Chapter 2: Separated
The sound of birds chirping nearby caused me to stir in my sleep. I started to slowly slip back into consciousness. Did I die? Was this heaven? As I started to move my body, I could feel a sharp pain in my chest. I clenched the spot, groaning under my breath. Nope, can't be heaven if I'm feeling pain.
"It's about time you woke up!" Said a familiar woman's voice. I opened my eyes, letting the bright morning light shine on them, causing me to squint. I lifted my head off of the pillow that it was rested on. It felt so heavy for some reason, like someone tied a dumbell to my forehead. When I finally had the strength to lift it up, I turned to look at the owner of the voice.
"...Rona...what…where am I?...OWW" I yelled as I clenched my chest again. Trying to sit up was definitely a bad idea at that point. It seemed like lifting my head was all I was able to do.
"Easy now, you have some broken ribs so don't try to sit up too fast" The magic user said as she laid me back down. All of a sudden, jumbled memories of what happened starting to pop up in my head. It felt almost like a jigsaw puzzle that was putting itself together. "You're in the guest room of my house."
I glanced around in a daze. The room was pretty much empty. A few boxes here and there, a dresser, some rugs here and there, but that was it. She was definitely not one for being creative and/or unique in designing things. I learned that much from her wall.
"What...what happened to me?" I asked, still trying to get my bearings. It didn't help when I was met with a hard 'bonk' to my head from the mage. It didn't really hurt, but I still instinctively lifted my hands up to my head to protect myself. I looked to see Rona with a not-so-happy look on her face.
"You're really an idiot, you know that? I'd of hit you harder if you weren't injured. What were you thinking back there? Running off like that, you could've died!" Rona said, now with a worried look on her face. At that point I remembered the part she was talking about, and a feeling of guilty came over me.
"Oh yeah, sorry about that. I figured if I'd of told you my plan, you would've stopped me."
"Of course I would've! I was perfectly capable of protecting you! What, did you just not trust me?"
I was really surprised at how sincere Rona was about all of this. At first, she seemed really aloof. Like she didn't care about her position, or her job too much. Maybe I really didn't trust her to protect me back then, and that's why I ran. Even after I saw her amazing power...no, that wasn't it. I knew she could've protected me.
"It's not that I didn't trust you...it's just that...I didn't want to risk you getting hurt in the process. We could've both died there, and I didn't want to take that chance. If I could of saved you, it'd be worth it." I said with a smile on my face.
There was a silence in the air for a bit. I sat there, awaiting another smack to the head...but nothing came. Rona just looked at me with wide eyes. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't expecting that answer. Whether or not that was a good thing, I'm not sure yet. The Archmage lowered her gaze after a good few seconds. Finally, she spoke up.
"You're really annoying, you know that?" Rona said under her breath.
I couldn't help but burst into laughter after that, causing the mage to jump surprisedly. I'm not sure why I laughed so hard, I just felt like I should at that point. There was too much tension in the air, so I guess I thought a good laugh would help ease it...then I remembered, oh yeah, I have broken ribs!
"HahahaaaAAAAHHOWWW!" I said as I grabbed my chest again. Rona rolled her eyes at my stupidity.
"My gosh, you never cease to amaze me with your idiocy." The mage said. She reached down to the floor and picked up what looked like a bandage. She started to unroll it. "I healed you as much as I could with my magic, but I'm still a beginner when it comes to that stuff. Minor wounds are pretty much all I can do right now, yours were far beyond what I could handle."
After she said that, I remembered when the mage picked me up off the ground with her water magic and healed me. That feeling of being wet and dry at the same time was so weird, it still made my skin tingle. All I had back then was scrapes and small cuts, but I never thought that'd be her limit. I guess even Archmages have things they're bad at. Well...magic wise anyway. Rona was definitely bad on a number of other things.
Rona's face sunk as she lowered the bandage. A look of concern came over her face. I'm not sure what I did this time, but I knew it wasn't good. She thought for a bit before she said anything.
