The Trials of Fire, Water, Wind and Earth
Chapter 1: The Land of Cephiro
It was a normal day in Cephiro. Well, maybe not so normal, as suddenly, four people appeared at the sky, and then fell down.
"Oh my god, we're falling!" The girl with blue hair yelped.
"So it would seem." Another girl, this with brown hair, replied.
"You seem awfully calm in a situation like this!" The first girl shrieked and looked down. "Oh my god, we're all so going to DIE!"
"That's true, unless something happens. Whether or not do we worry, it won't help a thing." Ilkka said.
"That's true. There might be something that will save us." The girl with brown hair said.
"Like what?" The blue-haired girl asked, now her voice more silent.
"Umm... Like that flying thing over there?" Hikaru said, and pointed to a flying creature.
Indeed, it had came to save them. A huge, flying fish appeared below them and catched them.
"Like this?" Ilkka said and smiled to the blue-haired girl.
"W-W-WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!" She yelled.
"It does seem like a fish." The brown haired girl replied.
"Umm... Where are you taking us?" Hikaru asked the fish.
She only got a funny sound in response. None of them could not understand what it meant.
"Well, time will show. For now, let's enjoy the ride!" Ilkka said.
Not much later, the four saw something illogical. They saw a flying island in the sky, but not in the direction the fish was flying to. Also, a certain volcano and a great sea caught their attention.
"Wow! What a scenery!" Hikaru said, excited. Or at least she seemed excited.
"I wonder where are we?" The brown haired girl asked particularly no one.
"I think we need to ask some of the locals to find out." Ilkka said.
"Well then, since it seems that we are not going to land soon, how about we introduce ourselves?" the brown haired girl suggested. Hearing this, the blue-haired girl fell face flat down.
"Why introduce ourselves at a time like this?" she asked.
"Because it is a time like this," Ilkka answered.
"That's true. Besides, I don't know how to react to people I don't know. Knowing your names will at least ease that." The girl said, and bowed. "My name is Fuu Hououji. Pleased to meet you."
"I'm Hikaru Shidou." Hikaru said.
"...Ah well, all right. Umi Ryuuzaki. That's my name." the blue-haired girl said.
"And I am Ilkka Nordman." Ilkka said.
"Ilkka? That doesn't sound like a Japanese name..." Fuu said, and began thinking. "Where are you from, if I may ask?"
"You may. I come from Finland. It's located in--" Ilkka said, but Fuu interrupted her.
"Northern Europe, right?"
"Yeah. I guess you know about it."
"Ah, not really. It's just that I've been paying attention on my geography lessons."
"Hey guys, I can see land!" Hikaru told the rest, and pointed to a cliff. "Are we heading there?" She asked the fish, who nodded.
"I guess we might find out where we are once we get off this fish." Ilkka said.
"I don't care where we are, I need to go back!" Umi said.
"Isn't it the same with us all?" Fuu asked.
"As I said before, worrying won't probably help. In any case, let's go there." Ilkka said, and pointed to the same cliff Hikaru had seen.
And in no time, the fish and it's passengers reached the cliff. Umi, in particular, was very happy to get off the fish.
"Never again I want to experience such a thing!" she shouted in frustration.
Hikaru, on the other hand, personally thanked the fish for the ride. Ilkka and Fuu did the same, but Umi had taken her distance already.
It was then when Ilkka noticed a short boy with a long, white robe. He had a staff of impressive length, at leasted when compared to the boy's, and he was wearing some sort of a tiara, or maybe a circlet on his head.
"Who.. are you?" Ilkka asked the boy, and then the girls noticed him too.
"...Are the ones summoned by princess Emeraude merely children? No, wait... According to the legend, there should have been only three." The boy mumbled to himself.
"Children? Who are you to speak! You're just a short boy yourself. You look younger than us!" Umi said.
"Who are you calling a kid!" The boy shouted and hit Umi on her head with his staff. Ilkka tried his best to contain his laughter.
"If anyhow possible, could you tell us where are we? And who is this Emeraude?" Fuu asked, trying to be as polite as possible.
