'A millennia ago, our world of Elsphaint was a very different place. The different species weren't isolating themselves, in fact there were no kingdoms, either. Everyone lived and coexisted in peace throughout the different cities. Of course there were leaders, but they were more just a title than anything else. Nagas actually interacted with others, if you could believe that. In all honesty it could be described as the perfect utopia. Now, that's not saying there weren't any problems, because there are always problems. But unlike now, everyone worked through those issues together so nothing lasted long.
'However, there was a group that wasn't satisfied with what they had. The elves didn't like the peace and sharing. They wanted more, or at least for everyone else to have less. When the Elves started getting fed up with their life style, he rose. The Demon Cratezt came before the Elves and promised them the world if they helped him. The Demon wanted to prove he was the strongest, but he didn't want to be alone at the top. He planned on bringing the Elves to the mantle of power. He would have, too, as no mortal could come close to scratching him, let alone harming him.
'There was hope, however. Just like how Cratezt rose, the gods descended to assist. Due to a pact made when the world was created, the gods could not directly fight the Demon. What they did instead was lend their powers to chosen Champions. Each god found a person who they deemed worthy and offered them their powers. Those Champions became the leaders of their respective species and led them into battle against the Elves. Many Great battles were fought. Some were won by the Champions, others were lost with the Champions there losing their lives. However, the longer the fight went on, the more ground the Elves gave. The strongest Champion, Leornarl Taliin, a Leonin, decimated battalions of Elves with his control of lightning.
'Something to note, the gods do not control an element of the world. They just use their powers to influence what they like. Cumuli, the god of lightning, could easily use his powers to control flowers like the goddess Aerethr. But he doesn't. That's why he is known as the god of lightning, and as Leornarl's patron, he bestowed the ability to influence lightning. That goes for the others champions as well, each being able to influence their patron's chosen aspect.
'I mentioned it before, but the Champions were not invincible. In fact a lot died. Cratezt saw the Champions as a challenge and hunted them down while his army fought the other species. Once the Champions realized what he was doing, they set up a trap for him. While Cratezt was strong enough to beat a couple Champions by himself, he could lose out if enough worked together. So Leornarl gathered the strongest Champions he could find, the Champions of Fire, Wind, Victory, Strength, and Hope. They announced Leornarl's position to the Demon, and waited for him to arrive.
'Cratezt finally turned up. A seven foot tall being with void black armor. His weapon of choice was a doubled ended spear longer than he was tall. Each end had a blade a foot long that was sharp enough to almost cut the air itself. What made it really deadly was how it could split and reattach in an instant, so his fighting style could constantly switch without warning. A being that had never lost a fight until this point guided his weapon up to point at Leornarl.
'"This will be the last fight of your life" his voice rumbled out.
'Despite the threat, Leornarl held his ground, facing down the biggest threat he had ever seen. The other Champions walked out from the bushes they hid behind to surround the Demon. Even with the surprise challengers, the Demon just laughed.
'"Hahah interesting, interesting. Yes, I'll take this challenge. This will be very interesting indeed."
'A long moment of silence held the air as the giant demon stood there before, "Let's begin," boomed Cratezt's voice.
'The issue commanded, the Champions surged forward for the hardest fight of their life. For some, their last fight for their life.
'Leornarl led the charge as all six Champions rushed in. Using his gift of lightning, he guided lightning to strike down at Cratezt.
'Having expected this opener, Cratezt split his spear in two and used one as a conduit to catch the lightning. The lightning passed through his body and out the other spear half to launch back at Leornarl. Leornarl's mane started to smoke and fizz as the lightning hit its mark, but he kept running. If he took damage from the attack, so did Cratezt.