"It's weird though...I know my healing magic is weak, but it's never been that weak. I was barely able to do anything to your injuries. It was almost like...the magic just bounced off of you when I tried." Rona said with worry in her voice.
"You were probably just weaker than you thought you were from keeping up that wall, and on top of that you created that forcefield too. I'm sure if you gave it a few days, you'd be able to heal me up in no time!" I said, trying to be positive.
I gave Rona a thumbs up, along with a huge smile. She appeared to not pay me any mind as she continued to ponder what happened. Obviously that wasn't the only thing that troubled her.
"That's another thing...A barrier is very difficult to break through from the inside. When you ran off before, you broke through mine so easily." Rona said.
I don't remember much about that moment, it all happened so fast. I don't even remember what it felt like, breaking through the barrier. I do know that it didn't stop me in the least though. I had a mission in mind, and I didn't think about anyone else. Maybe her barriers were weak to dumb willed people like me? is that even a thing?
Rona finally seemed to snap out of her daze, shaking her head.
"I don't know, I'm probably just overthinking it." Rona said, trying to get her thoughts straightened back. "Alright, now take off your shirt so I can patch you up."
The change of topic jarred me a bit, but I was able to avert my attention back to the here and now. I felt around my body a bit, seeing if I could feel anything out of place...don't ask me why. It wasn't like I was gushing blood or anything, so I didn't really need to be wrapped up. However, I decided against arguing with her again. I'm pretty sure she was just doing what she thought she should be, making note that first aid wasn't her forte either. I did as she said without any retort.
It definitely hurt, but I managed to get my shirt off finally. That's when I was able to really see the damage that had been done. All around my body were huge black and blue spots. I was bruised from head to toe. I had scrapes and cuts all along my torso. I guess that must of happened when I fell through the tree...wait...I actually remember that?
"I remember falling through a tree, but how was I there in the first place?" I asked.
Rona appeared to pay me no mind at first as she waved her hands upwards. I lifted my arms up, assuming that's what she meant. The higher I lifted them up, the more it hurt, but it wasn't beyond what I could bear. The mage proceeded to start wrapping the bandage around my chest.
"That probably happened after you got thrown skyward." She answered.
"Wait, thrown skyward? what do you mean? what exactly happened to me?" I asked. Flinching in pain after she hit a tender spot.
"Don't you remember? You got chucked about a mile away by that earth troll. We thought for sure you were dead. It took us a while, but we finally found you lying on the ground, somehow alive. You didn't even have that much damage done, just some broken ribs, and a lot of scrapes and bruises. From a throw like that...I still don't understand how you lived"
The image of that moment started to form itself in my mind. I remembered taunting the troll, to which he decided to give me a club sandwich to the face. Before he did though, I was saved by...by…
"There were other people that were there too. They were the one's that saved me from getting my head smashed in"
"Oh, those 2? Yeah, they like to hang around that area a lot. It's kinda home to them."
I woulda thrown myself up again, but I knew better at that point. Didn't want to injure myself anymore then I already had, and Rona probably wouldn't like it if I messed up her bandage job. Instead, I just let a huge hopeful smile speak for my excitement.
"Who are they? Can I meet them? I need to at least thank them for saving me!" I asked earnestly. I knew I probably sounded like a child, but I didn't care. I had yet to see anything out of the ordinary today, besides the troll, and I was eager to. Like what those 2 did in order to take out that beast. Now THAT could be something to write home about!
"Wooow, hold up now. Why don't you get yourself healed up first. Those 2 are back in the forest, so you won't be seeing them anytime soon regardless."
Rona finished wrapping the bandage around my chest, tapeing the end on so it would stay. I lowered my arms and tested it out to see if it was comfortable. Wasn't the best mending job I'd ever seen, but I could live with it. So long as it didn't suffocate me.
"Thanks, I owe you one." I said as I started putting my shirt back on, now in a little less pain.
"I did it for you this time, but you're going to need to change it again and I probably won't be around to help." Rona said as she sat back down in the chair she was sitting in previously. She sighed a heavy sigh, rubbing the back of her neck in exhaustion. "Danget, why did I have to be the one that had to protect you?"
