Heart to Heart

Looking up at the broken, ruined ceiling, I started to think. About what, exactly? About things. About how, this is the last time I'll be able to sleep in this stale, uncomfortable matress on this rickety old cot. About how this will be my last few hours in these wretched ruins, crawling with creepy crawlers and every other kind of undesirable creature. About how...I'll be leaving this "home". The place I call home, the place where I live. I grab the heart shaped pendant, attached to a necklace around my thin and bony collar and think.

But am I particularly miffed about this? Not exactly. I've wanted to leave this place and travel for a while. Now I have an excuse. Me, and my only other companion in this place: My friend, Sage...err, Rozlow, I mean. Well, that's his first name, at any rate. I don't call him that though. It just sounds weird doesn't it? It's, in my opinion, a pretty stupid name but of course I would never tell him that to his face.

What am I doing, just laying here, thinking? That's not important! I need to get up, and get going. I swing my feet over to the floor, and rise out of my bed. Today is the day, the day I leave the ruins of this run-down village. If only you could feel how excited I am! My whole life was spent in these ruins, going out to other places is just something that I can't really comprehend.

I grab my best traveling clothes, which are incidentally my only clothes. Standard issue for this village, or at least that's what I hear from Sage. I run a hand through my hair, and give it a good feel...greasy and unkept like always. Nothing wrong with that, though. Who else besides Sage is going to see me? Well I suppose a lot of people will now. At least, I hope.

My ears give a little tug as I hear footsteps enter into the little ruined hut that I call my abode.

"Sage! Good morning! I'm so god damn excited!"

Sage walks into my shoddy shelter. See, there is something special about sage; He's a Fox-man. Meaning, he is half fox, half man. Hairy yet highbrow. You know, that sort of thing.

"Heart...You're 21 years old. Sound more like an adult, please"

I take a hand and rub it over my face. Oh, yeah, stubble. I guess I am pretty old now.

"Well, sometimes I forget." I announce, almost faking embarassment, a slight chuckle, you know, that kind of thing.

"Heart, we are off today...you do know exactly what that means right? This isn't just fun and games, this isn't just to see the world or anything fantastic like that.

I start walking torwards the doorway exiting my one-room super house (super to nobody but me, that is) and look slightly back torwards Sage.

"Yeah...the throne, right? That's what we need to find, right? Well, that's fine. Actually..."

Reaching to the right side of the doorway exiting my house, I grab the long, oaken stick rested against the wall (my rokushakubo).

"That just makes me more god damn excited!"

---

Walking away from those ruins that held me captive for so long, like a caged animal waiting to escape into the wild, I'm not so sad. I thought about it for a while, but I'm not so sad, that place really had nothing for me.

"Hey, Sage. So...where to now?"

Sage takes out a map. It's in pretty bad condition, and I look torwards it in disbelief that it's actually even being held together by anything but sheer luck.

"What's that map going to tell us? Is that the way to the throne of Aushra?"

"Do not be silly, my dear Heart, to think that this map would bring us directly to the throne! People search for the throne, the center of everything that is Cocromancy, for their entire lives and never find it! This map is incomplete, we need to find the other parts to take us to the throne."

"Wait..." I mutter, still confused, "How is that map going to help us, then? Shouldn't we be looking for the pieces of the map?"

"This is a special map. It will lead us to the other pieces. The last piece will lead us to the throne. That simple."

Wow! What a wonderful map. Very special indeed. I wonder where he got it from? Well, I'm not one to ask any unnecessary questions. Sage knows what he's doing.

Walking a ways through the vast plains of the countryside, I finally work up the nerve to ask Sage to see the map. He lets me, of course, and I arrive at the conclusion that our next destination is "The dry city Adobe". Ironically, the dry city is just past a vast forest. But this forest looks awfully suspicious. You know, those forboding forests, everyone knows them. They've all seen them before!

"This forest...is there anything special about it?"

I show Sage the map and point to it, as if I thought he never saw it before.

"Well..." Sage takes the map from my hands slowly, folds it back up and stashes it away, "There might be a few undesirable people in that forest of course, bandits and the like, but that isn't exactly what I'd call special."

Could Sage be...Hiding something from me?

---

Of course by the time we reached the forest, I felt a little uneasy about what would be contained within. Bandits and thieves, well, they're easy. Bandits and thieves would regularly ransack our quant little destroyed village, thinking it was abandoned, trying to find anythingn of value. For some reason though this forest gave off an air of uncertainty.

