Forgotten Legacies Collection

Chapter 7

“So what makes her different from the others?” The voice echoed through a darkened room. It was a large area filled with various life-forces. Even now, despite their imprisonment, they were engaged in heated debate. From the weight of the air alone the severity of the situation was obvious.

“This one will die. The others were fortunate there were more of us free then.” Another voice added to the conversation. A low murmur of agreement spread throughout the room. The lack of emotion, and the disinterest placed in their words, would almost have someone believing they spoke of something other than the fate of their entire race.

“Well they had to choose someone I suppose. They have us all now. This would be the last chance,” scoffed another. To anyone outside deciphering the conversation would have been nearly impossible. It was difficult to tell exactly who, or what, spoke. Their languages consisted of a combination of sounds relevant to their apparent species, but each life-force understood the others perfectly. Only those in humanoid form spoke in recognisable tones.

“Mew!” The room fell silent as a cat"s cry filled the air. Although it had only meowed it had a strange authority to its tone. Pacing back and forth it looked between the countless forms in quick succession.

“Their games will be the end of them. This quest will be fulfilled, you"ll see. She"s different.” Seiken argued to deaf ears, pleading for them to listen. He knew faith was one of the most important things they could have. They had to believe in her, or she would fail. Despite this, it seemed they had already decided the fate of those chosen. It was frustrating. He was certain if it had been anyone else, they would have been a little more enthusiastic. But it hadn"t been someone else. Their last chance of preventing this disaster, their last hope of survival, had been her.

willwould“You think a mortal can succeed where we ourselves failed? When those who came before her also met defeat! I don"t think I need to remind you of this, do I?”

“Meow murraouw!” The chatters fell silent again.

“I suppose we have little choice but to hope,” the voice replied giving a defeated sigh as he met the annoyed vision of the black and white cat.

“Having us all here like this means only one thing, he controls our world. I"ve seen it, the boundaries are already thinning.” Seiken"s voice desperately pleaded for them to listen, but they were too intent on arguing, too insistent on disagreeing to hear him. It was no wonder they hadn"t realised what was happening before now. Very few within these confines could work well together. Their role was often a solitary one. Aside from pleasantries, each went about their own business. It was no wonder their dwindling numbers hadn"t been noticed before it was too late. When the time had come to cooperate, they had spent too much time in argument and disagreement. By the time their plan was devised they had already lost.

“It will be the end of us all.”

“Why would they choose someone who could win?”

“No one ever wins. At best we can hope she"ll prove a challenge, but little else. You should know better than to raise our hopes child.” Seiken glanced to the figure with venom in his eyes. For the first time since their discussion had begun, they remembered who they were addressing. The figure cringed realising the disrespect to their heir, to the one who would one day be their ruler, assuming there was anything left to rule.

“No! You"re not listening. They saw in her the weakness she has, the desire for her forgotten truth, they know the lengths she"ll go to find it. They saw her weakness, but in doing so overlooked her strength. They do not think she can win but I know she can.” Seiken assured, but despite their situation they were as stubborn as ever. He didn"t know why he was trying, perhaps he was a fool to think that if they believed in those chosen, put their faith in them, it would help them to be victorious. Belief was the very foundation of their world, and if you believed in something enough it became real. Why wouldn"t they just offer her the benefit of the doubt? Why did they refuse to put their faith in the ones who it seemed were fated to be The Chosen heroes of this time?

Theyknow“Seiken,” an elder voice, the voice of his father, silenced the room. He, like Seiken, possessed a human form. No one gazing upon him would imagine him to be anything other than a mighty ruler, one who would fight beside his men on the fields of battle. Even his tones were lined with pessimism as he spoke. “You are young,” he lied. Seiken wasn"t young, he was far older than those in the room thought him to be. Few amongst them knew the truth of his son"s origin. “They feel despite your power you are too optimistic, but if you say she is the one then I don"t doubt you. It is up to you to assist her. I shall do what I can for the dreamers. We will have to pray our efforts will be enough. You must be careful. Do not stay too long, if our captors discover our astral presence, they will devise a way to inhibit it, and then she will have little, or no chance.” In that room, in their entire race for that matter, there were but the two of them who possessed omnipresence. The skill itself was very limited, but it served them well.

