CHAPTER 1: THOUGHTFUL IDEAS FOR AN EPIC NOVEL
Owain raised his sheathed sword above his head and said "As I raised Sieglinde, I call upon the power of the Divine Heaven. A ball of fire divides the clouds and blessed my sword, imbued it with great power. I ready my blade to attack!" Then he made a vertical slash towards Morgan, "BLAZING SWOOOORRRRDDD!"
"Forget it!" said Morgan, using his tome as a shield. "I blocked your attack and redirect it to your partner. Ha!" He did a pushing act using his tome towards Cynthia.
"Nah ah!" exclaimed Cynthia while she jumped sideways. "I dodged that attack. Even I am weak, I can finally use my trump card:" she twirled her lance above her head, then assumed combat pose. "My trusty spear Sigmund is fully charged. I prepare to attack. Fiery Judgement!" then performed a stab at Morgan. "KYAAH!"
Owain added. "I use what power is left in my sword and joined in." He performed another vertical slash. "Blazing Sword combined with Fiery Judgement! It became a powerful attack, The Resurrected Flying Phoenix!"
"Too slow! I evaded the deadly blow!" said Morgan while sidestepping. Then he addressed his two playmates. "It seems we're evenly matched! Such battle will only end in a draw. When we meet again, both of you won't stand a chance! I swear!"
"We'll never let you get the best of us, mortal enemy!" said Cynthia.
"And when you get back, fiend, we will put you down." said Owain. "That is a promise I intend to keep!"
There was a pause. Then slowly, they grinned at each other and laughter bursts out from them.
"Oh Hahaha! That was great!" said Owain.
"Oh, yeah." said Morgan. "I think that was one of our greatest play, ever."
"Yep! Totally agree with you, Morgan." said Cynthia. Then she faced Owain. "Hee! Don't forget to add this in your novel, Owain!"
"Hm? You're writing a novel?" asked Morgan as he looked at Owain.
"Well, not yet." replied a blushing Owain. "I mean, I plan to after the war."
"Wow. I think putting all of our exploits in books will be so cool!"
"You really think so?"
"Of course he does, silly!" said Cynthia. "But you know what would be so totally cool?"
"What's that?" asked Owain.
"That the Justice Cabal doesn't have three members, but an army, and kicking enemy heinies!"
"Aw, Cynthia. You know they're not interested in joining our Justice Cabal."
"You haven't asked Yarne, Laurent, Noire and Nah's opinion, mister."
"Huh? Who are they?" asked Morgan. "Friends from the future, too?"
"Yup!" replied Cynthia. "Oh, yeah! We haven't found them and you don't know them, yet. My bad!"
"I still think they'll not join us." said Owain. "I consider Brady though. But, I don't know…"
"Ooh!" interrupted Cynthia. "Speaking of Brady, he's quite a hero. One time, when I was hurt, a mysterious hero drops a vulnerary from the sky. Then my secret protector used smoke screen, and guess what? He threw stones at my enemy! At first, I thought it was Lissa. So I asked her. Then she told me it was Brady all along! Aww, he's so sweet. Since he's such a shy guy, I'll just zip my mouth and pretend I didn't know."
"Brady really did those things? Heh, I guess he's ready. Yet, maybe he won't join us. In fact, no one's going to join us because we're 'all grown ups' and that."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot. I can imagine Severa being a jerk again. Didn't you know she challenged me to three tests? And it would be nice to hear Gerome's flattery again. Hee hee. No wonder I love him. He knows some good phrases." An idea struck her. "Ooh! I bet my duel with Severa and Gerome's fancy speech will make your novel a great hit in the shelves!"
"Hmm. I think you're right." then Owain reacts. "GYAAH! Sword hand twitches! But what's this? It hungers not for battle, but writing a story!" so he produces pen and journal from his pouch, and starts to jot down. "Better not forget to put to writing my battles with Kjelle, too. And I hope that speech you're talking about is not bad as Inigo's weapon naming. And what's this about love for Gerome? You love him as a friend or more than that?"
"Of course I love him as a friend, silly!" replied the flighty Cynthia. She became thoughtful. "Maybe we should stick more with Lucina. Since she's the princess and daughter of the big cheese, we might get more ideas of being a hero. And it would be so cool to see her leaping in action and shout catchy phrases."
"Mmm mmm." was all Owain could say while he continued to write. "How about you, Morgan? What do you think about the others so far?"
"Well, me and sis were doing great, together with Mother and Father." began Morgan. "I find Brady's way of talk funny and he's doing his best to help others. I didn't know Gerome is talkative. He's polite but a lone wolf. Then Inigo is more interested to flirt with every girl he sees."
"And always got shot down." interrupted a happy Cynthia.
"Mm hmm. And his dancing is wonderful, too."
"…Huh?" both Cynthia and Owain were skeptical.
"Yeah. He's as good as his mother. Really got his dancing skills from her." continued Morgan, never noticing his two friends' expression. "Severa is pretty but kinda snide. Maybe she's like that to me because I commented about her cooking."
"I agree with you, fellow Justice Cabal." said Owain, forgetting about Inigo's dancing skills. "But she has a good heart. I followed your advice about being true to yourself. But when Severa insulted me, I… kinda broke down. Yet, in the end, she's the one who told me that I'm not acting like myself. She really lifted up my spirits."
"Hmm. If she added that kindness in her cooking, maybe her dishes will be more delicious." Morgan said. Then he continued speaking. "Lastly, I admire Kjelle's training regimen. I watched her train, because I'm trying to form new techniques to share with Mother. Even when she's not feeling well, she continues on. Good thing someone gave her some advice in her training, and now she takes good care of herself. As far as I know, Lucina and the others are training with her."
"Really? They're training with Kjelle?" asked Cynthia.
"Mm hmm. I just don't know if they're training together today." said Morgan. Suddenly, he beamed at them. "You know what? This idea just popped up." In an excited voice, he shared his thoughts to his two friends. "If they have time to spare, how about we let them join us? We could practice our lines, and at the same time, improve our battle prowess." With sparkling eyes, he added. "It will also hone my tactical skills. Then I'll able to beat Mother!"
"That's a swell idea!" exclaimed Cynthia. "We better think of catchy phrases. Ooh! I volunteer to plan Lucina's lines since I'm the one who thought about it first!"
"Add those lines in my next story." said Owain, finishing whatever he wrote. And with great relish, he raised his journal and exclaimed "Behold! I am done with my first novel!"
"That fast?" asked Morgan.
"Yeah. Since both of you gave me such insightful ideas, I give you the pleasure to view my epic work!"
"… It's such a strange name." said Morgan.
"Well, it's an improvement compared to ' HS777 '." said Owain.
"Criticize later, finish the story first." said Cynthia. Morgan complied.
" 'Ahh… My head hurts… thinking about this humiliation… Tis sad that I must withdraw… to recover… Never fear… When I return… I will continue what I have not finished… Till we meet again…' And the villain vanished into the thinning smoke. 'When that time comes, we will prevail over evil again!' And the Heroes of the Path of Radiance faced the beautiful setting sun. The End..."
"…So? How was it?" asked Owain. When Morgan remained silent, he asked again. "Is it epic? Good? Aw, c'mon! Don't leave me hanging here!"
"Aw! It's getting dark." said Cynthia. Truly, the sun is setting, painting the sky vermillion and velvet. She faced the two boys with a playful grin. "Race ya both to camp! Last one is a stinking slowpoke! Woooo!" and she turned to run. But she didn't get far. Two steps and Cynthia's face met the earth.