The forest's high trees extended seemingly hundreds of feet into the air. Giant mushrooms that could easilly provide shade in place of a normal pine. And it still felt weird, like there were people in this forest that I shouldn't see or be seen by.

As we ventured deeper into the forest, Sage gave my sleeve a quick tug.

"Heart, hide here, behind this rock."

I was baffled...why, exactly? Well, I didn't question, I just did as I was told, and hid behind the rock. Good thing, too, because at that moment I saw a group of men, marching through the forest.

They came in all shapes and sizes. Stout, wide men and Tall, long men. They all wore a type of purplish-red armoring and they all had green tinted skin. To me they all resembled living raddishes, a walking vegetable, whatever is more fitting to you.

And behind them, on a leafy throne held up by more vegetable men was a man with a different aura than the rest of them. He wore a long cloak that seemed many sizes to big for him, the short man he was, and adorning his head was the top of a giant mushroom, although clearly this was just a helm and not part of his living body.

The green tint of his skin was much lighter than that of the others, much in the way one would be if they were sheltered for their lives, pale skin, milky lime. He was most certainly a big-wig if I ever laid my eyes upon one.

"And he is?" I whispered to Sage, his eyes intently focusing on that very man.

"He is the Mushroom Emperor. He is the leader of the Mushroom Empire, an Empire that controls much land around here, including this forest."

"An Empire?"

So that was what I felt was so odd about this forest. However, Sage did not want to tell me, maybe because he felt that the forest was so large that we would probably not run into this empire.

"Yes, and they are probably headed torwards the dry city Adobe, our destination."

---

During the walk through the forest, torwards the dry city, (keeping extra quiet, and extra hidden all the while due to the Mushroom Empire's increased presence) Sage kept me updated on this Empire. Basically, they are baddies, a large Empire that basically subjugates smaller kingdoms, villages, cities, etc. and brings them under its power if they like it or not. He added that they have a small presence around here and it wasn't anything to get worked up over, at least, untill we saw the Mushroom Emperor himself in this very forest!

"We've lost the empire?" I questioned, not seeing a single soldier for a long period of time.

"Well, it certainly seems that way..." Sage answered.

However, he was rudely interrupted.

"Isn't that a shame?" A voice chuckled out behind us. We spun around to see a man in dirty, worn-out attire, one befitting of a man who is dirt-poor and living off of scraps of things...scraps of things he steals from others. He was most definitely a bandit.

"Oh, well, make it quick."

Sage lifted up his hands in a sign of defeat, and I did the same.

A bewildered look swept across the face of the bandit, and he took this as some sort of trick I presume, because he reached for his knife and ran at Sage as if the knife was leading him, forcefully tugging him along. Clearly he had no formal training in any fighting style and CLEARLY he was in possesion of no mastery over his mancy.

Unlike Sage.

A pinkish aura enveloped Sage and right as the bandit reached him, the aura lashed out as if it were the waiting mantis, and stuck the knife in the hand of the bandit sending his arm careening off to the side.

Sage took this as a chance to strike back, and pulled the sword that he had dangling at his side from the sheath, and forcefully drove the hilt up into the jaw of the attacking bandit, causing him to fly what was probably, at least, 5 feet into the air and land what was probably just as far.

This was quite a show, for you see Sage usually never used his mancy, or fought at all actually. Once Sage is commited to using his skill over Cocromancy, the mancy of protection and life, you better not blink or it would clearly be over before it started!

"Wow, sage. He's knocked out cold! I should've expected nothing less from you, though."

"Well..." Sage let out a heavy sigh, "I do not wish to fight, hardly ever, but when defending myself it is necessary to show a little aggresion."

"And that Cocromancy, that was awesome!"

My face was beaming, but Sage simply looked to me in disbelief.

"it was not that amazing, heart! Everyone has the power of a mancy hidden inside them, and anyone can use it. The skill I have is simply from years and years of training."

He is right, though. His training is vigorous and grueling, even moreso than mine, perhaps! Even in his middle age, he still trains with great vigor.

But, seeing him, it made me want to witness all of the other mancies in action. Pyromancy, Cryomancy, Hydromancy, Gaiamancy...at this point, I have only seen Cocromancy, the art of life and the preservation of life. The others, Pyromancy, the art of flame. Cryomancy, the art of ice. Hydromancy, the art of water. Gaiamancy, the art of the earth.

