Chapter 4: The Messengers
Isaac threw a solid right hook into the punching bag
hanging before him, the sound of the blow reverberating through his family’s
basement. He threw another hook, then threw a quick roundhouse kick with his
left leg. Following through, he shot off a vicious thrust kick that knocked the
bag off its support. Sweating profusely, he stooped and picked the bag up,
mounting it once again on the hook in the ceiling of the basement. Annoyed that
it continually fell, he tried surrounding the hook with ice. He raised his hand
and concentrated on the hook, but all he did was create a bubble of water
around it. He frowned and pushed harder, but blew the hook out of the ceiling
with a blast of wind. With a growl of frustration, he kicked the bag and
stomped back up into the house. He stormed into his room, slammed the door, and
flopped onto his bed. Why was he, of all people, the only person that was
supposed to use Ice alchemy? It was always Ice this, Ice that. He just wanted a
normal life, like any other person that could kill someone with a wave of their
hand.
“Isaac?” his mother called. “There’s someone here to see
you!”
It was probably some kid coming over, wanting him to make
ice cubes or something. Better to scare them off now than let them continue
ringing the door. He stomped back out to the door, and threw it open. His frown
turned into a look of surprise, his mouth slightly ajar as he gazed at the
sight in front of him. A young woman, probably early twenties with long brown
hair stood in his doorway. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she smiled at him.
“Isaac Matthews?” She inquired, her voice strong, yet
gentle at the same time. “I’m Emily Reynolds, I represent the Steam nation.
Could I ask you a few questions?”
“Uh, y-yeah, sure. Come on in.” He managed to stutter
after bringing his eyes back to Emily’s face. “Is there anything I can get
you?”
“A glass of water would be fine, thank you.” She said
with a smile.
Isaac went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water,
bringing it back to Emily. She took a sip, opened the notebook she had held in
her arm, and wrote something down. Then she turned back to Isaac and said,
“Well, I’m sure you’re curious as to why I’m here Isaac. Let me ask you first,
have you ever heard of the Children of the Planet?”
“Yeah, it’s a kid’s story about six people who can use
the combined elements. You think it’s true?”
“As a matter of fact I do, as do the King and Queen of
the Steam nation and the research division they assigned to it. I’m part of
that division, and I’ve been sent here to find the Ice alchemist. We were told
that you’ve exhibited the ability to create and control both wind and water by
yourself, so I came to investigate.”
“Well, I’ve been able to use both, yeah.” Isaac said.
“Excellent, let’s get started.” Emily announced with a
grin.
Ajani walked for several days and night, the black object
becoming seemingly further away. He started to wonder if it was simply a mirage,
but then decided that heading there was better than nothing. He would rather
die with a goal in mind than without. As the days passed, he began to grow
hungry. Well, hungrier than usual, but the worst part was the thirst. The
terrible thirst. He had gone for what felt like weeks without water. The only
way he had survived was by drinking drops of liquid from the plants he
encountered. Finally, when he had given up counting the days, Ajani fell to the
ground, giving up; his body refused to move, and he let it rest. His eyes began
to waver, and he felt himself slipping out of consciousness. Without the will
or strength to live, he fell into the welcoming darkness.
Ajani’s eyes slowly cracked open, something he had not
thought would happen again. He tried to raise his head, but a hand touched him
and said something in a soothing voice. He couldn’t understand what. He looked around, but the place he was in
didn’t look like anywhere he had been before. The walls and structures around
him were perfectly geometrical, and everything was either white or grey. Ajani
looked over and saw a woman; he assumed it was the one who had her hand on his
head. He turned his head the other direction when he heard footsteps coming
towards him. A man in a strange white garment was approaching. He had short
black hair, and a strange object on the bridge of his nose and covering his
eyes. Then, he said in Ajani’s native language, “Welcome friend. We mean you no
harm. We found you out in the desert a short distance away, and brought you
here to heal your wounds. My name is Arthur.”
