The Four Arise
A hint of light filtered in through a window overhead, falling over Valor Loftlan's sleeping features. Immediately, he stirred, one sleepy blue eye half-opening before he cringed and rested a beefy forearm over his face.
Full wakefulness took a little more time in coming, as he tossed and turned a bit, before his eyes snapped open and he jerked upright to fling off the quilted comforter. Quickly, he surveyed his surroundings, finding himself in what seemed to be a narrow rectangular bedroom with plain slat-board floors and plastered walls. It seemed there were three other small beds besides his in the room, each harboring a sleeping individual.
Wiping sleep from his eyes, Valor swung his legs over the side, quickly aware that he wore only loose linen breeches cinched with a linen sash. His chest was bare, his shoulder-length brown hair loose, its silver highlights glowing in the early morning light from window over his bed.
He stood, wondering where he was when he noticed the blond girl he had seen so briefly before in the bed next to his. She slept peacefully, her breathing slow, her pretty face serene in slumber. Her long honey-colored hair flowed down over the comforter that was tucked up to her chin.
Valor sighed and wiped a hand over his face, glad he had not awakened her with his thrashing. He had no idea who she was, his most recent memories blurred. He felt, however, that she was incredibly important, though this same feeling welled up for his own presence, and realization came to him.
"I am Chosen, as is she," he whispered to himself. Yes, the Chosen of Water, that is who this girl was, just as he was the Chosen of Earth.
Curiously, the young man moved past the girl's bed and couldn't help but smile at the occupant of the next bed over. It was a wolf-lean young man with sun-brown skin and a head of raven black hair. He wore only a plain sleeveless linen tunic, his breeches much like Valor's own. He seemed to sleep quite fitfully, having kicked his comforter off, and grasping his pillow before him, biting it, one leg twitching.
That same sense of importance flowed from this strange young fellow as it did from the blond girl. Another Chosen then and Valor had no doubt about it. The four were gathered here, in this unassuming room. A strong determination overcame him and he went to the fourth bed to gaze upon the final Chosen.
She was a small girl, perhaps no older than any of the others, himself included. She was slender and even shorter than the other two. It seemed Valor himself was the only one that was truly tall. She slept in a strange sleeveless tunic of what seemed to be beast-hide, with breeches of buckskin. She slept on her back, rod-straight, her mouth pulled down in a scowl. Her comforter was missing. Her hair was short and fiery orange, but most strangely of all, however, was a narrow black mask she wore over closed eyes. Was she some kind of bandit? That seemed impossible. Why would the Crystals choose a lawbreaker as one their champions? From her, Valor sensed slight warmth as well as the same feeling of great importance.
Afterward, he sighed, and went back to his bed, setting down on it to think. He was sixteen today, an adult as far as tradition was concerned in the Kingdom. His father had trained him, and had had him trained by others after his death for what was to come on this day and what was to follow after. Valor remembered his vow to his father and his fists clenched. He would not fail.
"You seem troubled," came a gentle voice and the young man started. The blond girl turned her head, her large hazel eyes opening as she gazed at him.
Suddenly, Valor was very conscious of being half-naked and moved to cover himself with the comforter, but the girl did not even seem to notice, her head turning back to stare at the ceiling. Her gaze held uncertainty.
"You seem so as well," he replied, simply cupping his hands in his lap.
There was quiet between them for minutes before she answered. "I never wanted this duty. I only wanted to be the best white mage I could be. I only wanted to help people."
Valor glanced down, filled with his own uncertainty. He fought off his fears, however, looking over to her. "You will be helping people; all of them, in fact."
She looked over again, with a sad smile on her lips. "I am Sana-Lynn Atha, white mage, and Priestess of the Order of the White Staff. I suppose I am also the Chosen of Water."
Valor returned her smile. "I am Valor of House Loftlan, son of Vinter and Aria, a trained fighter versed in weapons and armor... and the Chosen of Earth."
The girl nodded. "Nice to meet you, Sir Valor."