Each person is, when born, put into the category of a mancy right off the bat. If the use that mancy or not, is up to them. Mancy is a mystical power that runs through us all! Seeing the other kinds up close, will be a big highlight of my adventure. Hopefully.

"Well, we should continue then..." Sage reminds, and starts to walk off.

I follow suit, and in no time, we are at the end of the forest...

And the beginning of the desert.

And the dry city, Adobe.

---

If there was ever a bigger contrast I would love to see it, but it probably ain’t happening.

The cool, crisp freshness of the large shady forest has given way to the blazing heat of the dry, arid desert. And the dry city is nowhere in sight.

What is Sage thinking, exactly?

“Are you meaning to tell me that…we’re going to have to walk THROUGH some of the desert just to make it to the dry city?”

“Well of course…I thought that was apparent from the start.”

Apparently, it wasn’t.

After a while, I was so tired out that I was using my bo as a sort of half walking stick, half prop-me-up-so-I-don’t-fall-over-from-exhaustion stick. Weirdly, Sage was still perfectly fine.

“Cocromancy isn’t only the art of protecting life, but the art of life itself. Therefore, vitality is something that can be controlled using Cocromancy, did you not know that?”

Apparently, I didn’t.

It felt as if I walked 30 miles already, in this horrid heat, and that might not have been too far from the truth. There was nothing in this desert, absolutely nothing but sand and lots of it. Not a cactus, circling buzzard, or, heaven forbid, nice refreshing oasis in sight, just more and more dryness. If Adobe is really in this desert, I now know why they call it the “dry city”.

“When…w-will…we…b-be there…” I asked, each gasp of breath murder on my horrendously parched throat. I felt like I was dying, quite literally.

“Right about…”

I looked up, barely keeping my self from kneeling over in defeat, and saw the most beautiful thing in the world. Buildings, built from clay, most likely, and not all that inviting, but buildings none-the-less, and where there’s civilization, there’s water.

“…now!”

---

It was a sight for sore eyes...and throats...and legs...and just about everything else. Civilization! Although it didn't really look like much, it was still civilization. I tried running torwards the city, but the most I could muster was a slightly faster than normal walk. I did this for a while, untill I fell over face first into the sand.

"Heart...calm down please!" Sage scolded as he lifted me up and draped my arm over his shoulder, walking with me into Adobe.

Now, the first thing I noticed about Adobe was how there was nobody around. Seriously, there was not a soul in sight. Even weirder was the fact that all of the small, clay buildings had their wooden doors and windows shut tight.

Then, something uncharacteristic of this desert appeared...a breeze. Quite a strong one, as a matter of fact.

Sage and I were walking deeper into the city, and then we reached it: The town square. And in the middle of the town square, was the city's sole water well. The water could have been solid gold at that point, it would've made no difference to me, it was all the same.

My eyes widened, but not at the well, but at the people surrounding the well. It was them, the Mushroom Empire. The group of scouts, personal guards, soldiers, and the Mushroom Empire himself that we saw in the forest was in the square. And, they were all looking torwards something, or someone, on top of the tallest clay-made building in the town square.

On top of that multi-layered structure, almost tower-like in appearance, was what seemed to be a...small boy. His horrendously loose and baggy shirt and shorts resembled something very tribal in nature, and both his skin and his large, poofy lions-mane of hair were dark in color.

"Look at that...those ears...it's a demon!" a random soldier yelled at the top of his lungs.

That's when my sight became sharper, and more focused, onto his ears...and I noticed them, those ears that resembled that of a bat, long and slender.

A real demon? Or something else?

---

"Demon?!" the boy shouted, looking down on the Mushroom Emperor, "I am a MITHICAL, thank you very much..."

I glanced over to Sage, having no idea what a Mithical is. I thought he might know, and the look on his face tells me that he did know. However, I kept quiet so as to not reveal our position, hidden away from plain view.

"Pssh...You demons, all the same."

This time, it was the Mushroom Emperor himself talking. His voice was smooth, very quiet, almost feminine.

"You don't care if you hurt people."

"That's not true at all!" The young Mithical yelled at the Mushroom Emperor, getting clearly irritated.