Right after she said that, my thoughts instantly flashed back to the fall. It was a word that she said that triggered it...it was 'protect'. That word...I remember hearing it...I heard it while I was falling. Someone said it, and something happened when said person did.
"Hey, Rona?" I asked in a serious tone.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Back in the forest...when I was falling...I think someone else saved me."
Rona stopped what she was doing, and gave me a confused look. She studied me for a few seconds as if she was trying to determine whether or not I was making that up. It didn't take her long to respond back this time.
"Are you sure you didn't just hit your head? As far as I know, there is no one else that lives in that forest. When we found you, you were alone."
I started rubbing my head, trying to pull out the memories of what happened. The only thing that came to my mind was an object...an object that flew at me...it was the object that protected me. It was also...it was also shaped like a ball.
"It was a ball, or at least an object shaped like a ball." I said.
"What do you mean a ball? Are you saying someone else saved you with a ball?" Rona said, not sure if she should laugh at how ridiculous that sounded, or be concerned that I really did hit my head.
"Yes...and no...I'm not sure exactly. When I was falling through the tree, I heard this voice say 'protect', that's when the thing came flying at me, the ball I mean. It shielded me from the fall, and I'm pretty sure it's why I'm still alive!" I said, the words coming out faster and faster. I had remembered everything now.
This time Rona had a definitive look on her face. It was a look of pure shock, that quickly changed to concern. She stayed there for a few seconds like she was trying to figure out what to say. Now I was starting to get worried at this point.
The mage threw herself off the chair and walked to the end of the room. Grabbing a handle on the wall, she slide open the door to what appeared to be a closet. I didn't even notice that before, it was so well hidden.
The woman began rustling around inside the closet. I couldn't see what she was looking through, and it really annoyed me. I was curious at this point. If ever you wanted to get me mad, just peak my interest in something and completely leave me out of it. I tried sitting up to get a better angle, but the bandage along with my injuries restrained my really well.
"What are you looking for?" I asked, really hoping for an answer and maybe an explanation.
Suddenly, rona started chucking books out of the closet one after the other. The books looked really old, I don't think throwing them like that was really good for them! Either Rona wasn't into reading, or this was actually something serious! Wait...why does she have books in her closet in the first place? Ever heard of a bookshelf?
"No, not that one…..no…..nope…..not that one either." Rona said with each book she tossed out.
"Can you please tell me what's going on? I'm DYING to know over here!" I asked.
"AHA, here it is!" the mage exclaimed.
Rona stood up, holding a large book in her hands. It looked similar to a Bible with its leather bindings and golden edged pages, but definitely a lot older than any I've ever seen. That was probably due to how long it had been in that dusty old closet. It had words on the front that I could barely make out as "Champion Codex."
The woman starting flipping through the pages, one after another. She was so focused, I'm not sure I could get her attention even if I wanted to. Instead, I just decided to twiddle my fingers like a madman.
"Here!" Rona said, finally stopping at a certain page.
"YES, FINALLY" I rejoiced as I threw myself up again. This time, I didn't even care how much it hurt. I wanted to know what the big fuss was about. Rona turned the book around so the page she was on was facing me.
"Was it her?" Rona asked.
On the page there was a picture of a woman. The woman was made of entirely metal, even her hair. She had intense, glowing blue eyes that could look right through you. Her upper torso hovered in mid air overtop of her lower half. Around her waist she had a strange metal skirt that also appeared to be hovering. I recognized the lady instantly as a certain memory finally came back!
"THAT'S HER! she was the one that saved me!" I yelled in excitement as I threw myself out of the bed. I didn't even feel my wounds anymore thanks to the adrenaline rush I just got. The bandage also probably helped a bit.
Rona's expression changed sour. She slammed the book closed, and threw it on the bed. It bounced a few times, causing dust to float off of it.
"So that's where she's been...I can't believe I never noticed her presence." Rona said as her attention went elsewhere.