He scratched his head, a slight heating to his face. "I am no knight. Please, just call me Valor."
She giggled a little. "Very well, Valor, please just call me Sana."
He smiled. "Very well, Sana, I shall."
Afterward, the girl sat up, draped in plain linen robes, and turned her head to look in the other direction. "Do you have any idea who this boy is, the one that looks like he's trying to eat his pillow?"
"Another Chosen, Sana, as is the last in the other bed over. We are all here... the four."
The blond girl brushed loose bangs from her forehead, looking down. "So the time has truly come," she whispered, though more to herself than to Valor, he suspected.
Seeming to summon courage, the girl pushed off her comforter and stood from the bed, taking in the whole of the long narrow room. "We are not in Cornelia," she announced.
Valor looked at her, but knew she was right. There was no buzz here like there was in the city. Even on his secluded estate, Valor had still been able to hear the buzz of daily business, even this early in the morning. "Do you know where we are?"
The girl suddenly looked pensive, but shook her head. "No, I don't. Yet, we must be someplace safe. We were with the Headmaster and your mother when we collapsed."
Valor remembered that now. "Yes, you are right. It seems like a country inn, perhaps. There are many villages radiating out from Cornelia in every direction for miles."
Sana put a finger to her chin. "I wonder how long we've been unconscious."
Valor nodded. Truly, this girl was insightful. "Yes, it must have been some time if we were moved out beyond the city to this place. It might just be a small roadside inn. Why here is the question."
Before they could consider further, a rasping snore turned into a snort and the black-haired boy on the other bed started choking... that promptly woke him. Valor stood to see the boy spring up on his bed, immediately alert, his sharp dark eyes slightly tilted. He crouched upon the bed defensively. Sana stared at him too.
"What in the bloody blazing realm am I doing here? Where is this place? Who the hellfire are you two, and why are you staring at me like I'm a talking ox?" He paused just long enough to look down at himself. "Where are my clothes? Where are my knives? Why does my mouth taste like feathers? Somebody answer me!"
A heated voice did answer as the occupant of the final bed shot up. "You bloody monkey bastard! Why are you yelling at the top of your lungs?" She paused long enough to look down at herself, and growled. "Where the hellfire are my robes? Where's my rod? By the gods, I will have answers, or this place is burning down!" To Valor's surprise strange orange lights suddenly wreathed her, blazing almost as brightly as her glowing eyes.
Sana's reaction was not what Valor expected when she saw the masked girl. "You are a black mage!" she snarled, her fists clenched. "What are you doing here?"
The black-haired boy looked between the two women as they gazed hate at each other, but he just folded his arms. "Hey, you two, don't start a cat-fight with me in the middle, okay." Valor winced as both the girls shifted their glares to the boy, but the other wasn't finished. He stood from his bed, jabbing a finger at the masked girl. "I remember you. I thanked you in the warehouse, and you tried to charbroil me! What's wrong with you?"
The masked girl snarled. "Out of the way, monkey, I have a score to settle with the fool white mage behind you!"
The boy's face darkened, but he quickly turned with a look of wonder at Sana-Lynn. "A white mage... wait, she called you a black mage. Wait, I thought mages were just scholars or something."
The masked girl shoved him out of the way, jabbing a finger at Sana across the bed. "You must be a white mage, I can smell the stink of it on you."
Sana's face tightened, her tone decidedly cold. "That would be your own corruption you're smelling, fiend! I swear that I will not allow you harm anyone."
Valor raised his voice as he came between them. "That is enough, all of you!" Immediately, three pairs of eyes swung toward him, all glaring indignantly, even Sana-Lynn. Suddenly uncomfortable, Valor cleared his throat and pressed on. "We are the Chosen of the Crystals, all four of us. That is as much as I can say for now. I don't know where we are, and I don't know what happened to our belongings, but we must all calm down."
The masked girl gave a contemptuous snort. "Ha, you weak fools are Chosen? You must be joking."