"Yes it is...you don't think I've forgotten what happened at the Mushroom capital do you...? That bomb."

The Mithical boy whispered something, but he was so far away that it was unintelligible.

But my vision quickly switched over torwards the direction of the Emperor, as a weird flower bloomed on the Mushroom head that obscured his face, showing only the bottom of his long slender nose and his wide grin.

Picking that flower, he threw it onto the ground where it landed, blossom-up. It started to glow, and seemingly became a person! A tall, lanky, dark skinned man with large bushy hair tied up in a red bandana, making it look as if it were the top of a piece of broccoli.

"I know all of you demons are Gaiamancers, but your Gaiamancy is laughable when compared to mine. Show them what I mean, Brock Ollie!"

It was silent for a seccond...okay more than a seccond, something like 10 secconds.

"You know what I'm like, don't act surprised at that name, it's, well, easy to remember."

The Emperor glanced around for a seccond or two, before his pale green face turned from what I could see from my position, a slight red tint.

"Whatever! Get that demon!"

"Yes, my lord."

And without further question, the Broccoli-man jumped the entire height of the tall, multi-tiered structure the Mithical was standind on top of. He landed with not so much as a thud.

There was more than enough room for both of them up on that structure, in fact even though they were both up on there it seemed there was more than 10 feet seperating them. They were speaking, but I was damned if I could hear a word. Sage's intent ears were seemingly picking up on every word.

Then, Brock Ollie struck his opponent, who was almost half his size. With a lightning left kick, as a matter of fact. The young Mithical dodged though, so swift it was hard to notice. He landed ON the assailant's outstretched foot with the grace of a gymnast, and sent himself flipping forward, bringing his foot down on Brock Ollie's head, sending him stuttering back.

The match was not over, Brock still had energy left to spare, albeit a little shaken up. Well, wait a seccond, you could say it was over right then and there, because in the split seccond Brock was trying to regain composure, the little boy Mithical closed the distance between them and gave a rising knee to Ollie's gonads.

The look of anguish in his face was undeniable as he took even more steps back. Half crouched over, the battle was still not ended. But the Mithical was going to make sure it was. Bent over, Brock's face was perfectly level with the Mithical's. The boy reared his head back and a devastating headbutt was sent Bock's way.

The Vegetable-guy was sent sprawling over the edge of the multi-story complex, landing to the ground with a little more than a thud...more like a resounding SMASH. He lay there, twitching, before turning back into a flower bud, and flying back to the Emperor's mushroom-head where he would be absorbed back into it.

"Not even Brock Ollie could stand up to this kid..."

Mushroom Emperor hopped down from his throne.

"I suppose I have underestimated you, demon."

A large, toothy grin graced the Mushroom Emperor's face...the kind of grin that can only mean bad things.

---

"The Mushroom Emperor is fighting?" Sage gasped. The look on his face was shocking, because of course he thought that the Emperor wouldn't soil his own hands.

"...Is that a bad thing?" I quietly whispered into Sage's large, fox-like ear.

"Well see, it's like this: An Emperor looks out for himself first and foremost, usually. If he is going to fight, that must mean he knows he can win without a doubt after seeing what the Mithical boy can do."

"Wait, so...what then?"

Sage, staring into my bedazzled face for a few secconds, parted his lips.

"He could kill the boy. We, as Cocromancers, must protect him. It's in our blood, our mancy, our life-force, a drive to protect life no matter what the cost."

Sage stood up from his crouching, watching position and into his ready-for-a-fight position, staring intently out torwards the crowd of Mushroom Soldiers and the Mushroom Emperor.

"I was thinking to stay hidden from the Empire, because they are very bad news, and if they knew about the throne of Aushra that would definitely be a bad thing. But now I suppose we must protect the boy."

I nodded in agreement, standing to meet Sage's pose.


"So, what's the plan?" I asked, knowing for sure that Sage has probably already thought something up.

"I'm the better fighter, certainly, so I will keep the soldiers and the emperor busy, while you go up, grab the boy, and try to get as far away from here as possible."

With a quick nod of agreement, the plan was in action.

---

Running torwards the high-reaching building in the center of the square, past the soldiers and the emperor, I kept my mind focused on one thing: the boy. Reaching behind, I grab my Rokushaku-bo staff, long and pine, and drive it into the ground , making a pole-vault up the entirety of the structure. Reaching the top, I quickly scan my horizon and spot the boy.

