The Trials of Fire, Water, Wind and Earth
Chapter 2: The Soushi and a White Furball
Hikaru and company had been flying for what seemed like ages. Hikaru had wanted to return to Clef to help him, but Fuu had persuaded her otherwise. Ilkka soon opened his mouth and said:
"Seems like we got away."
Everybody nodded. It wasn't much, but those words seemed to calm the youngsters.
"Hey guys, don't you think this armor... is a little... odd?" Umi asked, looking skeptically at her left hand, and the glove on it.
"What do you mean, Umi-chan?" Hikaru asked.
"Do you mean the fact it is off balance?" Ilkka asked, and Umi nodded.
"I find it strange too. On our left hands, there is a glove with a gem on it. And on the left, we have bracers of some sort... Not to mention there's only one shoulderplate." Fuu said.
"Wouldn't it be more logical if we had like, two gloves or two bracers?" Umi asked.
"Yeah, but Clef gave us these suits of armor. If you wish to complain, say it to him." Ilkka said, sarcastically. 'I just want to get off this bird...'
This made Umi pissed. "Sure, I'll complain to him, if you bring him here!" She raised her voice.
"Well, well, calm down, you two. Clef must have thought this armor is practical or something." Hikaru said.
"At least we got two leg-guards..." Ilkka said, looking at his feet, then sitting down. "Argh, are we there yet?" He asked the bird, who seemed to ignore him.
"I wonder if Clef is all right..." Hikaru said out aloud, and then felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Fuu's. She said:
"If you are worried about Clef-san, then you must become a Magic Knight as soon as possible. This is what he told us, is it not?"
Hikaru looked at the eyes of this brown-haired girl. Then she nodded.
"That right. Besides, I'm sure he is all right. He has to be."
The girls sat down. Even though the bird was flying as fast as it could, it had been some time since they left in a hurry from the Doushi's side. All because of a woman, whom Clef had called Alcyone, had suddenly attacked.
Suddenly, Umi saw a distant figure behind them. She stood up and pointed there.
"What is that?"
The three others stood up as well. Everyone looked at where Umi was pointing, to that figure that was constantly gaining on the bird. Soon, it came so close that shock befell on all four.
"W-Why is she here?" Umi asked. "I thought that old guy said we would be all right! I knew he was just all talk!"
"KYOUSHOU TOUSHA!" Alcyone yelled while holding her staff forward. Icicles formed around her and were sent flying towards the bird and it's passengers. The girls screamed, but thanks to the bird's evasive abilities, none of the icicles hit.
"Impressive evasion. As expected from a creature the Doushi summoned. But that's not enough!" Alcyone spoke and this time, hold her staff upwards, causing icicles to fly above the bird, then start falling at high speeds. Alcyone had hoped to impale the bird and it's passengers, but this did not happen. She sighed and rode her flying horse forward, in front of the bird.
"I am Alcyone. I know this is a shame, Magic Knights, since we just met, but I'll have your heads!" She laughed.
"A-Are we going to die here?" Umi asked, scared.
Hikaru stood up. 'Die... If I die here, what will happen to Cephiro? Will it be destroyed if the Magic Knights never emerge? That's... I won't let that happen!' She yelled out the last sentence. Alcyone looked amused when Hikaru raised her left hand up. Flames swirled out of the red gem on the glove and began whirling around the young girl.
"Seems like you know a little trick. But what good will it do to you, who is going to die anyway?" Alcyone said.
Hikaru closed her eyes. The fire which had swirled around her before concentrated in her left hand, which she clenched into a fist. 'I will not die here. I will save Cephiro, with Ilkka, Umi and Fuu. The four of us will become the Magic Knights!' She opened her eyes, thrusted her left hand forward while opening her fist. "HONOU... NO YA!" She yelled, and the flames emerged from her hand. It created a shockwave of fire, which flew towards the attacking sorceress very fast. The sorceress who had been off guard.