“I am Ajani” the young nomad said after a brief pause.
“Well Ajani, I want to stress again that we don’t mean
you any harm. In fact, you can stay here if you like. We have an extra room,
and it looks like you could use some food and water.”
Ajani realized that he was practically dying from thirst,
and nodded his head. It looked like he had found a new home.
The years progressed, and Ajani became good friends with
Arthur. Arthur was the leader of a Steam research team sent to Africa to
investigate something called “The Children of the Planet”. He went on to teach
Ajani some of the basics of civilized life: how to read, write, and work with
numbers. Ajani also learned how to interact with people besides those of his
tribe. In return for the food, water, and teaching, Ajani provided an extra
measure of protection against the harsh desert and its armies. This mutual
relationship worked well for both parties, and Ajani spent some of the happiest
years of his life with his new found family. However, the somewhat peaceful
life he led was about to be disrupted.
“Carinthia? Come here for a moment dear!” Queen Mary called
out to her daughter.
“Yes mother?”
“Your father and I have something we want to talk to you
about.”
Carinthia joined her mother and father at their dinner
table, folded her hands in her lap, and smiled expectantly at her mother.
“Carinthia…” Her father began. “You know how you’ve
always been able to use fire and water alchemy since you were a toddler?”
The eleven year old Carinthia nodded her head.
“Well,” He continued. “That is a very unique gift. In
fact, you are the only person in the world who can do that right now. Has
anyone ever told you the story of the ‘Children of the Planet’? No? Well, let
me tell you right now. It’s said that long ago, right after the world was
created, there were six mythical beasts. They were: The Bear, the Stag, the Dragon,
The Tiger, The Lion, and The Echidna. Each of these beasts represented one of
the six combined elements. It was they who originally gave the nations their
power. However, they foresaw that a great disaster would befall the world
someday, a disaster that would tear apart friends and families, and set them
against one another. Each beast went to one part of the world, and gave that
piece of land its power, so that they peoples of the world would be able to
protect themselves and others. Europe is home to the Stag, and it’s that Stag
that gives us our power. However, the beasts also sent portions of their power
forward into time, separate from themselves. These portions of power would one
day be manifested in the form of six children who will be born eighteen years
before the disaster.”
King George stopped and sat back in the chair. He seemed
unsure as to what he was about to say, but Queen Mary sat up and said,
“Carinthia, you hold the Stag’s power. You are a Child of the Planet.”
“I knew it!” Carinthia shouted in delight, raising her
fists in the air.
George and Mary looked at one another, and started
laughing. The whole family took a few moments to recover from the giggle fit,
but then George recovered his serious composure and said, “But, Carinthia, that
also means that the disaster is coming. And there are five more children of the
planet, one in each of the other five nations. First of all, not much is going
to change. You’ll continue to do your studies and practice your Alchemy. We
just thought you should know.”
“Can I have ice cream for breakfast?” Carinthia asked.
“Yes, I think you can have ice cream for breakfast dear.
Once.” Mary said with a chuckle.
Elena stepped back from the door to the dinner room in
surprise and shock. She had heard the stories when she was younger, but to
think that Carinthia was actually Europe’s Child of the Planet? Would Carinthia
stop playing with her? Maybe she would think she was too important to be around
her anymore. Elena’s mind was plagued with doubts and fears throughout the
night, and she didn’t sleep.
Annie and Tom reached the bandit hideout without trouble,
and she had him open the door first. They stepped inside, and Annie drew her
baton in case anyone would be stupid enough to ambush her. She and Tom reached
the main room of the hideout, where a man, who she assumed was the leader of
the bandits, sat at the table.
“Ah, Annie! Tom told me so much about you! I assume you
beat the eyeballs out of him and his boys; come to join our little troop?”
“Actually, now that you mention it, sure!” Annie said
with a grin.