"This land you now stand in is known as Cephiro. It is a world where one's will becomes power, and it is held peaceful by the constant praying of a single person, whom we call 'Cephiro no Hashira'. However, monsters have appeared in this peaceful land, and the worst has happened. The current Hashira has been kidnapped by our Shinkan, Zagato." the boy told.
"But why? If the Hashira upholds the peace of Cephiro, why would Zagato kidnap him?"
The boy closed his eyes. "I do not know the reason."
"But that doesn't explain why have we arrived in this... Cephiro." Ilkka said, looking at the boy for answers.
The boy opened his eyes. "You must be the ones the Hashira, Princess Emeraude, has summoned to this world."
"Now, just wait a minute!" Umi said, rubbing her head. The boy's strike must have really hurt. "I have no time for games like this. Send me back to our world, right now!" she commanded.
"None of you can return to your world any longer." the boy said, with a stern look on his face.
"No way! Are you saying that we'll be trapped here forever? I have an important fencing match in one week!" Umi yelled. Fuu looked at her, surprised.
"So, Umi-san, you practice fencing? I am in our school's archery club, myself."
"Yes, I do. We have an important match next week, which I simply cannot miss! I was chosen to be the captain, too..." Umi said. She sighed.
"Would you mind if I came to watch your match, Umi-san?" Fuu asked.
Umi looked at Fuu, happiness in her eyes. "No, I wouldn't. In fact, I'd be happy if you did."
Leaving the two girls talk to each other, Ilkka spoke to the boy once again. "So, the current Hashira of Cephiro is also the ruler of this world? It must be hard on her."
The boy closed his eyes again and said in a silent voice, almost a whisper, "More than you could probably imagine."
Ilkka didn't hear him well, so he justed asked, "Um? What did you say?"
"Nothing." The boy replied and opened his eyes. "My name is Clef, and I am the Doushi of Cephiro. Would you please tell me your names?"
"I am Ilkka Nordman. Nice to meet you, Clef."
"My name is Hikaru Shidou. Nice to meet you too."
Clef turned to the other two girls, who were absorbed in their talk. He coughed in a loud voice to get their attention.
"I am Clef, the Doushi of Cephiro. These two have already introduced themselves," Clef said, and pointed his staff to Ilkka and Hikaru in turn, "so would you introduce yourselves as well?"
"With pleasure. My name is Fuu Hououji. Pleased to make your acquintance, Doushi Clef."
"Umi Ryuuzaki."
Clef looked at each of them in turn, and then spoke. "I take it you want to return to your world?"
The girls nodded, while Ilkka did not react in any way.
"The only possible way for you to return to your world is for you to fulfill Emeraude's wish. For that, you need to gather the Mashin and become the Legendary Magic Knights." Clef continued.
"Magic Knights?" Hikaru asked.
"Sounds like a title for a game or something." Fuu stated.
"The journey will not be easy though. Therefore, I will grant you armor and magic. That is, if you are willing to become the Magic Knights in the first place." Clef said.
"Magic? Armor?" Ilkka said, wondering. "Well, since I don't have anything else on my mind... Sure, I'll help you."
"I will, as well. I will become a Magic Knight for sure." Hikaru said.
"How can you just make a huge decision just like that?" Umi asked.
"Becoming the Magic Knights is required to help Emeraude, right?" Hikaru asked Clef.
"It is required for granting her wish." Clef said, nodding.
"That's enough of a reason. I can't just ignore people who are in need of help!" Hikaru said.
"I take it that there is really no other way to return to our own world than to become Magic Knights and grant Emeraude's wish?" Fuu asked.
"Since it was Emeraude who summoned you in order to fulfill her wish, you need to do it. Once her wish has been granted, you will return to your world." Clef said.
"Then, I will try my best too." Fuu said, smiling to the Doushi, then turning to Umi.
"...But... I... Oh well, seems like I have no choice. Very well, count me in." She sighed in defeat.
"Ilkka, Hikaru, Umi, Fuu. Thank you." Clef said, smiling. Then he got a serious look on his face. "As promised, I will grant you armor and magic now. Close your eyes."
All four closed their eyes as instructed and Clef raised his staff high and shouted,
"MAHOU DENSHOU!"