"WHAT!" She yelled in disbelief. 'How can a girl who just learned magic use such a powerful spell?' Alcyone quickly jumped off the horse, hold her staff downwards while falling and shouted, "SEIJYUU SHOUKAN!" and called another horse, similar to the first one which was now in flames and soon evaporated away. "I'll be back, you annoying brats!" She yelled and rode off to the faraway skies. Hikaru fell backwards, exhausted, after Alcyone had left.
"Hikaru! Are you all right?" Ilkka asked the young red-haired girl. She just smiled in response.
"Was that... The magic Clef-san taught you?" Fuu asked.
"Y..Yeah..." Hikaru said.
"Hmm... Maybe I'll try it too..." Ilkka said, and closed his eyes. He held his left hand up, and concentrated. He clenched his hand into a fist, which he waved to his right side, then forward, opening both his fist and his eyes. "HONOU... NO YA!"
There was a moment of silence. Then Umi asked:
"What were you trying to pull off?"
"That's strange... I gave it my best shot, but seemingly nothing happened." Ilkka replied, looking at the gem of his glove.
"Maybe... Ilkka-san, maybe you can use different spells than Hikaru-san?" Fuu asked.
"You think so?" Ilkka asked, looking at Fuu's eyes.
Fuu nodded. "Remember what Clef-san had said? That 'I had decided to give you all certain types of magic, but it seems the magic has chosen you.'"
Ilkka's eyes opened in awe. "That's right, he really DID say so..."
"Maybe... The magics have something to do with the colours of the gems on our gloves?" Hikaru asked.
Umi nodded. "That might be true. Hikaru, your spell... what was it called again?"
"Huh? I don't know what to call it, but I shouted the phrase that came to me when Clef taught me magic. Honou no ya."
"Honou no ya... Honou... Fire." Fuu pondered, then looked at Hikaru's glove. Or more precisely, the red gem on it. "I think I know."
"Huh?" Ilkka asked. "What do you think you know, Fuu?"
"Think of it. Hikaru's glove has a red gem on it. The spell she casted was that of fire element."
"...That's true. But are you sure you can divide these spells to elements, like in most RPGs?" Ilkka asked.
"That matters not, for it is only a measurement which makes demonstrating this easier. So, according to this, my guess is that Umi-san might be able to use water magic, given that her glove has a blue orb." Fuu explained.
"Why do you think so?" Hikaru asked, seemingly dumbfounded.
"Because most games have four major elements, those of fire, water, wind and earth. Red usually describes fire, and blue is either wind or water, more usually water." Fuu explained.
"Ah, I see..." Hikaru said in awe.
"Well, pondering over which elements each of us have, given that we 'represent' those elements, will get us nowhere. We will probably find out when we learn new spells." Fuu said.
It was then when Hikaru looked down to the land and saw a giant forest below them. "Wow, it's a giant forest!"
The rest of them looked down too.
"I just hope we don't have to go there.." Ilkka said.
"Why is that?" Umi asked.
"Because, think of the trouble to walk through such a giant place." Ilkka explained.
"You're right, and I think we have no reason to go there in the first place." Fuu pointed out.
Then, suddenly, the bird began descending towards the forest.
"Hey, what are you doing? I hope you don't mean we have to go there after all?" Ilkka asked the bird, who ignored him. Instead, it flew to a small opening between the trees, and landed there.
"Maybe he means that we've reached our destination?" Hikaru said.
"Thank god, I thought I was going to die there." Ilkka said and quickly jumped off.
"What do you mean? ...I get it, you have..." Umi started, smirking. Ilkka held out his hand and thus silenced the blue-haired girl.
"What's it to you if I have acrophobia?" Ilkka asked, and turned to the bird. "You could have been a bit more gentle with your passengers, but... thanks for the ride anyway." 'Why the heck am I thanking a bird for?'
"...It's getting late. We need to find a place to sleep." Hikaru said. Everyone nodded.
"How about that house over there?" Umi asked and pointed off to a single house near the forest's edge.
"We can't, it might be in use." Fuu said.
"Well then, what do you suggest? That we sleep out here, in the open? What if it will rain? Or what if monsters suddenly attacked?" Umi shot back.