“Mew roaw me?”

“Very well, Rowmeow will keep vigil should the task prohibit our real bodies from appearing to function properly.” This was a major disadvantage with their astral presence, if a situation encountered by the astral body met with something which required either a lot of concentration, or power, their real body would enter a catatonic state until they resolved the need.

“But I am not experienced in this field,” he protested, although with nowhere near enough conviction to convince anyone this was something he did not desire.

“You approached her first did you not?” his father questioned sternly.

“I was simply wondering who they had recruited.” He felt now, more than ever, the need to justify how he came to cross the boundaries to stand before one of The Chosen, especially considering all the warnings he had received in the past about her.

“Seiken, you can avail yourself from this prison for periods impossible to myself. Both The Chosen and the dreamers will need all the assistance we can muster. You have created a bond with her already, after all, isn"t she the one you have been protecting? If you saw the boundary, as you said, you know this game will be our last.”

“It will be the last!” The determination in his voice rang through the darkness, yet his enthusiasm did little to convince the sceptical listeners.

willThe fire crackled. It was a soothing sound that filled the night air as they sat near to the small dirt track surrounded by trees in every direction. Zo placed a handful of herbs onto the fire, one Elly recognised as a mixture to keep away any wildlife or predators that would think to approach them as they slept. It was commonplace for travellers to carry this mixture. It was these herbs that would generally cause the hazing of the air near a camp, and the almost undetectable odour repelled roaming beasts.

The firelight distorted the undergrowth, shielding anything lurking from sight. More than once they had felt as if something had attempted to approach them. The shadows stretched and twisted to tempt their imagination, reminding them of how unsettled the events of the day had left them.

They had decided to stay by the fire that Daniel and Acha had built and camp for the remainder of the night. They had left the town and that had been the most important part. In fact, Elly reasoned, their delay in departure may even prove to be beneficial. If someone else were to approach Zo"s home, they would assume she had already left the island, not that she believed for one moment someone would, but it was worth keeping up the pretence for now. It would provide the extra time needed to ensure they had everything for their journey, just the essentials. By morning she was hopeful Zo would have realised the best option was to leave her friends behind. Perhaps allowing them to spend one last night together would ease any concerns and help them see that their uninvited company would be nothing more than a burden. Yet a lingering feeling that things weren"t going to go as planned meant this would be her last chance to persuade Zo. Given the uneasy feel to the air, she realised there may not even be time for that. Things had already progressed quicker than she had expected.

She had considered administering a sleeping potion into their evening meal, and just taking Zo with her. But she had promised Eiji her protection and, knowing him, he would either accidentally expose the plan or, more likely, get caught in the trap himself. So, for the moment at least, she had to accept the possibility of their intrusion.

Elly sat close to the fire, where the contents of Zo"s backpack were now spread across the ground. While searching through the supplies, she added various items into the metal pot which sat on the rocks above the fire. The smell of stew began to fill the air as it neared completion. Elly couldn"t believe the sheer amount of perishable foods Zo had packed. Had they not been found in the bag so soon, they would have spoilt. It didn"t make any sense, Elly knew she had taught her better than this.

“So, anyone know any good ghost stories?” Eiji asked, passing Elly the remaining ingredients for the meal. His question was met with silence. “No one? C"mon y" can"t have a campfire without ghost stories.” He gestured wildly in what he thought to be an eerie manner. Another silence met his enthusiastic tone. “Oh fine, I"ll go first.” Now they knew they were no longer in danger of being volunteered to tell a story they gave him their full attention. “It"s not a ghost story as such, more like a survival tale, or at least that"s what my master called it when he told me.” Elly glanced up from the simmering stew. Eiji, satisfied he had caught everyone"s attention, continued. “It"s a story of legend, although it happened just over seven years ago…” Eiji began. There had been much speculation about what had happened before his master had seen her, but the information he gave was the part of the story which never changed. It was the story of how Marise had obtained the Grimoire of Light and Life-force.