Sana glared at her. "Valor is not joking, black mage. He speaks the truth. I am Sana-Lynn Atha, the Chosen of Water, and he is Valor Loftlan, Chosen of Earth."
The masked girl frowned with disbelief, folding her arms. She didn't say anything though. The black-haired boy did. "What in the bloody bowls of the Abyss are you weenies babbling about?" He shut his mouth afterward though, seeming to remember something himself. His voice became flat. "Right, I'm the Chosen of Wind. The name's Gantz, and we're all bloody fools, by the way."
The masked girl growled like a beast. She looked up at the boy, Gantz, jabbing a finger in his face so quickly that he jerked back. "How dare you talk to me thus, you blasted simian! If I had my rod, you would be nothing but ash that I'd grind under my heel!"
The boy regained himself and scowled, but just folded his arms contemptuously. "Yeah, sure you would, missy. If I had my knives, I'd turn you into mage-kabob before you could even try."
Sana-Lynn shook her head. "She's more dangerous than you can imagine, Gantz. All black mages deal with dark, destructive powers. There is no way she can be Chosen of the Crystals."
The masked girl gave a wicked laugh. "That's right, lesser mage, be afraid. For all your fool notions, however, I am the Chosen of Fire, whether you want to see what's plain before you or not. My name is Robin Magus, and I am the doom of you and your kind!"
Sana replied with an unpleasant grin. "That's not what the histories say."
Valor put his hands up. "Please, enough of this. We are allies, whether we want to admit it or not!" He looked to Gantz and Robin. "You two have your orbs, correct?"
Gantz checked his person. "Damn it all, where is the bloody thing? Wait, I had it in my backpack. Who in the realm took our stuff? Was it you, Sir Muscles?"
Valor's face reddened a bit, and his back stiffened with indignation. "I have never stolen a thing in my life. I have no idea where our belongings are, but I mean to find out."
Gantz frowned at him. "You're a snotty noble aren't you? Yep, I can tell, your nose in the air and all. Every noble I've ever met acts like they have a pike up their bung."
Valor's fists clenched of their own accord. "And what are you then, Master Gantz, some kind of vulgar circus performer? I heard you mention knives, do you swallow them?"
Gantz took a sharp step forward, his own fists clenched. "I'll make you swallow one, you bloody blue blooded bastard!"
Valor's face went white. "How dare you, you wretched urchin!"
Gantz grinned insolently. "Oh my, Lord Valor, is this little urchin getting under you skin?" He barked a laugh.
Meanwhile, Sana-Lynn and Robin stood off to one side, glaring at each other. "You fool lesser mage, how can it be that you are Chosen of the Crystals? I didn't think any of them so weak or foolish."
Sana narrowed her eyes. "Your kind caused the destruction of entire cities and threatened civilization itself with your evil ways. If you knew anything about history, you would know that you are a blight on the world."
Robin shook her head, almost sadly. "Oh, you poor deluded fool. Your version of history is as skewed as your claims to power. Your self-righteous lot attacked my people without hesitation, claiming we were witches and fiends. We did nothing but fight back, and you drove us from our home! I will be damned if anything we did can't be laid at your feet!"
Quickly, all four of them were in a circle, arguing at the top of their lungs, when suddenly their voices vanished from their throats. It took them only seconds to realize it and they stopped arguing. Quickly, Valor noticed two individuals that had entered the room from a stairwell at the far corner. The others did as well, and turned.
Dalton Samar tried to hide an amused grin by stroking his beard, though Aria Loftlan was all poise in an elaborate blue silk dress. The old Headmaster wore plain linen robes, much like Sana-Lynn, though he carried his old ashen staff. "I apologize, young ones, but I had to Mute you. We rented the whole of the inn, but there are still others about, the staff and owner and such down below. Some of the things you were saying must not be known until the right time. Of course, that time is very soon."