"Hey, boy! Come with me, now!"

"Who the hell are you?" the boy snapped.

"I don't have time for your back-talk, we have to leave, now!"

"As if. I'm about to fight this emperor guy. He called me a Demon, you think I can just let him get away with that? What the hell is wrong with you?"

My face was probably literally turning red, infuriated at this boy's lack of discipline, the likes of which I've never seen being that my entire life was spent with Sage and only Sage. My experience with children was, thankfully, limited.

"What the hell is wrong with you, brat! The emperor will KILL you! And if he won't, his soldiers will!"

"Ahh...I'm not too sure about that." The boy rebuttled, pointing torwards the square where the emperor and his soldiers were located. To my surprise, every single soldier was down, knocked out cold, and only the emperor and Sage were left standing.

"That quick...?"

---

Crouching down on the edge of the high-rise, I tuned my ears onto the Mushroom Emperor and Sage's conversation. Turning my head to the side a bit, I nearly jumped out of my skin seeing the Mithical boy appear next to me, suddenly.

"Don't scare me like that, brat!"

"Shut the hell up, and listen."

Sage and the emperor were in heavy dialogue, that much was for sure. I listened intently.

"Ha! Demons, and their acts of terror shouldn't be left unpunished." The emperor cackled, in a relaxed position but certainly ready to defend himself at any moment, seeing that placed on his hip was a long, slender sword, like a long needle (swords that Sage told me are used for fencing, or what have you).

"Not all mithicals are terrorists. This one is probably not a terrorist. He's just a boy."

"Sure, sure, whatever. You know, I could kind of care less about that boy after you took down all of my soldiers. It's you I'm after now. Making an enemy of the Mushroom Empire is a bad bad thing to do."

"Well, do not worry, I did not kill them. It is against my doctrine to kill anyone."

"That is besides the point..." the emperor started, all the while reaching for his sword, "...You see, the point is..."

Suddenly with a flash, the two were on eachother. In the center of where they were conversing, each meeting the other half way, both with sword drawn. The emperor attempting to attack Sage and Sage blocking with the hilt of his Katana.

"That you resist!" The emperor finishes. "You cannot resist the empire in any form, lest you wish to be led to an early grave!"

Sage said nothing, instead, he stand there, clashing with the enemy's blade. Well, clashing for a while, anyway, before the hilt of his sword starts to glow pink and forcefully drives the small rapier away almost as if they were opposing magnetic forces.

The emperor, stumbling back a little, is shocked at this turn of events. That someone, would be able to push him away so easilly. He runs back at Sage, in disbelief, only to have the same pink aura throw him back every time he would try and make a strike with his sword.

"T-this...is crazy! Why can't I hurt you?!"

Sage casually walks over to the Mushroom Emperor, still protected by the pink glimmer, and grabs the emperor's blade with his bare fist. Thankfully the blade is made more for stabbing than slashing, so no damage is really done to Sage.

"If you wish, you may run. I won't stop you."

The emperor looks horrified, and starts to back away, forcefully pulling his sword from Sage's grasp.

"I-if...if it wasn't for that pink stuff, you would be toast, trust me!"

Running off into the distance, he soon dissapears from sight. Sage looks up in the direction of me and the boy with a dissapointed face.

"Didn't I tell you to run?"

---

"So..." I query, making small hops down the sky-scraping (for it's type of building) clay structure, the boy in tow, "you sure showed that guy, right Sage?"

"Actually, no, I didn't." Sage admitted.

I landed on the firm earth, puzzled at what exactly Sage meant by that.

"Wait, wha..."

"Thing is, if it wasn't for my mancy he would have definitely had a chance against me. His raw skill is excellent, but he has hardly any mastery over his mancy what-so-ever. The extent of his power is the production of 'plant-people' like you witnessed earlier. If he learned to control his mancy he could be real threat sooner or later."

"Why didn't you kill him, then?" The Mithical boy asked, also landing on the ground.

"Cocromancers don't kill. Never ever." I informed him.

The boy didn't look too pleased, almost confused. "Well that sure is stupid as hell."

"Be that it may, young boy. What is your name?" Sage wondered.

"My name...well, it's..." The boy stammered off, almost like he was trying to think of his own name.

"My name is To-ShyyShino."

"What a weird name..." Inadvertantly saying that, being my old stupid self.