And then happened something that science cannot prove, no matter how advanced it gets. Out of nowhere, a bright beam of light shot from Clef's staff to the skies, then four beams of light descended down, one on each of the youngsters. Clothes just suddenly seemed to disappear from all of them. And then, another miracle happened.
Hikaru was engulfed in red, swirling flames that, for some reason, did not seem to burn the girl at all.
Umi was engulfed in blue, swirling torrents of water that, for some reason, did not have any effect at the girl.
Fuu was engulfed in green, swirling whirls of wind, but despite the wind, for some reason, her hair wasn't blowing.
Ilkka was engulfed in yellow, swirling sand, that created a barrier around him so Ilkka could not be seen from the outside.
A moment after, the effects disappeared and their clothes returned. The four opened their eyes, and noticed that they were all wearing breastplates that had one shoulderplate. And all of them had a glove with a gem on it. Hikaru's gem was red, Umi's was blue, Fuu's was green and Ilkka's was yellow.
"I had decided to give you all certain types of magic, but it seems the magic has chosen you." Clef said.
"So, now we will be able to use magic?" Ilkka asked. Clef nodded and Ilkka grinned. "Let's test it." he said and shot his arm forward and yelled, "LIGHTNING BOLT!"
Nothing happened.
"Umm... How about this one? MAGIC MISSILE!" Ilkka tried again.
Again, nothing happened.
"Are you sure this works?" Ilkka asked Clef, who seemed to explode in anger.
"DON'T USE MAGIC WHEN IT IS NOT NEEDED!" he shouted, and calmed down. He continued in a calm voice, "Besides, I only gave you the ability to use magic. I haven't given you any spells yet."
"...Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" Ilkka asked.
"Hikaru, come here. We'll start from you." Clef commanded, and the red-haired girl walked to the Doushi. "Close your eyes."
Hikaru closed her eyes.
'Can you hear me, Hikaru?' Clef's voice said inside Hikaru's head.
'I can you hear you, Clef.' Hikaru thought.
'Can you feel it? Can you feel a power within you that has appeared just now?' Clef's voice talked again.
'I can feel it... It feels so... warm...' Hikaru thought.
'That is your magic.' Clef talked in Hikaru's head.
'Words... come to mind...' Hikaru thought.
"You may open your eyes now, Hikaru." Clef said.
Hikaru opened her eyes and bowed. "Thank you, Clef. I'll put these powers to good use."
"Next we'll--" Clef said but stopped.
'What is this evil presence?' He thought. Just then, huge icicles began falling towards Clef and the others.
"Oh no! Everybody, run over here! No time to explain!" the Doushi shouted. Ilkka, Umi and Fuu took a quick look at each other and ran to Clef. Just before the first icicles hit the ground, Clef raised his staff once again and shouted, "SAKYEN BOUJOU!"
A white field of light surrounded the five, and the icicles that hit it were shattered to pieces and the pieces bounced off. All five looked at the origin of the icicle storm, and saw a sketchy-looking woman riding a horse. The horse, however, had burning hair, that did not seem to affect Alcyone in any way. The woman had a staff with her, although it was quite different than Clef's.
"Alcyone..." Clef muttered.
"Do you know her?" Ilkka asked, turning to Clef.
"She is Alcyone, one of my former pupils. Nowadays, she is a minion of Shinkan Zagato."
"ZAGATO!" Hikaru, Umi, Fuu and Ilkka shouted in unison.
"Long time no see, Doushi Clef." Alcyone spoke. "So these are the ones Emeraude had summoned?"
"Alcyone. Why did you betray me and sided with the Shinkan?" Clef asked the attacker.
Alcyone chuckled. "Because I love him. But, I have to thank you too. For teaching me powerful magic. Such as this." Alcyone said and held her staff forward, shouting,
"YOUSHOU GEKISHA!"
Icicles appeared around her, and the began flying towards the magical field Doushi Clef had created.
"This is bad. You have to get out of here!" Clef shouted while looking at Hikaru and the others. He held his staff forward and shouted,
"MAJYU SHOUKAN!"
A giant bird, that reminded Ilkka of a griffin from the myths, appeared out of nowhere.
"Get on that bird! You have to get out of here!" Clef repeated.
