might repeat itself, and we'll need to know all we can about the past." She hesitantly opened the book, and then scanned the pages. "I'm going to see if Ember's still here. I can't sense her anymore," I said, going out the door, leaving Ana to her reading.

I followed the trail of fire and darkness magic. I ran after the trail, not noticing the darkness that had been cast over the forest. Soon, I saw a shadowy flying between the trees, and followed closely. The figure landed and I could tell who it was – Ember. I dove into some bushes, cursing the prickly branches. Ember pulled out a black book with gold edging, and started turning the pages. "Yes!" she cried, and started chanting a spell.

-

Ana set down the book, captivated. "So that is what happened. Cool..." She sat down on the couch, and chewed on a fingernail. Her eyes saw the box that was sitting on a shelf, wrapped with a silk ribbon. She slowly walked toward it, and grabbed it quickly, looking around like a thief at market trying to steal an apple.

"I wonder what's in this box..." she said, entranced once again. She tried undoing the ribbon, but it wouldn't budge. She pulled back her finger, and it was frozen in a block of ice. "Grr..." She tried to rip off the top, but again, her hand came away frozen. Ana poured one of the potions that were sitting on the top of the coffee table on her hand, and it thawed. This time, she sent a small tornado toward the box, and it ripped it open. "I wonder why I didn't try that in the first place!" she exclaimed, and went to examine the remains of the box.

There was only a note. It read, "I promise..." This phrase made Ana's eyes go wide, and she read it again. As the phrase went through her head a third time, the words disappeared. This alone made her nearly drop the note, but what appeared on the note next did. "You Promised..."

-

As Ember chanted, a bronze-colored pot appeared in front of her, filled with a bubbling liquid. She stopped chanting, and read the book some more. "Okay, I need to ice the pot." She smiled, the reality not having sinking in. "Wait..." she said, then growled. She quickly spun around and yelled, "Elenai! I know you're there! You're always following me!"

"I guess I'm the one getting predictable," I commented, and came out from my hiding spot. Her eyes narrowed.

"Freeze it," she commanded, pointing at the pot. The liquid turned black.

"No way. I know what you're doing."

She turned, and walked away, fading into the forest landscape. I suspected she had used a invisible spell, so I attempted the same spell. But before I could chant the incantation, Ember appeared in front of me and knocked me down. "You made a huge mistake," she said.

She put her hand on my neck, and tried to drain my magic. I sent up a Nul-magic shield to stop her. She furrowed her brow, as if in great thinking, and broke the shield.

"I know your weakness," she stated as he immobilized me with her magic. Suddenly, the magic that had always traveled thought my veins slowed, then completely stopped, and disappeared from my senses. I breathed heavily as she smirked triumphantly. "It's your curse, isn't it?" Ember asked. My energy left me, and my eyes drooped. "Your powers are now mi..n...e..." Her words faded as my world went blank.

-

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" exclaimed Ana as I sat up in a bed – my bed, realized – groggily. "I had to use a few potions to heal you. I hope that's okay. Don't you have magic or that sort of thing to heal you? When I found you, you were in pretty bad shape."

"Thanks." I got up, but the world spun around me, forcing me to sit back down.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, concerned.

"It's just a simple case of dizziness. I'll be—" The door suddenly slammed open. It was Ember – again.

"I leave just to freeze that stupid pot so I can kill you, and you disappear off to who-knows-where! This is the last time you escape the wrath of Ember!" She held her hand to the side, and a giant key appeared. Not just any giant key, though. This was a Keyblade. It had a jet black shaft and grip, with a amethyst purple handle. The end of the key was sharp, and even though it was light outside, it was darker than night.

I tried to get up again, but was forced back by my dizziness. Ember smiled at the opportunity and charged at me, a smile on her face. Ana tried to help me, but was held back by an invisible shield Ember had put up. Ember raised her Keyblade, ready to deal the deadly finishing blow to me. The world seemed to go in slow motion, and as the blade headed toward my head, I raised my hand as if trying to protect myself...

A Keyblade appeared in my hand.