The Calling of the Chosen Chpt. 2

The events of the past two days still weighed heavily on my mind, and I was still very confused about everything that had happened. The only thing that comforted me was that I had finally found a purpose in my life. But, I wasn’t sure if I liked having someone else’s purpose. Or at least one that I had no say in. I had no memories of that life or of the events that took place. All I knew was what I saw in that one vision. I thought about this as I continued down the packed dirt road away from the temple. After I had followed the road for a few hours, I found a large rock that was in the shade of a tall pine, and decided to see what exactly was in my pack. The pack itself was made of burlap, and appeared to be quite sturdy. At the top were my jeans and the shirt that I had been wearing when I came to this world. The shirt was torn at the shoulder from where the stalker had slashed me, and a small patch of blood had blossomed around that tear. The sage had provided me with some dark navy pants and a navy and tan shirt. The embroidery on the shirt was exquisite, long navy strands looped across the shoulders and down the chest and back, and was more comfortable than anything I was used to. The sage promised me that it was stronger and lighter than any metal armor. He claimed that the cloth had been seeped in a concoction of crushed dragon scales and some rather less appealing things. I wasn't quite sure if I believed him.


From where I sat, I picked up a sharp rock and tried to cut the bottom of my pant leg. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t even pick the fabric. The old man had been telling the truth after all. Further down in the rucksack were a few days’ rations, mainly roots and berries and things that would not spoil easily. There were also some antidotes in case I had an “unfortunate accident” before I reached Taikan. Down in the bottom right corner of the bag something caught my eye.


I pulled a strange medallion from the bag and held it in my hands. It was roughly the size of a nickel, and had strange symbols on it. My sword began to pulse with energy as I held the medallion. I drew Avangaurd, and saw for the first time a small indentation right above the leather-wrapped hilt. I placed the medallion into the indentation, and watched as the sword engulfed it. It simply sank into the sword, and was covered by over instantly. You could still see it from both sides, however it could not be removed. I realized that I had never asked what the sword was made out of. No metal could have left it as clear as glass, and glass would be rather inconvenient in a battle.


Having drawn the sword, I decided to see what power it held. I went past the pine to a thick oak that stood nearby. I stood holding the sword in both hands and swung at the middle of the tree. My arms seemed to be guided through the swing. I had expected the sword to nick the tree or possibly go in an inch or two at most, but the sword kept going, slicing through the tree like a hot knife through butter. At first nothing happened, and I thought maybe I had missed the tree altogether. But then a second later, sap began to drip from the line where I had cut. The huge tree began to slide slowly down at a diagonal. It fell to the ground with a thunderous crash; the noise startled the birds in the trees, and they flew off in panic. I stared in amazement at the precision of the cut. Not a single splinter stood on either side of the split. As the dust settled, I sheathed my sword and walked back to the pine. I reloaded my pack and set back out on the trail. I didn't want to waste any more daylight.


As I walked through a stretch of shaded woods, I remembered what the old man had said about my alignment with ice. The more I thought about it the more appropriate it seemed. Ice symbolized solitude, and lack of compassion both of which I possessed. I also remembered what he had said about how I could use my alignment to my advantage. I focused my mind on ice, on its cold, smooth feel. Its deadliness also crossed my mind; those smooth sides ending in wicked points, and its eternal, unrelenting freeze. I shaped the shard in my mind, and as I did something erupted from my hand and buried itself halfway into the trunk of a nearby tree. I walked closer to examine it, and found that it was the shard that I had been thinking of. "Amazing," I said as I stared at my hand. The shard was about as long as a pencil, and as wide as a spool of thread. I was stunned at how fast it flew though the air, and also at the force with which it hit the tree. Now knowing how it felt to create such a deadly weapon, I focused my mind on creating more. I could feel the power surging within me now. It flowed through my body, and pulsed through my veins. I focused it and willed it forth. This time several more shards flew from my hand and buried themselves in the same tree. I continued walking, flinging ice shards at random. Every time it became easier to harness the power and summon them. Only a few shards strayed from their intended target.


One of the stray shards, however, did net me dinner for that night. The shard flew past the intended tree and pierced a rabbit straight through its heart. It died before it knew what had happened. When I got closer I realized that the rabbit had not bled a drop. I assumed that the arteries and veins around the wound had been frozen solid. I wrapped the rabbit in some large leaves and tied it to the top of my rucksack. I soon made my way through the grove of trees and was once again walking on through bare plains. I looked up into the clear blue sky to find the position of the sun. I was relatively certain that time worked the same in this world, but I wasn't completely sure; my watch had stopped working after I went through the door in the cross world. I had already decided that I would not camp on the roadside or in the open. A tree seemed to be the best and only choice.


As the sun went down, I built a fire and roasted the rabbit. I had found a few other items in the bag such as a knife, which I used to skin the rabbit, and some gold and silver coins, which I assumed to be the currency of this world, or at least in this continent, which the sage had called Tolya The rabbit smelled wonderful as it roasted over the fire; as soon as it was done, I ate it hungrily and wrapped the leftovers in a new set of leaves. I then scouted around in the nearby woods to make sure that nothing was lurking nearby. Everything was still, so I put out my fire and climbed up the tree that I chosen for the night. It had a thick layer of branches so I didn’t have to worry about falling out or being easily seen while I slept. There was a full moon in the sky, along with countless millions of stars, so I hoped to get some traveling in after the few hours of sleep that I needed. The moon in Deraga was very beautiful. It was white like our moon, but unlike ours, it had rings. They glowed with brilliant oranges, reds, and purples. It was so peaceful at that moment in time, and I had no trouble getting comfortable. I closed my eyes, pulled my blanket over me, and drifted off to sleep.