Fuu was taken back by this. Thinking about the situation for a moment, she simply said: "I don't like this one bit."
All four started walking towards the lone house. Hikaru turned around to wave goodbye to the bird, but it was already gone. "Maybe... Clef wanted us to come here?" she said out aloud.
"Why do you think so?" Ilkka asked.
"Because... The bird we just rode... Didn't Clef summon it? Then.." Hikaru answered.
"Then it is logical to assume that he wanted to come to this place, is that it?" Fuu asked. Hikaru nodded.
"Well, only one way to find out. Let's go." Ilkka said.
The four entered the house. Well, a mansion would have been a better choice of a word. They were in a great hall, which had stairs to a higher floor, and a giant door next to the stairs. There was no source of light, so it was hard to say if the mansion was in use or not.
"Umm... Is anyone home?" Fuu yelled.
No response.
"Maybe we need to go further in." Umi said.
The four proceeded to the door, and Ilkka pushed it open. Somewhere, a faint sound could be heard. None of the four could make out the sound, so they proceeded even further. It was nearly pitch black in there, but Hikaru found a door and opened it. They entered the room and found it was lighted well. There was a table and a chair of some sort. The funny thing was, there was a constant flow of paper flowing from the chair. Ilkka gulped and took a step further, followed by the three girls. Then, the chair turned around, only to present a small, white creature sitting there, tossing paper away. It seemed overjoyed.
All four youngsters looked at the creature skeptically. However, since the small creature did not seem hostile, Ilkka took a step further.
"Puu pu-puu, puu puu pu-pu-puu!" The creature made sounds. Ilkka quickly took several steps backwards, almost knocking the girls down.
"Sorry, but... What the heck is that?" He pointed his finger to this white creature.
Suddenly, sounds of metal chains moving could be heard. Before anyone could do a thing, a big cage fell around Ilkka and company. After that, a laugh came from the door. The four turned to look there and saw another sketchy woman.
"You fell for it, Mokona!" She said. "You're always making a total mess of my study, so... How should I punish you?" She continued laughing for a while, while the white creature, who apparently was this Mokona, returned to throwing the papers around. It took a short moment for the woman to really register what was going on, and she noticed Ilkka and the others. She took a close look at them and asked: "Who... are you guys? Are you the guys who ruined my study?"
"The hell we are!" Umi yelled.
"We just came here to look for a place to spend the night." Ilkka said.
Mokona then jumped off the chair and came through the bars, to see Hikaru.
"So you are Mokona? You're so cute!" Hikaru said, smiling. She was the only one smiling, though.
"We do have a problem here... We haven't done anything in the study, but we did enter here without permission. She has a reason to be angry."
"But isn't this cage going a bit overboard?" Ilkka asked.
"Besides, it's her fault for being so reckless, leaving the house unlocked.. If this were Tokyo.." Umi said.
This caught the woman's attention. She quickly turned and ran to the cage. Her face was only inches away from Umi's when she asked:
"What did you just say?"
Umi was taken aback from this. 'Maybe I went too far?' "I said, 'If this were Tokyo...'"
The woman shook her head. "I am not asking that, but what you said before that."
"It's your fault for being so reckless, leaving the door unlocked.." Umi said. "Look, I am sorry for entering your home without permission, but we called for you!"
The woman put her hand on her cheek, and began thinking. 'Can it be..? Can these children be...?'
Then she looked at Mokona, who was currently in Hikaru's hands, seemingly overjoyed. 'But if Mokona is this happy...'
"You... are the Magic Knights, am I right?" the woman asked.
Hikaru's eyes turned more stern than before, and she answered: "Yes. My name is Hikaru Shidou."
"Umi Ryuuzaki."
"And my name is Fuu Hououji."
"And? This boy is?"
"...Ilkka. Ilkka Nordman."
"But, according to the legend, there are only three Magic Knights. Yet there are four of you." The woman wondered.
"We received this armor from Clef." Hikaru said.
