(This and all of this volume are a part of the old version of Howler. Look out for the remastered version in the next volume releasing late 2023)
"Do I even have a choice?" André staggered towards Leoandré, "I'm not an idiot, if I don't go with you then we're both gonna die, right? Those freaks are probably still after us, and in my current state, I can't do anything about them. Besides, I want answers." He reached down and picked up Leoandré.
"You truly are wise, Mr Stewart. Let us depart at once, our destination, Aroobari."
"Hold on, wait a minute! Did you just say Aroobari? Ain't there some sort of civil war going on down there?" André's shoulders shot upwards, his eyelids stretched wide, exposing his sclera. His sudden movements jolted his entire body, resulting in him almost dropping the child rested in his arms. After he recovered himself, he spoke once more. "Damn, I'm wondering if all this is even worth it. We're about to pull up to a war zone. What will kill us first, alien monsters or loaded machine guns?"
Reizora failed to keep her somewhat sophisticated composure. Her body jittered vigorously as she held her head down with her hands in fists.
"BWAHAHAHAHA! Oh wow, your such a wuss, haha, haha! You're such a coward it hurts! Hahaha!"
She clutched her stomach tightly, rolling around in mid-air.
"You wanna die, pip-squeak?"
"Mr Stewart, this is not the time! Reizora, please compose yourself! We must leave now."
"What a buzz kill..."
"What was that?"
"Oh nothing, Lord Abadina!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, old man. How are we meant to get there? Teleportation?"
Abadina stared blankly at André. His brows were curled upwards, and his posture slouched for the first time. André stared back at Abadina. After observing a scene he had never seen before, he raised his shoulders ever so slightly and scratched the back of his head with his free arm. "What? Why are staring at me like that?"
Reizora grounded herself, glaring deeply into André's eyes, "Are you an idiot? Spacial Toh is a rare type of Toh and less than 1% of the Warlock population can wield it! It's completely random, and it doesn't get passed down through genetics! To think one of us can use it is absolutely ludicrous!"
"Well, how the hell did you expect me to know that you half-pint?"
"I don't know, you're the honour student, aren't you? You could have easily guessed!"
"Are you an idiot? How the hell do you expect me to guess something I don't even understand!"
André and Reizora continued to thrash childish insults at each other. Back and forth, back and forth, the cycle of mockery seemed endless. Meanwhile, Abadina retrieved his Comunibox. He twisted the dial and waited. 'Those two are like animals. It has become clear to me they will not cease their bickering despite my attempts. We haven't the time to waste, I must arrange are transportation quickly.'
There was a tiny light shining through the dark and heavy atmosphere. This light had curly brown hair, and pure, glowing amber eyes. His tiny hands clutched the shirt of the mighty, dreadlocked hero who was fearlessly battling against the tiny, conniving goblin in a heated verbal brawl. Leoandré marvelled at his hero. The light shining in through the shattered window perfectly defined his hero's chiselled face. Leoandré's eyes shone brighter as he saw the dazzling sight. A father, a young boy's hero. Suddenly, an old friend appears, flying in through the window. The butterfly! Its fragile wings reflected the sun's rays into a dynamic assortment of bright colours. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. He released his hero's shirt and reached towards the butterfly which was floating towards him. He tried to wiggle his way free, but it was no use, his hero was guarding him firmly. He stretched out his hands, just past the mighty hero's shoulders. To his dismay, the butterfly flew away.
André and Reizora's altercation was reaching a fever pitch. Both of them had bulging veins pulsing out from their foreheads. Abadina stomped his foot continuously. He held the Comunibox close to his pale lips and sighed. Through the box, all he heard was brassy, elevator music with an occasional message informing him, his place in the queue. Attempting to block out the shrill coming from the box and the thundering from behind, he travelled deep within the abyss of his mind.
'Ah, at last, I am comforted by the sweet silence that I have longed for. I must use this opportunity to assemble my thoughts. The ship we used to get to Earth is being repaired, so we must use Human provided transport for the time being. An imposition though it may be, we have no other choice. Hmm... why do I feel as if I am forgetting something?' As Abadina was deep within his thoughts, to Leoandré's excitement his friend had returned!
"That's it you aggravating brat! It's time someone taught you some damn manners!" Reizora's eyes glowed in a harsh cream colour. She swung both her arms across her body whilst simultaneously shifting her body weight accordingly, extending her weightless leg. In a fluid movement, she re-centres her body weight, bending her back leg slightly and elevating one arm above her head and the other slightly stretched before her, her palms facing upwards. Her body emitted a white aura, slow and controlled.