My dreams cascaded down upon me as soon as I shut my eyes. The black armored warrior from my vision stood before me with his sword in hand. I reached for my sword and drew it from my sheath. He attacked before I could even prepare myself to counter. I heard him laughing as he pounded me with crushing blows. His red eyes stared at me beneath his black visor, and they taunted me. He finally raised his sword as I lay gasping for air at the ground at his feet. He had beaten my and know I was going to pay the price. His sword came toward me, and I woke with a jolt. The tree was being shaken violently from below. I rubbed my eyes and looked down below me. The light of the moon revealed a shadow stalker trying to unearth the tree. My heart thudded in my chest. It began to call out in strange grunts and moans. I wondered if there were more in the area. Tossing down my sack first, I leapt from the tree. I landed the ten-foot jump easily, not even needing to roll; yet another perk of being this so-called Chosen I supposed. The shadow stalker turned and grinned at me with its face full of sharp teeth. Its eyes were even worse in this darkness. I drew my sword and faced the beast. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered that the sage had been curious about me being left-handed; something about it not being the same, but I had little time to worry about that now. The beast made the same laughing noise as the one in the cross world as it faced me. When it opened its mouth to let out another cry I shot an ice shard into its gaping maw. The shard ripped through the back of its throat and left a visible but tattered hole that I could see even in the moonlight. Before it could register what had happened, I sliced it in two with a slash of my sword. Its body fell to the ground and dissolved into a puddle of black ooze. The ooze disappeared into the air like dust. I ran down the path to the end of the forest, and stood at the edge of an open plane. It was like there was nothing that had stopped the sword. I couldn't feel any resistance from bone or muscle as I had cut though it. I looked around me and to my dismay I saw that it had indeed been calling its brethren.

In the moon's silver glow I saw six more morte'tellana's bounding towards me. They were still pretty far away, but ran in huge, loping strides. I had two choices, to run or to fight. I figured my best plan would be to try and avoid a fight, because I didn't think I could take six of them at once. I set off, moving quickly and quietly along the path. My speed and stealth had also been greatly enhanced by the previous days events. One of the stalkers spotted me, however, and they all changed their path. Five of the regularly sized ones would reach me first, and following behind them was one that was much larger. Even from that distance I could see that it was at least twice as large as the others. It was a part of the stalker family but it was called morte’telkana, the night stalker.
"How the hell did I get myself into this mess?" I said to the wind, but the beasts reached me before I could answer.


I drew my sword and steadied myself for their attack. As they came closer I began to fire shards. Two of them dropped, and I injured a third on its right leg. Their claws shone brightly as they came down towards me. I dodged quickly and slashed back with my sword. I hit the injured mort, which is what I had decided to call them, and it dissolved into dust. One of the morts had come up behind me, and it backhanded me with its massive hand. I flew down the road skidding and sliding as I repeatedly hit the ground. Apparently, these beasts weren't as easy to kill as they had been letting on. I brought myself to my feet and tried to focus my eyes. The images came together just in time to dodge another blow from the beast. I did a quick sidestep, and when it passed me I drove Avangaurd through its spine. I let out a quick flurry of shards and watched the last one fall.


As the black dust cleared from the air, the larger mort came towards me. It was nearly twice as large as the others, with an even nastier set of teeth. Its eyes glowed bloody, crimson red, more so than its smaller counterparts. When it saw its fallen brethren, it let out a bone-chilling roar. I backed up and held my sword in front of me. It charged towards me with its claws outstretched. It slashed at me but I was able to move out of the way just in time. The mort grabbed my sword arm and held me up in the air. It raised me up to eye level and gave a low growl. I froze a half-foot spike on the tip of my boot. I drove my foot into its stomach, and it released me from its grasp. Dark blood ran from its belly and spilled on the ground below. It howled in pain from its wound, and it applied pressure with one of its clawed hands. I fired a round of shards at it, and it blood spattered from it as they passed through. It fell back on its knees and gave a final yell as it began to disintegrate. I walked up to it, and it looked at me with rage and hate burning in its eyes. “Go back to hell!” I cried as I shot it point blank in its skull. The beast’s head burst apart, littering the ground with the remnants of its skull.


I stood there and watched it disappear, but not all of it went away. A large kidney bean shaped mass stayed behind on the ground. It was covered in veins and writhed about in the dirt. “So this must have been why it was holding its stomach,” I thought to myself. I moved closer to it, and as I did something began to bulge inside of it. The thin covering, burst so I drew my sword just to be safe. A very small beast pushed its way from the casing. It cocked its head as it saw me, and gave a little cough. A thin cloud of fire sprayed from its mouth and lit the ground alight. It spread wings from its back and took off into the now fading night. I probably should have killed it right then but something stopped me from doing so. The drake grew as it escaped, becoming larger and stronger, but I soon lost it in the clouds.


I stood there for quite awhile before I moved on. The road was stained with the blood of the beasts as well as dark spots from where the beasts had disappeared. The residue dripped of my sword until it was clear once again. Avangaurd gleamed brilliantly in the morning sun, and the warmth of that yellow sphere gave me comfort that I had not experienced so far in Deraga. The land was beautiful, and the earth was much purer than that of earth, but I had been running since the day I had arrived, I knew no one, and I had very little hope in the success of my journey. I had thought that I would have has some time to prepare for this battle but I had been thrown right into the middle. I realized what it felt like to have the weight of the world on my shoulders, and the responsibility that it carried. I needed to inform someone of what was going to happen but I didn’t know whom I could trust. I sheathed my sword and watched the glimmering blade disappear into the darkness of the sheath. Thinking of all these things I began yet another day with a road ahead of me and with no end in sight.