No one knew how the tale came to be known, since all but one within that village were slaughtered on that day. It was a story Elly knew well. She had heard it from its creator, and even she found herself surprised at the tale spun from assumption. His version had forgotten one very important detail. Marise had not been there to seek vengeance on the temple"s priest as had been believed. She had journeyed there to retrieve the first of the Grimoire. As Eiji told his version of the tale, Elly found herself recalling the true events of that night…

…The Grimoire of Light and Life-force possessed not only the power to manipulate the mind, but life affecting, and healing magic. Anything relating to physical or emotional magic had been stored within this tome. It was for this reason the Hoi Hepta Sophoi sent this particular tome to Napier village. When Night first found the Grimoire it had been stored in a small bookcase in the town, overlooked by all. It was this very place he discovered he could not, no matter how hard he tried, retrieve it with his own hands.

The villagers, although they did not recognise this stranger, feared him and his interest in this object. Each day he would visit and examine it, and his stature alone was a clear indication of his power. With each passing day he grew more frustrated. He would reach forward, his hand outstretched as if to take the tome, but never did he hold it within his grasp. There was only one way to free themselves of this man before he did something terrible. They had to destroy the object of his fascination. If it was no longer within their possession, he would have no cause to return.

They had taken all necessary precautions before the burning. Having seen how the stranger feared to touch it, they too resisted making contact. With great care they wrapped it in a cloth soaked in holy water and blessed by the priest. They did not want to risk touching anything this stranger had feared to take in his own hands, especially when it was obvious how much he had desired it.

The tome, however, had other plans. It had no desire to be destroyed, and such weak humans could never possess the power to harm it. Had the Grimoire possessed a voice, they were certain it would have mocked them with laughter as the flames burnt away their holy cloth to lick its pages. Hours passed, all manner of fire accelerants were desperately added, yet the book remained unscorched. Anything which could not be destroyed in such a manner had to be evil. There was only one thing left to do.

With no means to destroy it, the people did the only thing they could, they took it to the safe keeping of their temple. When the priest took it, he knew instantly of its power. Any fool could have felt it, but not all of them would be able to resist the whispered commands which echoed in their mind. Whispers that controlled their actions and thoughts. It was this power of persuasion held by the book which had seen it relocated, instead of further attempts being made to destroy it.

The priest protected this book. He wrapped it in a blessed silk cloth and carried it with him through the village. He used it wisely, carefully tapping into its dormant powers to heal those in need. It possessed immense power, and a trait which even the Hoi Hepta Sophoi had not expected; anyone could use that which was sealed within for their own devices. They had sealed the magic of a god within its binding, but a god is a powerful being and they possess a magic so unpredictable that even the Grimoire alone could not contain it. This leakage of energy allowed the person possessing it to utilise a measure of the skills trapped within.

The power of this tome was a secret that the priest did not feel appropriate to share with the one who would ultimately become his successor. He could only hope, before the underworld claimed him, his apprentice would have turned his back on the greed and selfishness he so clearly displayed. If not, he would use its power to control those weaker than him, to force them into doing what he believed was the will of the Gods. He knew these would be his actions. His apprentice reminded him so much of his younger himself and, just as he would have back then, the old priest knew he would abuse its power. He believed, until the day of his death, his apprentice had known nothing of its secrets, but this was not the case.

Since the book had first come into the temple the young priest had been haunted by images of it. It called to him in his dreams and whispered sweet promises of the power and the greatness they could share. The world could be his. With practice he could twist everyone and everything to his whim, but first it had to be surrendered willingly, or pass on to him through inheritance.