The name of the Doushi seemed to somehow interest the woman. "I see. So you are the candidates. I am Presea, the Soushi of Cephiro. I apologize for this." Presea said and pulled a lever, and the cage lifted from the floor. "It is my duty to provide you with weapons and Mokona. And, it seems, a place to sleep as well."
"I thank you very much." Fuu said. "It will be of a great help."
"I hope you have more than one spare room, though." Umi said, looking at Ilkka.
"How so?" Hikaru asked, seemingly not understanding Umi's point.
"There's no way I'd sleep in a room with a GUY!" Umi stressed.
Hikaru and Fuu smiled at this comment, and Ilkka looked at Presea.
"I don't care if I need to sleep on the floor, but I ask, might you have another spare room?"
Presea just smiled and replied:
"Don't worry, you don't have to sleep on the floor. I just happen to have a few free rooms which you can use. I take it that you girls don't mind sharing the room with yourselves?"
The girls shook their heads and Hikaru said:
"It's like camping! I don't mind at all!"
"Neither do I." Fuu said.
"Then, let me show you your rooms. This way." Presea said and took off. She lead Ilkka to a small room with a bed in it. There wasn't much else, but it was far better for the night's rest than staying outdoors or sleeping on the floor, so Ilkka didn't complain at all. Instead, he simply wished good night for the others and went to bed. Closing the door, Presea lead the three girls into a room next to Ilkka's, which was much bigger and had a big bed. The girls looked at it in awe and wished good night to Presea, who did the same and left. No one had to wait for sleep, for it had been a tough day for them all. Mokona had fallen asleep in Presea's study at some point, too. Unbeknowst for them though was the fact that Presea never went to sleep, but instead entered a secret portion of the house where she spent the whole night.
The following morning...
Ilkka was the last to wake up. This was proven by the fact that once he got out of his room, he already heard the girls conversing with Presea.
"It's all right, I can handle this much." Presea said.
"Anyway, you said you had something to show us?" Umi asked.
"Yes, once your friend has woken up." Presea replied.
Ilkka approached the girls and spoke up, "If you mean me, then I'm already up, as you can see."
"Very well then, follow me." Presea said, and with that, left the room. Ilkka and the girls followed her to a dark storeroom. "I'm giving you weapons, so go ahead and pick one that suits you."
"My, you're giving us weapons for free? It never goes like this in those roleplaying games..." Fuu said, smiling to Presea, who looked a bit surprised.
"Free? They're not free."
Fuu looked down and simply noted, "Seems like the world is not such an easy place after all."
Umi, who was a bit unhappy about this, asked, "So, do we need to work to pay our debts off?"
Hikaru was frantically searching her pockets in hope for finding some money, but only managed to dig up a single candy. She seemed like she was going to cry, and handed the candy to Presea.
"I'm sorry... I think I forgot my wallet into my bag."
Presea was shocked at Hikaru's words. She was taken aback by Hikaru's kind heart, and closed Hikaru's hand that held the candy. Presea looked at Hikaru, smiling and said, "I don't need payment."
"But... You did say that these weapons are not free?" Ilkka asked, as to set things straight.
Presea nodded. "To wander into the Chinmoku no Mori and head to the Eterna no Izumi without weapons is purely suicidical. That's why..."
"That's why?" Umi asked.
"That's why I'm lending these weapons to you."
"Presea..." Hikaru said, looking happily at the Soushi.
Presea smiled, and that smile turned into a smirk, when she said, "So go get the materials for yourselves."
Ilkka and the girls were taken aback by this. "To find the materials?" Ilkka asked.
Presea nodded. "The weapons for the Magic Knights must be made from the legendary mineral, Escudo."
"Escudo? What is that?" Hikaru asked.
"The strongest mineral in Cephiro." Presea answered.
"I thought we would get weapons made of something like... mithril or something." Ilkka replied.
"Yes, that is common in roleplaying games." Fuu answered.
"Mithril? Roleplaying games?" Presea asked, as she did not understand a thing about the recent conversation. Just like Hikaru, who seemed dumbfounded as well.