Valor forced his anger at Gantz away and unclenched his fists. He had been a fool, letting the skinny urchin goad him like that. Still, he did not like the boy. Gantz glared up at him, before jerking to profile and folding his arms angrily. It seemed the feeling was mutual. Sana-Lynn looked chastened at the Headmaster's words, looking down, though she did spare an irate glance at the black mage next to her. Robin herself quivered in silent fury, her jaw tight, and her eyes blazing. The strange lights around her had winked out upon becoming Muted, however.
Aria looked to them all, her face smooth. Valor knew she was upset as she met his eyes. She had likely expected better from him, as he should have himself. He had tried to calm everyone down. If it hadn't been for Gantz, he would never have lost his temper.
His mother spoke. "I suppose it was prudent to remove your weapons, if this is the kind of uproar you were going to start. Now, like it or not, the four of you have been given the most important duty in this world, and I would have expected you to act a little more like what you are, rather than small children with toothaches."
All of them tried to protest, Gantz and Robin angrily, but the spell was still in place, their voices gone. Aria said nothing further, but came forward. To each, she gave a small wooden box that fit in the palm of their hands, though Robin snatched hers away from his mother, glaring at her. Gantz wasn't much better, though he was looking at the box in his hands doubtfully. Sana looked wary, and Valor knew he wore resolve like a mask.
Aria stepped back, folding her hands down before her as Dalton came up to stand next to her. "We have your equipment in separate rooms where you may change. Make no mistake; you are the four Light Warriors, Chosen of the Crystals, and Champions of the Dawn. Now, if you would continue to doubt, then open the lids of those boxes and have it be made utterly clear to you where your destiny lies." With a quick incantation under his breath, he released the Mute spell.
Valor found his voice returned. The others must have as well, but instead of the outbursts he had expected, a tense silence hung over the other three, as they stared at the boxes in their hands. Valor nodded sharply and opened his box first, depositing the Orb of Earth in his hand. Immediately there was a muted flash and the orb glowed with a solid yellow light. He looked to the others. "I am Valor Loftlan, the Chosen of Earth."
With an angry growl, Robin Magus opened the lid of her box and dumped the orb into her palm. Defiantly, she raised her hand before her and the orb suddenly flared with a blazing orange-red light. "I am Robin Magus, the Chosen of Fire!" she spat, and then glared at the others as if daring them to dispute her.
Sana-Lynn sighed wearily, but opened the lid of her box next and plucked the Orb of Water from it. She then held it out before her and the orb slowly came alive with a coruscating sapphire glow, nearly as serene as the words she spoke next: "I am Sana-Lynn Atha, the Chosen of Water."
Gantz looked at them all as if hunted, wiping his free hand down his face before finally opening the lid of his box and holding forth his orb. A gray-green light flickered and flared and a small burst of wind buffeted the others before dissipating. Hesitantly, he spoke: "Yeah, um... I'm the Chosen of Wind... I guess. The name's Gantz, in case you missed it the first time."
After they all had spoken, the orbs glowed brighter, until the individual colors were gone, replaced by a pure white light that filled the bedroom.
With the dawn you arise...
To go forth with our blessing...
Our salvation secure in your souls...
You, the Champions of all life...
…Warriors of Light.
Afterward, the light faded, and there were no words to be said. They all just stood, awe shining in their eyes. Valor knew his gaze was no different, his blue eyes fixed on the orb in his hand, dormant now. A sudden weight settled about his shoulders, and fear tried to weigh him down, to muddle his mind, but he gritted his teeth in sheer determination and the sensation fled. No, it did not just flee; it was destroyed, dissipating around him as if his sudden awareness of it was a catalyst that dissolved it. "Be gone!" he said.
Sana-Lynn spoke with a quiet dignity. "You will have no power over me."
Robin roared. "I am the one you shall fear!"
Gantz grinned wickedly. "You don't stand a chance, now."
Valor blinked afterward, a little dizzy, but suddenly he felt weightless, as if he were floating. With this feeling flowing through him, his blue eyes hardened with his soul's resolve. He looked over at Dalton and his mother, then at the other three Light Warriors. "Come, we must prepare."
They all looked at him with a similar resolve hard in their eyes and nodded.