"Who is she? WHAT Is she? Why was she there? I'd really like to know!" I said anxiously.
Rona gave me a stern look, causing me to wince a little bit. She could get pretty intense when she wanted to, that's for sure.
"Her name Is Orianna if you must know! She's extremely dangerous and you need to stay far away from her, do you understand?" Rona said pointing her finger at me.
Orianna...that name rang a bell, but I couldn't place where I'd heard it before. I mean, I could just be remembering someone by that name, so I'm not positive it's her I'm thinking of. For sure though, I've heard that name.
"Who is she though? I mean, why is she out there in that forest? You acted like you were surprised when you found that out, why?" I asked. I was sick of being left in the dark on this. Call it being selfish, but I wanted to know.
"It's not important. All you need to know is she's an enemy, that's it." Rona answered.
"IT IS IMPORTANT! She saved my life!" I yelled fiercely.
"No she didn't! She did what she was programed to do!"
I dead silence filled the room. I let my rage leak out of me as I lowered my arms. I took a deep breathe before speaking again.
"What do you mean programed?" I asked.
"I don't know how you missed it, but Orianna is a robot! She's programmed to protect people in trouble. She didn't save you because she wanted to. Her thoughts, feelings, emotions, all of them programmed."
I completely lowered my hands as a defeated look came over my face. It isn't like I failed to realize she was a machine. I knew what she was the moment I saw her. I could guess that her actions weren't from her own will...but does that really change the fact?
"It's the same for when people pose a threat to her. It doesn't matter who they are or what their actual motives may be. If anyone comes off as hostile to her then she will stop at nothing to kill them!"
My thoughts instantly went back to the mechanical girls face after she saved me. The smile she had back then. She seemed pleased that she had done something good. She was happy that she saved me. Nothing about her seemed violent to me, quite the opposite.
I wanted to retort back to the mage, but the words just kept failing to exit my mouth. Everytime I was about to say something, a warning sign went off in my head. Like what I was about to say was dumb, and would only make the situation worse. Maybe at this point, it was best to just let things go.
Suddenly, the sound of a door getting thrown open echoed through the house. Rona perked up instantly at the sound of it. It startled us both, as we each jumped about a foot off the ground.
"Lady Rona! Are you here Lady Rona!?" came the voice of a man. From his tone, I could tell he was extremely frightened about something. It didn't take long for him to see the archmage in the door, because he responded soon after, "There you are, Milady!"
I watched as a large man came sprinting into the room. He had messy black hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in months, and a scruffy beard. His eyes were a dark green and very bloodshot. He wore very heavy iron armor that looked too big for his body. It seemed to shake with every step he took. Around his waist dangled a sword that looked about the size of my body. I couldn't believe someone could actually lift something of that size!
Rona's expression and actions completely changed after she realized who the man was. She straightened herself up, and gave him a concerned look. It was almost like they were talking with their expressions.
"Connor, what is it? You usually don't barge into my house unless it's an emergency." Rona said almost sarcastically, but with such a serious tone you could hardly tell.
The man stopped to catch his breath for a second. He bended over and put his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. I could imagine running in all that armour would tire you out pretty quickly. I doubt I could even stand up with it on.
"We-...we're under attack...a Deathmage has breached our walls. It's only one, but he was powerful enough to break through all of our defenses!" The man said, as he finally caught wind of himself.
Rona's eyes widened. She spared no time in asking questions as she darted back to the room. Throwing open the drawer of her dresser, she pulled out a small wand. It looked like nothing I had ever seen before. It's markings looked like that of an ancient civilization. I didn't have much time to observe it before the mage shoved the thing into her robe.
"How long has it been inside? Do you know what level it is?" Rona asked as she threw a cloak over her shoulders, tieing the thing around her neck.
"Not long, probably a few minutes at most. The other mages there were saying that it was a lvl 5."
Rona gave a heavy groan under her breath. At this point I was extremely confused as to what was going on once again. This was the second time I'd seen Rona so serious. The first was obviously when the earth troll attacked us. One things for sure, Rona didn't take her duties as an Archmage lightly. I turned to look at the man who was still standing at the door, now impatiently.