"All right, you premature hag! If that's how you wanna play, get ready to get your ugly ass beat!" André used his free arm to lift Leoandré from his collar. He swung the child onto his shoulders, then brought his fists in front of his face. He stepped back on his right foot, staying on his toes. Unfortunately, by doing this he separated Leoandré from the butterfly that he had all but grasped within his tiny hands. As he got pulled away, the butterfly flew between his baby-carrot-like fingers. Leoandré let out a minute squeal, reaching out as far as he could. After realising all his efforts were in vain, his nose began twitching, his chin trembled uncontrollably, his cheeks swelled at the tops, covering most of his narrowed eyes and his lips rammed against the bottom of his nose.
"Ah, I remember now," Abadina raised his head suddenly. He clapped his fist against his palm, "Old age must be catching up to me for me to forget something so important." He rested his chin between his index finger and thumb, "It's been fourteen months since our little Leoandré was born. Ah, he truly was an adorable infant. Anyhow, usually a young Warlock would have awoken their Toh after twelve months. I wonder what could have caused his late development? Faulty genetics? But Leona but was a high-class Warlock noble. However...," Abadina's head and shoulders slump as he continues to mutter to himself, "Yes, he is the son of Mr Stewart, who is the descendant of Mr Drake Stewart-"
Rambunctious yells interrupted Abadina's analysis. All he could do now is sigh and shake his head slowly. He took a deep breath and turned to face the commotion. Slowly, he unsealed his icy-blue eyes. "You..." though his words were no louder than a whisper, it caused the entire building to tremble. Reizora and André both stopped instantaneously, their eyes widening. "I- I... he started it!" Reizora slammed her eyes shut and pointed at André.
"Hey! That's bull and you know it! He-Hey! Why are you walking towards me!" Slowly, Abadina approached both of them, his purple aura manifesting around him. He remained silent. Streams of his aura sprung out from his body, running rapidly towards both André and Reizora. Just as the aura was about to make contact with their necks, tiny sparks flickered around Leoandré. Abadina's eyes widened and his aura retracted hastily from André and Reizora. Each strand of Toh wrapped together, solidifying into a dark barrier around Abadina's body. André and Reizora opened their eyes slowly, lowering their guard. At that moment, Leoandré released an almighty cry! As he lifted his head to the ceiling, his thunder-like cry deafened those around him. After a few seconds, the sparks flickered faster and grew larger.
Occasionally, random strikes of electricity would shoot out from his body, creating more miniature craters around the already damaged room. Reizora quickly tries to manifest her aura but is struck by a stray bolt of electricity. The immense force from the blow sent her flying across the room and thrashing against a wall. She squeezed her bicep tightly whilst inhaling sharply. She ground her teeth together, straining her neck downwards. 'Shit! I let my guard down because he was a child!'
André grabbed Leoandré by his collar and brought him in front of his face. The electricity seemed to dissolve into André's body. "GOD! Just shut the hell up! What are you even crying about? Behave, kid!" André glared at the uncontrollable child dangling in front of him. For a while all was silent, and Leoandré just stared at André with a screw face. However, in less than three seconds, Leoandré inhales deeply, pointing his nose upwards. "Don't you dare!"
"WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
This cry was unlike the first. There were no tiny sparks, instead, giant bolts of electricity emitted from his tiny body, causing catastrophic damage. Luckily, Reizora created a barrier just in time. She led against the wall, gasping heavily. "How the hell can an infant have so much damn power? I could stop this easily, but I'm afraid I'll kill him if I try!" Reizora breached a small area of her Toh barrier and transported it to her palms. She placed her palm onto her wound. As they made contact, she inhaled sharply, shooting shoulders up sharply before slowly lowering them whilst exhaling.
Abadina stood with sweat running down his entire body. His barrier began cracking in various places. "It seems my previous statement about faulty genetics was false. Ugh, either that or-!" Abadina clutched his chest tightly. Reizora turned her head towards Abadina. "Lord Abadina..." Her brows pressed against each other, "The darkness is still eating away at him." Abadina gasped continuously, his barrier flickering after each impact.
André looked at the carnage unfolding around him. 'The building will collapse if this carries on any longer! Damn, what the hell should I do to calm this brat down? UGH! Who in their right mind would have a kid?' André thought for a while, and before long he had an idea. "Hey, Leoandré! Look, if you calm down I'll make sure we stop at a candy store! I'll buy you whatever you want!" The number of bolts darting around the building decreased. Leoandré stared at André, his bottom lip jittering like a glitched computer screen. "Wow, that actually worked?" Leoandré inhaled deeply once more. "Fine, I'm sorry geez! If you shut up, I'll buy you ice cream too!" Leoandré sniffed up his snot and nodded his head, not changing his screw face for even a second.
The University of West Redwood. Founded only twelve years ago, the University had accumulated great prestige and is universally acknowledged as one of the best Universities since the Epilogue War one hundred and thirty years ago. Inside one of the Redwood dorms, there was a young man. He sat alone in an unlit room piled with stacks of empty noodle pots and pizza boxes, the harsh blue, flickering light of the TV glaring at him. Walking was near to impossible in this dump of a room. The man, still staring lifelessly at the TV, reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his phone. He shifts his heavy eyes towards his phone. No missed calls. He put his phone back in his pocket and resumed staring at the TV. His under-eyes were darker than a starless sky and his skin was a sickly, pale shade. His hair was stringy and blonde, shoulder-length. His once luscious wavy hair was now greasy and clumped together.