IIIIIIIIII
That strange sensation had left Sana-Lynn feeling almost giddy. She had realized it was the Crystal of Water trying to buoy her, to wash her fears away. In its weakened state, however, the Crystal could only do so much and all Sana's doubts had returned. She knew then that her inner trials were only just beginning. The Crystal would help her as it could, but Sana would have to find her own way free of her fears.
She stood in a single bedroom across a narrow hall from the others. She was alone in here, the traditional clothes of her order laid out on the small bed before her. Her ashen bow and quiver of arrows leaned against one wall, her ashen staff against another. She removed the plain sleeping robes and began dressing, her mind distant all the while.
She wasn't fully certain of what she felt about the other three. Robin Magus angered her, and not just because she was so abrasive. How could a black mage be Chosen? The histories she had studied for so long had painted the black mages as vile and twisted sorcerers that killed without compunction, causing havoc and destruction on unprecedented scales before Alexander Samar had led the first white mages against them, to save civilization.
Sana shook her head, still in disbelief of the black mage's inclusion, as she pulled on the knee-high white boots over her white breeches. She then pulled the white supertunic over her head before settling the sturdy white cloak about her shoulders, red triangles sewn all along its hem.
The black mage aside, Sana-Lynn thought she could trust Valor Loftlan completely. The Chosen of Earth seemed to radiate trustworthiness and strength, a solidity she could not help but admire. Yet, he had his doubts as well, she had sensed that much about him.
A small smile touched her lips when she thought of Gantz. He just seemed... humorous. If Valor was some type of warrior, trained in martial combat, she wondered what Gantz was. He had never said, though he had mentioned knives. Perhaps he was another type of fighter. She herself had only limited martial training, with the staff and the mace. Her bow was the only weapon she felt she would be truly competent with in an actual battle. Above all, it would be the Holy that was her greatest ally, the source that granted her access to white magic.
Trying to gather her resolve, Sana secured her bow and quiver, and then took up her white staff. Afterward, she went toward the door to meet the others… to meet destiny.
IIIIIIIIII
Gantz shook his head furiously. It was their fault, damnit! They had tricked him into this! He didn't want to have anything to do with grumpy crystals, or ancient prophecies, or the gods alone knew what else he would get dragged into. He still didn't know what it really meant to be a Light Warrior, except for the fact that he was going to have to deal with a pushy, uptight, noble all throughout it.
The boy growled. Valor – could there be a more pretentious name! – Loftlan was probably a knight or something like it. If Gantz thought nobles were bad, knights were ten times worse. Touchy, bombastic bastards the whole lot of them, and he was supposed to go on some kind of quest with one? Well, that was just bloody wonderful!
Gantz ground his teeth. Not him, oh no, if bloody Valor Loftlan thought Gantz was going to hunker down and toady to him, he had another thing coming. The boy suddenly smiled. The pompous fool would probably have apoplexy when he found out Gantz was a Master Thief. He would probably splutter about the law and whatnot and try to arrest Gantz then and there. Every other knight Gantz had ever run across had tried to do the same, if they didn't just try to stick a bloody sword through him.
"Bloody blue blooded bastard!" he growled, then sighed and looked at the small bed before him. His dark clothing was there, freshly laundered, and he removed his plain linen garments to get dressed.
Anyway, the bloody noble aside, he knew he didn't like the masked girl – Robin was her name. If Valor had a stave shoved up his bum, she must have a bloody battle-axe shoved up hers, and twisted besides. She was always yelling and quivering with rage. By the gods, she looked like she might explode anytime. It was hard to trust any of that kind, not that he trusted any of them really, but the black mage made him nervous. He had already seen what she could do, and he knew he couldn't let his guard down around her.