"What's going on? What's a Deathmage?" I asked the soldier.
The man stopped his antsing, and looked at me with a shocked expression. He acted like he didn't even notice I was there before. I know I didn't stand out much, but come on!
"Look kid, I don't know who you are, but you don't wanna get yourself mixed up in this. A Deathmage is an extremely powerful sorcerer that's strength surpasses even an Archmages. That's all you need to know." He answered.
A being that possessed stronger magic than even an Archmage? I had never heard of such a thing! Did something like that really exist? I was starting to question everything I had learned back in school. They told me that the Archmages were the most powerful beings to ever exist! Now this man is telling me that they're not? I don't know to believe anymore.
In what seemed like no time at all, Rona was prepped and ready to go. She grabbed a really small object off the top of her desk as the last thing, and shoved it in her mouth. I had no idea what it was, but I could guess that it was probably some kind of medicine. Perhaps a pill that increased her magic power or something.
"Alright, let's go!" Rona said as she walked up to the man. "explain the details to me on the way."
The man gave a heavy nod as he ran towards the front door with Rona following behind her. I was still pretty lost as to what was going on, and I wasn't about to have them leave without knowing more. Of course, I didn't want to hold them back, so I just decided on another strategy.
"Take me with you!"
"NO!" Rona said instantly, almost like she expected me to say that.
"I can't just sit here and be useless! I can't fight obviously, but I can help others that need it!" I said, desperately trying to defend my case.
Rona threw her hands together as she chanted the words "Binding Light". I didn't have anytime to react before a bright coil of magic began to form around me. It wrapped around my body, impairing my movements.
"Nrghh, Seriously?" I said in disgust.
" I know you, and if I don't manage to hold you down, you're going to come no matter what I say." Rona answered.
I watched helplessly as the mage and soldier walked towards the door. There was nothing I could do. Rona figured my motives out pretty quick. If you wanted to keep me out of a situation like this, there'd be no other alternative than to lock me down.
"Those bindings are strong enough to hold a demon, so I wouldn't try breaking them If I were you. You'd just end up injuring yourself more." Rona said as she threw on a pair of leather boots.
The soldier was already out the door. He didn't pay me a second glance as he left. I'm assuming that meant he pitied how pathetic I was, and he didn't want me to see it in his face. I watched as he heaved a heavy sword out of the ground and threw it over his back. He definitely looked like a real soldier now.
Rona turned and pointed her finger at me aggressively.
"I better see you lying in that bed when I get back!" Rona demanded.
"No promises." I answered with a snark.
The mage rolled her eyes before she ran out the door, slamming it behind her. I could tell she wanted to say more, but she didn't have the time to. I stood there in dead silence. I knew there had to be someway that I could break free of this spell. There is no way I was gonna sit here and not do something.
I began to look around the room for anything I could use. This was the house of an Archmage after all, there had to be something. With how dull and bland the whole place was, it shouldn't be hard to find something magical. The first place I decided to look was the closet. Maybe one of the books in there had something. Possibly a way to break this thing.
I walked over to the closet and opened it. Inside I saw a huge pile of books scattered everywhere. It was as if someone just tossed em all in with no rhyme or reason. Again I ask, has she never heard of a bookshelf?
I bent over and started picking up every single one. vaguely looking over all of their designs. I had no idea what I was looking for, so this would probably take a while. I finally decided to open one of the books. A puff of dust went everywhere as I threw open the pages. I waved my hands around me, shooing away the particles. It was then that I finally realized something pretty obvious, and stopped what I was doing.
"Wait a second...aren't I binded?...how am I?..."
I threw myself up as fast as I could with my injuries. I stretched my arms out infront of me, looking over my entire body. Sure enough, the binding was gone. Did it happen when I opened the books? No, it happened way before that. How did I not realize...for that matter, how did this even happen? Did Rona accidently release the spell or something? I was beyond confused. I looked around me to see if there was something or someone that was responsible, but there was nothing.