"Never mind. So, where do we find this 'Escudo' of yours?" Ilkka asked Presea.
"You need to go the Eterna no Izumi, according to the legend." Presea replied.
"Presea-san, can I ask you, why do we need weapons made out of Escudo? Why do not the weapons you have here suffice?"Fuu asked Presea.
"That is... Only from the Escudo, can the 'Evolving Weapons' be made."
"Evolving... weapons?" Hikaru asked.
"Yes. Weapons crafted from Escudo have the power to transform according to the wielder's will." Presea explained.
"So... the stronger the will of the one who wields such a weapon, the stronger the weapon will be?" Ilkka asked.
Presea nodded.
"That's a convinient weapon!" Umi said. "That way, we do not need to keep buying on better weapons and can save the money for something else."
"That is, if things work out like normal RPGs where all defeated monsters drop treasure..." Ilkka whispered to Umi.
"But, on the other hand, if the user doesn't evolve, neither does the weapon." Presea pointed out.
"Depending on one's point of view, it might yield better results to keep on purchasing better weapons. That way the results are certain to get better, even if the user will not." Fuu said. Ilkka and Presea nodded, while Umi seemed taken aback. Hikaru wasn't exactly clear on the conversation, so she stayed silent.
"Anyway, for you to become true Magic Knights, it is imperative that you get the weapons made from Escudo and evolve them."
"Why is that?" Hikaru asked.
"Because, evolving the weapons serves as one of the keys to revive the Mashin."
"The Mashin?" Fuu asked.
"The Mashin are required for the Final Battle, and it is said that, only by reviving the Mashin, can one truly become a Magic Knight."
"What exactly are... these Mashin?" Ilkka asked.
Presea closed her eyes, replying, "The best way for me to describe them would be... They are creatures of immerse power."
"Creatures... of immerse power?" Fuu asked.
"I have never seen one, so I can't tell you more. But it is said that the Magic Knights recognize them on first sight." Presea asked.
"So, let's go through this once again." Ilkka said, and Presea nodded. "First, we need to choose a weapon?" Presea nodded. "Then we need to go to get the Escudo and bring it back?" Another nod. "After this, we evolve the weapons, revive the Mashin and become Magic Knights, fight the Final Battle and it's all over?"
"Yes, but the journey will be long."
"First of all, where is this Eterna no Izumi the Escudo is at?" Umi asked.
"Mokona knows the way, and will accompany you as a guide." Presea said.
"Mokona? Oh, that little white furball that was wreaking havoc yesterday." Ilkka said.
"Ahh, maybe finally some peace since Mokona isn't around... Maybe my study stays clean for more than two days..." Presea said in a silent, dreamy voice.
"Hmm, now... What weapon to choose... You sure we can choose from any of these?" Ilkka asked. Presea nodded.
"Choose what you think you are most proficient with." She said.
"Then, my choice is this," Umi said and picked up a long, thin sword. It looked like a rapier.
"Ah, yes, Umi said she practiced fencing." Ilkka commented.
"Then my weapon should be this after all." Fuu said, picking up a bow and a quiver of arrows.
"I think this is good," Hikaru said, picking up a broadsword. She turned to the others and asked, "What do you think?"
"Try swinging it around a bit." Presea suggested, and Hikaru did a few practice swings. Everyone was impressed. Presea simply said, "You're a natural talent." This seemed to embarass Hikaru a bit, since she looked at her feet, her face blushing a bit.
"Presea?" Ilkka asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you have shields too?"
"Yes, I do. Are you deciding on taking a shield?"
"I think I will go for a shield, paired with this one." Ilkka said, picking a sword that had an impressive, long blade. The length of the sword, from the handle to the tip of the blade, must have been at least 130 cm. It had to be a longsword, or maybe a bastard sword.
"Fine, but can you manage it?"
"Yeah, I've had practice before."
"Okay, wait a minute while I go get a shield for you."
"Take your time." Ilkka said, and Presea ventured further into the storeroom.