'After Leornarl got slowed down, the Champions of Wind and Fire got close hoping to use Leornarl's distraction to get close to the Demon. However, Cratezt noticed their plan, and as soon as they got within his range he snapped his spear halves behind them. One caught the Fire Champion in the chest while the Wind Champion was able to push himself to the side, only being grazed by the attack. Fire was dropped onto the ground, slowly bleeding out. The Champion of Hope rushed over to try and heal his wounds, while the Champion of Victory caught up to Leornarl to fight.
'Taking stock of the situation, Cratezt put his spear back together and got into a battle stance. Not knowing what he was doing, the Champions hesitated, except for one. The Champion of Strength surged forward, confident that his strength would be enough to over power his enemy. Strength got closer and closer. He must have been pushing his legs too hard because he can't feel them any more. They couldn't be numb from that short run. But then he noticed it.
'As he got closer to the Demon, so did the ground seem closer. And he finally saw that Cratezt wasn't in a stance anymore, but had already swung his spear. As his mind started to cease function, he faintly recalls that his strength couldn't match up after all.
'What seemed like forever for Strength happened in an instant for everyone else. He ran forward and Cratezt struck. With the momentum of the run, his body fell forward. It crashed to the ground and stopped, leaving his head to continue rolling.
'His sightless eyes ended up looking at Hope. His hope had gone, but she could continue for others. Hope finished healing Fire and moved on to Wind.
'Fire stood up and called to Leornarl, "Yo! This is bad, let's strike him together with Victory backing us up."
'Leornarl agreed, and they got ready. Fire spread his fingers and made strings of fire run out and surround Cratezt. Leornarl took the time the Demon gave them to send lightning into the fire. Soon, Cratezt was surrounded by a cage of fire and lightning. It started to close in on him, the sizzling and crackling getting exponentially louder.
'Wind, after getting his wound healed, felt confident in their victory at the sight of the magnificent show of power. He wanted to be a part of it, so he charged forward. His aim set on stabbing his sword through an opening to get a hit on the Demon. However, Cratezt saw his chance.
'As Wind drew close, Cratezt's hand shot through the opening Wind was aiming for and grabbed the blade. He pulled, dragging Wind forward, and caught his face. Because of the momentum, Wind was dragged into the cage and took the brunt of the attack. All the fire and lightning burned his skin, fried his eyes, and charred his hair. When Cratezt finally let go, Wind dropped to the ground, an overcooked corpse.
'Hope, upon seeing what unfolded, lost control of her legs and dropped. She couldn't seem to stand any longer. Leornarl, Victory, and Fire we're not done yet. They advanced simultaneously without any command, almost as if they knew what they needed to do.
'Cratezt pulled apart his spear again and pointed at Leornarl once more. He spoke a single word. "Come."
'And they did.
'Leornarl led the attack with the Demon taking a swing at him. From behind him he heard Victory, "I'm sorry," as he felt a hand push him into the range of the Demon's attack.
'Leornarl closed his eyes and responded, "It's alright, just win."
'Victory's power was that of seeing the path to victory. When they charged forward, she saw a path open up that could only happen if Leornarl died here. So she did what she had to.
'As Leornarl's head careened forward, after losing its body, his blood splattered into Cratezt's eyes. It blinded him for just a second, but that second was all they needed.
'"Now!" Shouted Victory to Fire, who blazed forward igniting the Demon's eyes to keep him blinded. Then Victory stalked up to him as he fell onto his knees. He heard her approach, so he looked up with sightless eyes.
'"I lost."
'That's all he could say.
'That's when Hope brought forward The Box. A gift from the gods capable of sealing away an immortal being. Now that Cratezt was weakened to this point he could be sealed. Victory grabbed The Box and opened it, and used her powers to coerce the Demon inside it. Cratezt turned into a ball of black light and was sucked in. Victory closed it and let their win settle in. Then she dropped to her knees like Hope did before. They won.