Since I met Rona, I've been having similar things like this happen. I had chalked it up to Rona's magic being out of wack, but it's happened too many times to be a coincidence. Something was definitely different about me, I just had no Idea what.
At this point, I decided to not question it and just accept it. I had to help, despite Rona's demands. She may hate me after this...well...unless I died, then I wouldn't need to worry about it. I wasn't gonna dwell on that though.
As I ran towards the door, I was halted by a loud scream. It caused me to jump a bit. Flailing my arms around I attempted to catch my balance. I grabbed my chest as a familiar sharp pain coursed through my body. I gotta stop doing that, or Rona's right, I'm going to end up hurting myself more.
"AHHHH, HELP ME!" said the voice of what sounded like a young girl. I knew there was no way I could ignore that now. I straightened up, and pushed away the pain. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but those thoughts never seemed to occur to me until after I did something. Hence why I made a lot of stupid choices.
I opened the door, letting in a bright light. I squinted, covering my eyes with my hands. I had been inside too long, I was adjusted to the dark. I looked to my surroundings, trying to make out anything.
We were definitely in a wooded area. Trees surrounded the house from all sides. I had hoped we were actually in the town, but knowing Rona, it's no surprise she'd want to be more secluded. She didn't seem like the social type.
I saw a shed in front of me that appeared to have been built 500 years ago. The thing was so old, I couldn't believe it was still standing. I tried to picture what Rona was keeping in there, and all that came to mind was piles and piles of dusty books.
The scream echoed through the air again, snapping me back into reality. I nearly forgot what I was doing. I got my bearings and took off in the direction of the sound. It was close, I could tell that much. I would definitely have to take a trip through the forest if I was going to find her.
I pushed passed branches, letting them scrap me slightly. The trees were so thick, it took me forever to finally get to a clearing. I clenched my chest again, the pain was getting worse but it wasn't beyond what I could handle. When I finally stopped I listened for another sound from the girl. A scream would help right now, as bad as that sounds.
It didn't take long for just that too happen. The girl let out another scream that echoed through the woods. It was even closer this time. I finally decided to call back.
"HEY, OVER HERE!" I screamed.
I listened again for a response, but there was nothing. This was getting me nowhere. I had no idea where the sounds were coming from. Actually, it almost seemed like they were coming from all different direction. Letting out a loud groan, I looked around to try and see anyone.
To my great joy, I managed to spot a figure in the distance behind the trees. I smiled as I took off towards them. This had to be them, It just had to. Who else would be out in these woods?...seriously, who, cause I have no idea.
"HEY, I'M HERE! I CAN HELP YOU!" I screamed as I got closer to the girl. She made no movements at all the entire time. Could she not hear me?
"HEY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?" I screamed again.
As the person finally started to take shape, I soon recognized who it was I was running towards. Her metallic body shimmered in the light that shined through the trees. Her upper body hovered over her lowers, and her skirt seemed to dance around her waist. On her back she had a windup device like you would see on a music box or something. It turned ever so slowly in a jagged and not very smooth manor. My run turned to a slow walk as I got closer.
"Wait...is it you?" I asked the metal lady.
I stood there for a bit, just watching her. She didn't seem to notice me at first as she continued to face the other direction. I took a few steps closer. I didn't want to risk surprising her, remembering Rona's words. She could have some sort of defense mechanism or something. I had no idea what I was going up against here, and even though I was kinda curious, I didn't want to learn by being the test subject. I decided to try and get her attention as smoothly as I could.
"Um...hey there...do you remember me? I'm the guy that you saved back there in the forest. You know, the one that fell from the tree." I said in almost a whisper. I was sure that I was close enough for her to hear me though.
I watched as the robotic woman finally responded. She turned her upper torso around in my direction. Her glowing blue eyes seemed to lock onto mine. I instinctively took a step back, as the tiniest bit of fear came over me. It didn't help with what she finally said to me.
"I...sAvED YoU...noW, I mUSt KiLL yoU"