"Have you really used a long sword, coupled with a shield, before?" Hikaru asked. Ilkka nodded and Hikaru seemed excited. "Wow! That is so cool."
"That reminds me, Ilkka-san. May I ask you what you do in your free time?" Fuu asked.
"Fuu, drop that 'san' stuff. In finnish, we have no such honorofixes, or whatever they're called. So I'm not good with those."
"Well then, Ilkka-sa... Ilkka." Fuu said, and upon saying Ilkka's name, looked at her feet, a bit blushing. She raised her head soon and continued. "Would you tell us what you do in your free time then?"
"Well, not much. At least not anymore." Ilkka said, and looked down. He remembered about his past, and got a sad look. He might tell the girls what happened one day, but not yet. "Well, I used to do many things, mostly those kinds of things young people usually do. One of my more... unusual... activities was larping."
"Larping?" Hikaru asked.
Ilkka smiled. Somehow, looking at Hikaru's kind smile seemed to raise his spirits too. "Yes, larping. The word 'larp' stands for live action role playing, and is really fun, especially with the right group."
Hikaru seemed a bit dumbfounded, but nodded still. "It sounds like fun."
"Ah, now I remember. I've heard of this 'larping' before, it is quickly gaining popularity these days." Fuu said. "It's like a normal roleplaying game, but instead of premade characters, you play the main role. Am I right?"
"Well, I was never the main role, but yes, it's like that. I've played a warrior several times, and usually had a shield as well. So my experience comes from there." Ilkka said.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Presea said, holding out a large shield. "Is this one okay?" she asked, giving the shield to Ilkka. Ilkka tried holding it on his left arm, and nodded.
"It's just about perfect. Thank you, Presea."
Suddenly, without any warning, the weapons and the shield turned into lights of different colours and went into the gem on the glove the girls and Ilkka had.
"What's this?" Umi asked, looking skeptically at her glove.
"You received those gloves from Doushi Clef, right?" Presea asked. Everyone nodded. "The weapons went into the gloves, but they will appear in your hands when you will it to happen."
"Talk about convinient." Ilkka said. "This way, I don't have to carry a sword and a shield all the time."
"Now, that you are properly equipped, I think you should leave for the Eterna no Izumi. As I said before, Mokona will show you the way."
As if summoned by mention of it's name, Mokona seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Puu pu puu!"
"Thank you, Presea, for these weapons." Ilkka said.
"I thank you very much. I'm sure these will be of a great help." Fuu said, bowing to Presea as a sign of utmost gratitude.
"We will certainly get the Escudo and come back." Hikaru said, and waved goodbye to Presea.
"Well then guys, let's go to get some Escudo!" Umi said, leading the way outside and away from Presea's mansion. "So, Mokona, which way do we go?"
"Puu, pu pu puu!" Mokona exclaimed and jumped to the nearby surrounding woods, the Chinmoku no Mori. The rest of them followed it into the woods. Behind the youngsters, Presea came to the door of her mansion. She crossed her hands and wished,
"Please, Emeraude-hime... Somehow... Watch over these young ones..."
To be continued...
Author's note: Whew, a big chapter behind. I have to admit, writing this was hard (or not exactly, but FINDING TIME to write it was) since there have been many things happening in my personal life recently. Another thing that has come on the way is the Winter Olympic Games XX in Torino, and being a big sports fun, I'll be nailed to the sofa watching TV most of the day. I also try to find the time to socialize with friends, go out every once in a while (even though it is cold here in Finland) and many other things. I hope I can update again within the next few weeks, but don't count on it. Besides, with every passing page I write, the more I feel I need to revise the whole story thus far and to really work on some things, like my descriptions and my own character. I have a rather good idea of his role in the events to come, about his past (which is fictional, but who cares) and about his strengths and flaws, trying to balance him on about the same level as the original Magic Knights, or maybe a bit below their level. But, anyway, I'll rumble more once I actually upload the next chapter, but I hope that some of you who read this review as well, it is nice to see people giving comments / criticism (where it is appropriate) about the story.