"It's not a weird name, it's a Mithical name." Sage added, correcting me.

Well, I can't call him that of course. Too long and hard to pronounce. What should I call him then?

"How about I call you...Toshi? Short and sweet right?"

"Call me whatever the hell you want, I don't give a damn."

What a smug little kid.

I leaned over to Sage, "What a Vulgar little kid."

"I so didn't hear that." Toshi sarcastically remarked.

"Wait a seccond though..." I thought, something was still missing, "What exactly is a Mithical anyways?"

---

"Mithicals...they're like you, but they aren't. Their DNA is slightly different from that of a normal human's. Unlike me, a Fox person, aside from a Mithical's ears, teeth which protrude like fangs, and occasionally things that resemble horns, they are exactly the same as a human being."

"That's not it by a long shot. Mithical are the correct name of what humans for a long time called "demons", "dark elves", or "vampires", just like that one guy was callin' me a "demon"..."

Ah, so I see. Mithicals would be very prosectued then, for almost no reason then the stigma built up over the years.

"Ah, wait, I remembered...Mushroom Emperor called you a terrorist right?" I quipped, just remembering.

"Yes he did. There are certain Mithicals that are notorious for using force to try and gain status in the world and reclaim things taken from them...but like I said, they're all certainly not terrorists."

"I'm a terrorist."

Me and Sage slowly turned our heads, looking down to Toshi, almost in disbelief.

"Well no, not terrorist, freedom fighter. You know, guerrilla warfare."

Wait, why did we save this kid then? I know all life is precious but he is far from innocent then! He probably took some life himself before!

"Why did we save him?" I said, bewildered, "The emperor was probably just getting him back for a terrorist attack this boy performed to one of the empire's territories, right?"

"That is true." Sage answered, "But one thing is odd. Terrorists, or should I say, guerrilla fighters almost never work solo. You part of some group, To-Shyyshino?"

Toshi started to back up, taking one step back, before turning and running full speed out of town.

"Why the hell would I tell you bastards?!" he added while running off.

Then, darkness came. Because, well, I was still dead thirsty and didn't get a drink in the whole time we were in this city! All of this action made me forget I was ever even dehydrated in the first place. All I could do was feel the burning hot sand on my body as I fall to the ground.

---

I wake up in a damp, wet cave. My eyes pop open to see Sage sitting around a fire with two other people. They looked eerily similar, as if they were twins, and they both had horribly tanned skin with platinum blonde hair. Oh, also, they had impossibly long ears and decidedly pronounced encisors. Definitely Mithicals.

"Heart, you awake?"

Whoever it was that said that (I was definitely still too out of it to make sure), I answered.

"Yeah...can't say I feel all too hot though."

I rise to a sitting position and rub my splitting head. I definitely drunk something but I cannot remember for the life of me. I turn my attention to Sage, sitting with the two Mithical twins, having a little chat.

"So, you're guerrilla fighters, right? Is it just you, your brother, and To-Shyyshino?"

"Yes. It's just me, Aelias and To-Shyyshino, but we do fine enough because of our special weapon."

My curiousity peaked up, and I simply blurted it out, "What special weapon?"

Usually, I can constrain myself, but I, for some reason, really wanted to know.

"Oh, Heart, Aelena hear means the 'white bird'."

"Yes, our airship."

Airship? Seriously?!

---

Walking deeper in the cave, I see it. A gigantic, white object, as big as at least 4 houses right next to another! It was huge.

"You asked to see it, here it is: the 'white bird'." Aelena stated, a smug look that seemed like pride on her face.

I walked up to it, and put my hand on the hull. It was shaped like a bird, with large majestic wings.

"Where did you get it?"

"I got it from someone special" Aelena informed me, "But I fixed it up myself. They say I'm pretty much a whiz in the engine room."

Looking at her scruff, manish looks were telling me that she was right. Not only was she a terrorist, but also a seasoned mechanic.

Wait, what did I just say? Terrorist?! Yeah, these are the terrorists!

"Wait a seccond, Sage! These are the terrorists, right? What are we doing here?"

Sage shook his head, almost in dissapointment.

"No, no, Heart. They are definitely terrorists, but terrorists aren't all evil, it does not work like that."

"But...what about the people they hurt?!"

I plead with Sage, for a good few minutes. Aelena standing there, not saying a thing, before her brother walks in. Aelias was his name.