'It's already been 2 weeks, and no one has seen or heard from André. I've called him several times, but he never answered...' Tai reached into his pocket once more. He grasped his phone tightly. Then, he laughed. A light chuckle at first quickly transformed into a lusty guffaw. He led back onto the sofa he was sitting on, his head hanging off the back of it. He cracked a broken smile and ran his fingers through his hair. "Still no missed calls, huh... haha, damn, I need to get a girlfriend or something. I'm over here, losing sleep on a bastard who doesn't even have the decency to call me back." Tai dropped his arm. "Where are you, André? There was a lot on the news, victims of a Massacre, terrorists they say. It wasn't far from here and it happened on the day I last saw you... don't tell me you were one of them?"
Abadina and Reizora stood together, far away from André and Leoandré. Reizora creased her brows as she slowly reached towards Abadina. "My Lord..." Abadina turned his head away from her. Her arm stopped and her eyes widened. She lowered her arm, holding her head low and clenching her teeth. "Why are you like this? Do you enjoy killing yourself? You know the consequences of the Dead Man's Melody! Look at you! You're younger than me yet you look like your on your damn death bed!" Reizora shot her head upwards, glaring at Abadina with tears in her eyes. Abadina said nothing. He frowned, narrowly opened his eyes, but made no eye-contact with her. Reizora clenched her fists and her entire body began shaking. Her eye began glowing, flickering. "I see. Well, Abadina, don't expect me to bury your damned body when the darkness consumes you!" Reizora stormed away from him, not uttering another word.
André sat on the couch with Leoandré. "Hey, pip-squeak, where you going?" Reizora walked straight past the both of them, not saying a word. André raised a brow and frowned, "What's up with her?" Reizora kicked the wall in front of her, shattering it. The resulting hole was four times the size of her. She stomped towards the edge of the building, leaping into the air and flying away at an alarming speed.
André's jaw dropped. His eyes widened, and he began stuttering sounds. Abadina ambled next to André, "Don't worry about her, she will calm down soon. I hope." Abadina sat on the oak-wood coffee table in front of André. André raised his head to Abadina.
"What do you mean 'don't worry'? She just destroyed a concrete wall with her foot! This kid was shooting out lightning but could only make craters in the walls!"
Abadina looked at the hole Reizora left in the wall. "Reizora is much stronger than she looks. She is a powerful Warlock who has trained for centuries. She will return, eventually." He turned towards André once more. "Now, Mr Stewart, we have much to discuss. We haven't much time, so I must be brief. Luckily, I was able to book us human-provided transportation. I believe it's called an aeroplane?" André leaned forwards.
"The 'Sand Sovereign'... a title known throughout the galaxy. The Legend foretells the birth of a child blessed by the sand spirit, 'Mchanga'. When one dies, a decade later another one is born. The Sand Sovereign is born with golden hair, green eyes and a tattoo of Mchanga's symbol on their back, signifying their belonging to him. Other sand Toh users cannot compare strength nor skill to the Sand Sovereign. The selection of the Sand Sovereign is unpredictable. Most spirits are very clear about where they stand morally, however, Mchanga is impartial. He neither fights for good nor evil, which means whether the Sand Sovereign will bring prosperity or destruction to the world is also unknown. It varies from planet to planet, however, due to Earth's low amount of Mana, one has never been born on Earth before. I suspect that Mchanga chose an inhabitant of Earth because of its sudden influx of Mana."
André clenched his fist into his hand, covering his mouth, and nose as he leant forwards. "So this 'Sand Sovereign', the current one, are they friend or foe?"
Abadina exhaled, "With my body slowly weakening, your battle inexperience and our temporary loss of Reizora, I pray for our sake that she is a friend. During our search for you, Mr Stewart, we encountered the Sand Sovereign however, she was less than keen on joining us..." André lowered his head, resting his forehead on his fists. Abadina glanced towards Leoandré, whose head was bopping rhythmically. "It would be in her best interest to become allied with us. Just as you, Mr Stewart and Master Stewart, the Sand Sovereign is also a 'Howler'." André gasped as his head shot upwards. His eyes flared open.
"That word again! 'Howler'... I heard that creepy snake freak say it a couple of times, something about an infestation. I've been meaning to ask what the hell that bastard was talking about"
"A Howler, in its simplest aspect, is an entity that should not exist. It is an anomaly that can alter the course of time. Most people care not for Howlers, they feel as if fate is an old topic. However, the people who were after Master Stewart think otherwise. They are known as 'Imperium', the Universal Government, and they want both of your heads..."