He supposed he was some kind of fool hero now, so he didn't bother wrapping the black coif around his face. Instead, he took the dark cloth and wrapped it about the top of his head like a scarf, covering his hair and knotting it at the back of his head. He then shrugged himself into the dark leather cuirass, as well as greaves and fingerless gauntlets that still allowed him good dexterity. He couldn't wear his vest over the armor, so he simply put his thieves tools in a leather case in his backpack before strapping it tightly to his back. His throwing daggers were already in place all about him, and he sheathed his dual long knives, one over each hip.
Afterward, he stood, wearing black from head to toe and thought about the white mage. Sana-Lynn seemed decent enough, and she was pretty to boot. He still didn't trust her, since he had only thought the people in the White Temple were just scholars that studied old tomes all day long. If they were actually mage mages, then they must have some kind of power. It was something Gantz had no experience with and that meant he would watch Sana-Lynn just as closely as he did the other mage.
Shaking his head wearily, the boy moved toward the door, dreading what was to come.
IIIIIIIIII
In his own bedroom, Valor felt another weight settle over his shoulders. Not the strange fear from before, but duty, heavier than he had ever felt it. It was a boulder on his back, but he would carry it resolutely no matter what came. That was the vow to his father; that was what it entailed.
He quickly fit on a plain breastplate, securing its straps. His plain steel pauldrons were then cinched in place, covering his shoulders. Afterward, he added greaves and sabatons over his boots, and then strapped the steel gauntlets over his forearms and hands.
As he took up a sheathe that held a plain-hilted bastard sword, his eyes narrowed at the thought of Gantz. He really did not like the boy. There was just something smug about him. That one was too sure by half. Valor didn't even know what Gantz did, but he had a feeling it was not good. That feeling alone made him nearly incredulous that the boy could be Chosen of the Crystals.
Valor sighed as he took up a plain kite shield, its face painted white with a rampant black bull upon its center. Robin Magus would be a trial; there was no doubt about it. She would rage at anyone that might think they knew better than her, and she would get them all into trouble. She was the type to laugh off danger, and Valor didn't know if there was a bone of caution in her body. Oh, she was honorable, he was certain, but her brand of honor was a scathing prickly sort. Valor had the feeling he would be fighting her nearly as much as any foes. She really didn't seem the type to work with others, even incidentally.
As he headed for the door, he thought again of Sana-Lynn. She seemed the most stable of the other three, perhaps even more so than himself. There was a gentle strength in her, he had sensed as much when the orbs had shone, something serene yet inexorable. But there had been fear as well. He could not blame her; he had his own worries to contend with. This was all still so huge and he had no idea what to expect.
Regardless, he placed the iron circlet upon his brow to hold his hair back, and then went through the door to meet his destined charges once again.
IIIIIIIIII
Robin slammed her door shut, before going up to the bed and pounding it with her fists till her arms ached. Fools, every bloody blasted one of them!
She snatched her robes from the bed and fit them upon her, before placing the wide-brimmed peaked hat upon her head. She barely noticed that her robes were new black cloth, and that they were no longer travel worn. Instead, she grabbed her charred rod and the sigils of fire immediately flared up about her. She quivered there, her rod gripped so tightly in both hands that they shook.
How dare they. How dare they!
That white mage, a bloody ignoramus, self-righteous and totally assured that the blather she had spouted was anywhere near the truth! Dim blasted bloody fool! She would learn, however. Oh yes, that foolish nit would feel the true wrath of a black mage and she would quail before it!
Then there was that blasted monkey, threatening to turn her into what – mage-kabob! Ha! If anyone was going to do any cooking, it was she, that fool's boasts notwithstanding. That her lightning could not affect him was a trifle, yet maddening all the same. She would freeze his worthless hide in place, and then burn him to ash where he stood. She would like to see that monkey try and jump around then!
And that other bloody fool, the one she had been searching for all this time: the Chosen of Earth. She had thought if there was one of other the three that had sense, it might have been him, but apparently she'd been quite wrong. He had tried to give her orders, like she was some sort of dumb bumpkin in from her country farm! The very thought made her shake furiously.
She would teach them all where true power lie, and when Robin finished strapping her leather sandals about her feet and shins, she stalked toward the door with a mind to do just that.