"Yes, we are terrorists" Aelias admitted, "But..."

"We don't wanna hurt nobody." A small voice quipped.

It was Toshi, coming out from behind Aelias.

"Just, you know, scare 'em a bit. Well, we do wanna hurt those soldiers, but not innocent people, we don't do that sort of thing. We don't go out of our way to hurt innocent people. That's stupid as hell."

I was pretty confused at this point, there were a bunch of conflicting stories to be certain. What one person would say would be different from what another person would say. In my life, all I've heard is what Sage, nobody else, has told me.

"But, the Mushroom Emperor was talking about a bomb...and you hurting people..."

Aelena spoke up, "That isn't us who does that sort of thing."

"Then who is it?" I asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"Mhastaa. Vhast Mhastaa."

---

"All of these weird names..." I let out. Not really knowing what I had said, I quickly shut myself up.

Aelena, Aelias, and Toshi all looked at me, annoyed. Sage gave me a "not again...!" look.

"Anyways" Aelena started, all the while walking around the white bird and inspecting it, "Mhastaa...he's the leader of another small group of guerilla fighters, composed of Mithicals. He does stuff that's downright horrible and we get the blame, that's basically the gist of it."

"Seriously?" I replied, "So you guys really aren't the type to do things like bomb places?"

"Yes, you are correct." Aelias assured me, his somewhat deep voice echoing throughout the caverns. "All of what we do is direct. Much like what To-Shyyshino was doing at the dry city."

After about an hour of conversing, we got caught up to speed quite quickly. About their small group of Mithicals, numbering only three, called the Aerobatique Knights, and how they fight for the freedom of all MIthicals who are shunned from society and called demons. However, we also learned about another group of Mithicals, called the EVL Knights by Toshi and the gang. EVL, not only sounds menacing, but is also comprised of the first letter of each of it's member's names. Elc, Vhast, Las. Vhast being the leader.

We spend a good while in the caverns, resting up, talking, deciding what is next on our agenda. Untill Sage spoke up, and asked a little something.

"Do you think you could take us, in the white bird, to our next destination?"

I was actually quite shocked that he would have had such a favor on his mind. It would obviously be quite dangerous to fly the white bird out in the open, seeing how it's the airship of a suspected terrorist organization.

"We only ask you take us as far as our next destination, no further."

Honestly, this would be nice. Not having to walk the length of the desert any further would be nice. But with the Mushroom Empire looking for them it might not be such a good idea. We would also be put into danger.

"So, what do you say?"

Although, this is Sage we're talking about. He wouldn't do something like this without thinking about it thoroughly first, which is probably why he waited to long to ask.

We were all sitting around the fire which was located where I was sleeping when we first reached this cavern. I looked over to Aelena and Aelias to see that they were both contemplating, looking Sage straight in the eyes.

"So..." Aelias started....

"Where to?" Aelena finished.

Sage took out his map. The map to the throne of Aushra, our destination.

"Colosseumtown."

"Colosseumtown...that's where they hold all of those competitions." Toshi chirped.

"Yes, competitions for all sorts of things. Anything you can think of." Aelias stated, almost like he was completing Toshi's sentence.

There was still one thing though, that bugged me, how would we get the white bird out of this cave? This cave isn't just one huge cave, you know. It's a bunch of interconnecting caverns, with tunnels small enough for only a person to fit through.

Asking about this, I promptly get an answer: It seems that with a simple touch and the right words, the white bird collapses into a small ball of light which can then be carried with ease. This must be useful, because with this you can hide the white bird anywhere you wish, from anyone you wish.

The Aerobatique Knights leading us out of the caverns, we reach the scorching hot desert yet again. But not for long, with a simple chant the white ball becomes the white bird, in all of it's majesty, right before our very eyes. There was not a door visible, but knocking on the bird's hull three times Toshi made the part he was knocking on become shining light, much like what the ball was made out of. He passed through with ease, and we all followed.

Inside the bird, it was quite luxurious! Cushioned seats, cool air, the works!

"How did we get from outside, to here?" Sage asked, "It seemed as though you entered a place that looked more close to where the bird's engine would be."

"Three knocks and a portal appears, that portal takes you to this place, the bridge, no matter where you knock."

Ahh, I see! And with that, Sage seemed content, and the preparations for the trip to Colosseumtown started!

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