A mild look of surprise crossed his face, but it quickly
vanished and was replaced with a smile.
“Well, that’s all well and good, but why? You just brutalized
seven of my men, why would you want to hook up with us now?”
“Two reasons, since you asked. First, I beat them up
because they were trying to kill me. Second, I want to join you because I need
a little more excitement in my life. There’s nothing worthwhile back in that
city.”
“Well, consider yourself a part of the club then, Annie.”
The bandit chief said with a sick smile.
Two years later…
Jeffery walked into the bar, receiving more than a few
strange glances as he did so. It wasn’t often that citizens of the Steam nation
walked into a bar in Australia. But Jeffery wasn’t just part of the Steam
nation, he was a member of the CPRT: the
“Children of the Planet Research Team”. He was here looking for the teenager
who held the power of the Echidna: Lava. It was tough work; finding one person in
an entire nation was easier said than done. However, he had a few leads. He
could assume that it was a female. He also knew that she would be extremely
powerful. His most recent lead was a report of a marauding bandit tribe outside
the city. Apparently, one of the bandits left, came to the nearest police
station, and turned himself in, revealing the location of his former hideout.
He said that he didn’t want to be around some crazy girl anymore, and that she
had killed his boss and taken over his gang.
“Well, it’s better than nothing.” Jeffery muttered to
himself as he motioned to the waiter.
“Did you say something?” A woman next to him asked, and
Jeffery shook his head.
With a little luck, and the help of the local police
force, he may be able to finally find this Child of the Planet and get her back
to Europe.
Annie walked back and forth, scratching her head as she
fretted about Tom. She knew it would come to this one day; he still resented
her for beating him up all those years ago. Her most recent fight with him must
have been the last straw, and he had bolted. A few of her group robbed a man on
the highway, and he said that Tom had confessed everything, and had spilled
where the hideout was. She knew that sooner or later, the local police would be
coming to the hideout, if they weren’t on their way already. The decision now
was to either stay and fight, or run for it. She had spent a lot of time in
this place, and it had practically become her home. Abandoning it just didn’t
seem right. On the other hand, most of her gang didn’t want to hang around and
wait for the police to come. It was a tough choice, but she decided to hold
out, and fight off the police. Perhaps if she won, than the police would deem
her to dangerous, and relent. Or maybe they would send the national guard. She
threw on a pair of black leather pants, her old combat boots, a white T-shirt,
and donned a light Kevlar breastplate over that. She still had her old baton as
well, though she often wore it in the form of a sword now. She strapped it on,
as well as some leather gloves, and walked out to the main hall of the bandit
camp.
“Hey! Everyone listen up!” She shouted, her voice echoing
throughout the building. Heads turned to look at her as she stood on the
balcony that over looked the room. A crowd began to form as the bandits
congregated.
“You all know Tom got loose. You know he spilled our
location, and that we’ll have blue coats coming here. But we’re not going to
run from those pansies. We’re going to stay, and defend our home.”
“Yeah? And why should we?” A woman called up from below.
“Why? Because I would like to think you have a little
faith in me. I defeated your former leader in single combat. I am stronger than
he ever was, so why would you have any less trust in me than in him? On the
other hand, I can always kick your butts all the way out the door, but I’d
rather you go yourselves. So, who’s with me?”
A half-hearted cheer went up from the group, and bandits skittered
off to collect their weapons and armor. It was time for Annie to defend her
home, whether her followers wanted to or not.
Marcus knew that sending Jethro off to find David was
risky. Marcus had recently joined up with the steam embassy in the Wood nation,
and had been assigned the task of finding South America’s Child of the Planet.
He knew at once that it was Jethro, but decided to wait a little longer. It
would be good for Jethro to settle his score with David now, and not let it haunt
him any further. He watched as Jethro ran out the doors of the police station,
headed for the building where Marcus knew David was hiding. He just hoped that
Jethro would make the right choice, because it would be a choice that would
shape him forever.