'It was then that the Champions across the land received a message from their respective god. The fight was over, but much was lost. They instructed that The Box be smashed and its pieces scattered so it can never be reformed. The different species agreed to each take a piece to their own area to protect, and scatter the rest. That way no one person knows the location of every piece. That was the moment the land became isolated, with each species secluding themselves as to not let anyone bring the box together. The treacherous Elves, now known as the Dark Elves because their skin turned purple from being exposed to Cratezt, where exiled to the icy wasteland in the northern most part of the world. An area no one else would want to go. That was their punishment, though many demanded for a harsher sentence.
'As for the gods, they used up too much of their power to help us. When the fight was over and their message delivered, they slept. And they slept longer. And they are still asleep to this day.
'It is said that they will not wake again until their power is needed once more. Whether it be this year or another three millennia. Our saviors, the Champions, went with their species to protect them from any harm, but they did lose their powers as the gods could not keep up the connection in slumber. And that is why the world was separated..'
"And the in between was left for the mindless beasts to roam," Cuuswin concluded, "and why the pieces of The Box should never be brought together again."
'Woah, that was an intense story. Why isn't that taught in our village?' I thought. 'That seems like a very important thing to know.'
Soiclupt leans forward to look at me. "Do you understand the necessity of protecting the pieces now?" She questioned.
"Yes, I do," I agreed. "But one question, if I may."
Cuuswin chipped in, "You may."
"Yes.. if the pieces need to be kept in separate places, why are you taking it to a different place?" I questioned, "Shouldn't it stay where it is normally kept?"
It was Soiclupt that spoke this time. "I asked father that, too. He just responded it'd be in better hands once it got to Merchant City."
"That sounds way too vague of an answer," I responded.
"I know, right? I thought so, too, but Cuuswin is stuck on doing whatever father says blindly." Cuuswin lightly smacked Soiclupt's shoulder.
Cuuswin chided, "Father has never given us a reason to doubt him, so why start now? Just enjoy the trip Soi, you need the relaxation."
"I know I promised Cuu, but i can't help but worry." 'Obviously a case of trust issues with this family.' As the conversation started to come to a close I realized I was eating without thinking. My plate, that was once piled with biscuits, bacon, pancakes, and sausage, was now just the left over crumbs and gravy.
'I guess I was hungrier than I thought. Though I was so entranced with the story I didn't pay attention to anything else. Wait, what time is it?' I looked out the giant window that looked at the general area. There was only a few people still sitting down eating despite it being packed when we first got there. Cuuswin seemed to notice what I saw.
"Oh my, we spent some time telling the story, huh?" She pointed out. "How about we relocate to our room?"
"It's about time," came Soiclupt's reply, "I didn't think about it before, but I want to change out of my workout clothes. The sweat has had so much time to set in." I didn't notice it, but I was the same way. Worse in fact since I pushed myself a lot harder than her in our competition.
"Since you two will be going back to your room, I'll head back to mine. I should probably also change." I probably smelled really bad.
Cuuswin turned to me. "If you aren't doing anything tonight, you should come to our room. It's probably a lot more spacious than yours, and I know some games we can play," she offered.
I thought about it for a second, and in that second all I could see was Cuuswin looking at me with those pretty eyes and stunning wings.
"Alright, I'll swing by," came my reply, "what room number are you?"
"Room 54, it's on the top floor near the staircase," she informed me.
Soiclupt cut in at this point. "Don't be getting any ideas about my sister. I'll be there supervising." She gave me a death stare to affirm her statement.
"Woah, woah," I hurried spoke, "I won't do anything." I held up my hands in a sign of surrender. After a second she seemed satisfied with my response.
"Sorry about that Dtiedro," Cuuswin apologized.
I replied, "Its no issue, I understand. Okay, I'll be heading off now. What time should I show up?" All three of us stood up at that point and started heading to the stairs. Climbing down the stairs morphed the interior decoration from the fancy decor to the ocean of blue shades that the general public had to deal with.
Cuuswin thought about it for a moment. Finally she spoke, "Does 6:00 work?"
"I'll be there."
End of Chapter 2
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