Yo. Lemurian Girl - go read Succession. Just the first chapter. By the time I got to chapter two I lost the "show, don't tell" schematic.
So. In the meantime, I'll just try to find a middle ground.
But... thanks for the review.
Thank you also to Manirin for reviewing.
And if anyone else reviews between the time that I write this and post this, then a subjunctive thank you to you too.
Defiance
Chapter 2
Last time...
"Hey! Who the hell are you? -Bandit Leader-
"You don't need to know my name – you won't live long enough to remember it."-Ephidel-
Ephidel plunged his hand deep within his shirt to reveal... nothing.
Wind etched tiny dust lines around his feet as he fidgeted nervously.
"That would have been much more dramatic if I had had a Fire tome."
Instantly, the bandit leader snorted with a hideous guffaw.
"That is what we call overconfidence," the bandit leader's line was broken with laughter. "Do you have any other antics to pull? Or should I just kill you?"
Ephidel cocked his head up mockingly.
"Overconfidence – that's a hard word. Four, five syllables. It must have taken a couple of months to learn a word that big."
Lowering his head, the bandit leader growled out,
"I guess that means I should just kill you then."
But Ephidel no longer paid attention to the bandit leader, as he conversed in quick, hushed tones with Bishop Aquel.
Finally losing it, the bandit bellowed out a war cry and charged.
Each stride threw dust five meters back, shrinking the distance between the bandit's axe and Ephidel's head rapidly.
But Ephidel was ready.
With one movement, he swept his left foot back in a 120-degree arc, simultaneously prying the Lightning tome out of Bishop Aquel's hand.
"Light of blessed Saint Elimine – guide my hand!"
A heavenly bolt of lightning screamed down from the heavens and with divine accuracy, struck the unwieldy axe from the bandit's hand, at the same time melting the hand.
"Aieeee!"
The bandit leader screamed a piercing tone because of the distress of his liquefied hand.
"What did you do!?"
But the moment that the lightning hit and ran so did Ephidel, who now sprinted past the bandit towards the house of a little boy named Ivan.
The thought of all the bandits, and of many readers too, was this:
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?"
rewind
"I guess that means I should just kill you then."
Ephidel, no longer paying attention to the bandit, quickly asked Bishop Aquel,
"Father, do you know of anyone who has Anima magic in this village?"
"On the North edge of town, there is an orphan named Ivan, who is currently training in Anima magic. Perhaps you can borrow his Fire tome, but how will you get past this ruffian?"
"Don't worry Father, I have a plan."
It was after this small conversation that Ephidel struck, and then took off.
But one question still lingered in Bishop Aquel's mind.
"How can that lad use Light magic?"
Meanwhile, the bandit leader howled out to his entire legion:
"FORGET THE VILLAGE, EVERY BANDIT WORTH HIS AXE, KILL THAT MAN!"
Ephidel, hearing his death sentence, only increased his pace. His head facing down, he tore through the air, but silently thanked Limstella for saving him once again.
"Haha, even after you try to kill me me, you save me..."
Long ago, when Nergal had not entered the lives of Limstella and Ephidel, the two were good friends. One piece of advice that Limstella had given him was to be unpredictable. The very next day, Ephidel informed her that he had just learned how to cast a Lightning spell, which was similar to the Anima: Thunder spell. To this she laughed and said, "Ephidel, don't tell people how you're unpredictable!"
Streets and bandits whizzing by, Ephidel found himself approaching the North side of town. Skidding to a stop, he winced in pain as a few of his bandages had opened.
"Is there anyone named Ivan living near here?"
"Go away!"
The small cry came from a corner house with a red thatched roof. Advancing towards it, Ephidel called out:
"Ivan! Listen to me! I'm going to drive these bandits away, I just need to borrow your Fire tome!"
"You're just trying to trick me into coming out!"
"Please help me! If you don't all these bandits will kill me!"
There was silence for a good 20 seconds, during which time Ephidel stood on end. Finally, he added,
"Bishop Aquel told me your name!"
Then, he heard the smooth sliding sound of a wooden beam across a metal blocking mechanism.
The door opened to reveal a young boy with dirty-looking garments. A ruby-red pigment ran splotched throughout his hair. In his hands, he held an obviously much-used Fire tome.
"Father Aquel sent you? Why didn't you say so in the first place?"
Grateful, Ephidel gave a relieved smile, until he realized that the bandits were still coming after him.
"Shoot!"
Cringing, Ephidel scooped up Ivan with his injured right arm, taking the Fire tome with his other hand.
"Ahh! Put me down!"
But Ivan's protests went unheeded as Ephidel sprinted out of the village. He quickly found himself surrounded by the thick foliage of evergreens.
"Kid, is there a clearing somewhere around here?"
"Put me down and I'll tell you."
"Damnit kid, my arm hurts like hell, and I would gladly put you down, but the bandits will slaughter you - this is no time to be playing games!"
"Grr... Try going that way."
Ivan pointed eastward.
"Thank you."
Just as Ephidel dashed away, the bandits ran to the same area and caught a glimpse of him.
"There he went! That way!"
The bandits chased him into a circular expansive clearing, where they saw a little boy run off into the trees ahead.
"Run, go hide," Ephidel urged.
Ivan nodded and only peered through thick hedges and flora to see what was going on. The axe-wielders had poured into the clearing and had Ephidel blocked from the easiest route of escape – the forest area where he entered the clearing.
"We've got you now!" crowed one axe man.
Ephidel's back was turned from the crowd of brigands. A chilly wind picked up, only heightening the tension. Two heavy feet approached towards Ephidel, crushing the dry twigs and leaves underfoot.
"You! I am going to KILL YOU!"
Ephidel scoffed, just a bit.
"Heh."
"Why are you laughing?!?!" roared the chieftain, "You are about to be in so much pain, you'll beg me to finish the job!"
"You're a fool to have followed me here."
"What?"
"Not only did you fail to realize that I wasn't a specialist in Light magic, but you also gathered all your men here in one convenient location."
"What are you talking about? You're about to die!"
"No. For you see... Now I'm in my element!"
With that last word, Ephidel flipped open the Fire tome, the text inside sparking up with fiery light, radiating a sense of glowing power. Said power generated a flowing energy pulsating through Ephidel's body, all the way to his fingertips. From there, it ignited a roaring mass of semi-contained fire in the smallest possible form: a sphere. Hovering lightly above his hand for not but a second, the flame quickly expanded.
Then, he launched it.
Ivan watched from the sidelines as he watched this mysterious stranger cast fireball after fireball, ruthlessly converting the bandits into corpses. His little mouth hung open from the horror and Ivan was in shock from the odor. How could anyone do something like this?
The heat from the flames starting igniting various plants and greenery, and soon the entirety of the clearing was ablaze.
This had to end.
"STOP!!!!"
Suddenly, Ephidel looked up from his spell casting and realized that the few remaining bandits were pleading for their lives on their knees.
"What am I doing? I'm so sorry... Limstella..."
Those who were left ran, certain to never touch that village again.
Ivan ran to Ephidel, snatched his book away, and kicked him in the shins.
Ephidel didn't even respond. He couldn't feel a thing right now. While little Ivan ran back screaming murderer to the town, Ephidel collapsed from overexerting his wounded body, alongside the blackened corpses of those who were once human beings, under the sizzling brush fire that he ignited.
So, thus far, tell me your thoughts on this. I have a somewhat general direction that I'm going to be going with this, but I'm open to minor plot suggestions.