Thanks to the knowledge Ajani was gaining from Arthur, he
estimated that he was around seventeen years old now. He also knew that he was
on the northern part of Africa, not too far from the Sand Nation Capital, which
was to the west. However, none of this particularly mattered to Ajani, because
he was quite happy where he was. He lived a quiet life, where he could go about
his business at peace, with not much to worry about except the occasional wild
animal that poked around the research building. Ajani rarely used alchemy
anymore, but when he did, he still only used earth. The habit was so ingrained
into his mind that he didn’t really think about it. He had spent the last six
years in peace, but that peace was broken when the building was attacked.
Earlier that morning, Ajani had looked out the window, for that’s what Arthur
called them, and had seen strange movement far out in the dunes. However, he
took it to be the wind, and thought nothing of it for most of the day. But he
realized his mistake when someone crashed through the door an hour later. With
a growl, Ajani ran up to the man and pinned him against the wall.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” Ajani asked
sternly.
The man simply smiled, and Ajani recognized him as one of
the bandits that had attacked his tribe all those years ago. He turned around
to shout a warning to the researchers, but as he did, a blast of razor wind
flew through the door and decapitated one of the researchers. Enraged, Ajani
pushed the man out the door, and sent a huge blast of wind out, sending what
looked like twenty men flying. He called his staff to him with a gust of air,
and sent a wave of sand forward, burying several men instantly. Others leapt
out of the way using either wind or earth. Ajani spun his staff around, sending
a shower of sand needles at a group of men to his right, killing several of
them instantly. Turning, he blew aside a volley of stone spikes that had been
fired at him, and replied by summoning and throwing a large boulder, again,
crushing several men at once. Having killed all the bandits outside, he turned
to check on his home, and saw several more raiders entering it. He rushed
inside, but was too late. All the researchers had been killed, and he watched
as one man stabbed Arthur with a stone spike, leaving him bleeding on the
ground.
With a cry of sheer rage and fury, Ajani threw the man
up, through the ceiling, and slammed him into the desert outside. There were
two other men inside. Ajani threw a large chunk of concrete at one, slamming
him into the wall and crushing his head and torso. The other, Ajani shredded
with a furious gust of wind. He immediately ran to Arthur’s side, kneeling and
supporting his head.
“Arthur, talk to me! What can I do?” Ajani desperately
asked.
Arthur smiled, shook his head, and said, “There is
nothing you can do to help me Ajani, I am already gone. But, there is something
you can do to help yourself. You never told me you could use both wind and
earth alchemy; those are the signs of the Child of the Planet. You see, what we
were researching was the location of Africa’s Child of the Planet, one of six
young people who would help save the world. It seems you are one of them.”
Arthur stopped speaking and coughed up blood. Ajani
opened his mouth, but Arthur silenced him with a wave of his hand.
“There is not much time left. Ajani, you must go north,
to Europe. There, you must get to the King and Queen and demonstrate your
powers. They will know who you are, and will welcome you. I have taught you
everything you need to know in order to survive in the world outside Africa.”
“Yes, you have Arthur. I would have been proud to call
you my father.” Ajani choked out, holding back tears as the only man who had
loved him bled to death in his arms.
“As I would have been to call you my son.” Arthur
murmured, before closing his eyes for the last time.
Ajani stood up, and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his
robe. Looking in disgust at its white fabric, soiled with the blood of his
fallen friends and foes. After stepping outside, he saw one of the tame black
scorpion mounts that the bandits used to ride across the desert. With a wave of
his hand, he sent a blast of razor wind forward that sliced it in half. Shakily
walking over to the animal, he steeped his robes in its dark blood, giving them
a pitch black hue. He drew the wind around him, drying the robes instantly.
With a last glance at what had been his home for six years, he launched himself
into the air and started flying north; it was going to be a long trip
This is my favorite chapter so far! Keep 'em coming! =D
ReplyDelete