"But what about you?" Hikaru asked.
"I'll be fine. Now get on!" Clef replied, and Ilkka, Hikaru, Umi and Fuu ran to the bird and rode it. Confirming all four were on, the bird began flying.
"Not so fast." Alcyone said, and shouted, "YOUSHOU GEKISHA!"
Another wave of icicles appeared around her, and the began flying towards the flying bird and it's passengers. Clef held his staff towards the icicles and shouted,
"INAZUMA SHOURAI!"
A giant bolt of lightning flew from the tip of his staff. The lightning hit the icicles and upon contact, vaporized them.
"Why are you attacking powerless people? What happened to the pride you had as a promising magician!" Clef asked Alcyone.
"Seems like I can't win with my magical powers alone. Figured as much, giving that you were my teacher. Therefore..." Alcyone said, held her staff towards Clef and shouted,
"SEIJYUU SHOUKAN!"
A two-headed dog appeared near Clef. It seemed ready to attack.
"Why don't you just play with him while I finish off the annoying Magic Knights like Zagato-sama ordered." Alcyone said, laughing. Then she set her horse running towards the sky.
"Wait! ALCYONE!" Clef shouted, but was interrupted by the summoned dog. Clef dodged the dog's first attack, waved his wand towards the creature, and shouted,
"INAZUMA SHOURAI!"
And a giant bolt of lightning flew from Clef's staff, vaporizing the dog to purple smoke as happened to all summoned creatures who had been defeated and killed. Clef turned around, looking for Alcyone, and noticed her far away, beyond the reach of his spells.
"I hope they will survive... No, they have to survive if they wish to become the Magic Knights..." Clef said to himself. 'But why was there four people? The legend told of three Magic Knights...' His thoughts were interrupted when a sinister presence, far more evil, and far more dangerous than Alcyone's appeared.
A tall figure appeared on the same cliff Alcyone had appeared on. He was wearing full plate mail, a long black robe and a thorny circlet. In fact, all of his equipment were spiky, except the robe. He waved his hand forward and a giant force flew from it, targeting the Doushi.
"This presence... Can it be..." Clef mumbled to himself, then quickly cast the barrier again which had faded. The flying force from the figure's hand met the barrier and easily broke it, hitting the horrified Doushi within. Clef fell off the cliff and the final words he spoke before turning to stone would have sent creeps down even the strongest warrior's neck.
"Shinkan... Zagato..."
To be continued...
Author's notes: While trying to work on this fic, I re-read the existing story dozens of times, trying to fix errors and add descriptive writing, but to no avail. For a while I even forgot about this project, until today I went and read my mail and saw the reviews. So I thought I'd reply to them here, with the upload of this chapter (and the beginning of the story)
To DayDreamer9: I'm happy that you think this is going well, albeit I feel like it is not Though I am too much of a critic, especially when it comes to my own works. As you have said, I lack description (I find it hard to describe things, but I'll try to improve). And I am not unhappy at all for your review, because I asked for these, right:)
To Ahven: I'm happy you like the story :) I'll try to update more often in the future, though personal life sometimes gets on the way :)
To Keith Fraser: Wow, I must say, I'm impressed with your review. You have many good points, and I'll do my best to use your tips within the story. While I do not wish to spoil things, I want to make a few things clear: First, I see your point in overpowered SIs and OCs, and I must say I hate them too (unless they're villains, which is a completely another matter). I try not to make myself a character who 'steals the spotlight' from the three original Magic Knights, however I want to make sure I won't be thought of as a useless or not-so-useful character, because, well, I am one of the Magic Knights as well (in the story, of course). Second, I think you've made a good point when you said to write the OCs as people, and that is what I am going to do. Third, did I really imply so much about pairing myself with someone yet? If so, then I really need to revise the story... Ah well, maybe you're right. It's just that I thought I would see a gentle person in her (what she is, really) and thus maybe ended spending too much time with her. I personally haven't yet decided on the pairings, but will probably go with the original ones. We shall see. And last, well, after reading this chapter, you already got your confirmation about me being the Knight of Earth. But I need to quit now, or else I am going to spoil the whole thing here and now.
Now, to revise or to continue... That is the problem..