As time passed, the young priest realised his master would not share its secrets. In order to inherit the book, he began to poison him. The Grimoire mocked his futile attempts, for each time his master took it within his hands he was cured and the tome would taunt his failure. There was only one option, there was but one time of day in which the tome was not within his possession. During his cleansing, the priest would lock it within his room. The thought of its safety was not even a concern. As the priest bathed in the holy waters purifying his body and soul, he was unaware his apprentice had carefully removed the key from his discarded robes.

He prepared for his master a mighty feast. Seeing the young man"s enthusiasm, he had sat to share this meal, unaware seasoning his food was a deadly condiment. By the time he realised what had occurred, the poison had already acted. His pupil watched in silence as he tried to crawl to his chamber through the violent convulsions. Clearing his throat, the young man rotated the chamber key on his finger. This was the last thing he had seen before the gates of the underworld appeared, and Hermes stepped through to collect him.

Hiding his act from the town was not a difficult task. No one would think to question the death of an old man, and if any did, he now possessed the Grimoire, and with it the power to control the thoughts of all who confronted him. It was not long before those in the town obeyed his every whim and fulfilled his every wish. That was, until the fateful day all his obedient pets were slaughtered. His power was absolute. He thought he was unstoppable. He was wrong.

Marise stood on the outskirts of the town. It was a quaint little village, very peaceful. She had arrived in the early evening and the residents were already safely secured in their homes ready for the night ahead. Most of the workers had returned from a hard day in the nearby towns, fields, and mines. There was no need for them to know she was there.

The village itself had been built centuries ago, but the oldest part standing had been constructed little more a few decades ago. It shared its boundaries with desert, mountain, marsh, and plain, constructed on the very place where these four met. The town had visibly suffered many disasters in its time. It was rumoured the damage the town suffered was due to the fact the town possessed a strong link to the Severaine, that and the fact its borders lay on the crossing of such extreme elements. Other people stated the disasters were caused by the immense power which was born there, but the true start of their problems began a long time before. So long ago that everyone, even those who still remembered the pilgrimages of old, had forgotten.

Marise stood on the dirt path for some time. The power of the Grimoire hung heavily in the air. Just one person walked the streets at this late hour, a young priest, who even now hurried towards the temple. He stopped in mid-stride realising the silhouetted figure was watching him intently. He returned her stare for what seemed like an eternity. Neither of them moved, not until finally Marise slowly started to walk towards him.

As the light from the streets illuminated her image her identity became unquestionable. The realisation was reflected in his stiff and panicked posture. Perhaps the Grimoire had whispered her identity to him from its resting place upon the temple"s altar. Regardless of how, he knew who she was, and that she had come for him.

It seemed to Marise, more and more people recognised her at first glance. She didn"t know whether to thank the wanted posters or her deeds. Sometimes it annoyed her when they ran. It was a waste of her time. That night, she didn"t mind in the slightest; she was in exceptionally high spirits.

His hands firmly seized the Grimoire from the altar. With it secure he rushed to the window, ordering the town to take up weapons and do whatever it took to prevent this demon from reaching the temple. The townsfolk scurried from their houses, men, women, and children, all in some way armed, be it with kitchen implements, farming tools, or swords. It seemed not a person remained who had not taken up arms against her. The priest watched from the window fearfully as the demon warrior took the lives of those who stood before her. He watched as she cut a path to the temple, as she hacked her way towards him. Not a single one of his followers, despite their numbers, could connect a single blow. He now understood why people feared this girl, surely, she was a demon taking human form.

Marise smiled. The people of this town were too willing to give their life to someone else, so she took that which they freely offered. Had they been stronger, had they even the slightest desire to think for themselves, such a pitiful manipulation would not have worked. They were ready to die, as long as they weren"t to blame. She could have easily spared the town of bloodshed and still reached the temple door unharmed, but such weakness annoyed her. She could have spared them, but she didn"t. Not a living soul remained except for the one she had come for. The one who sought sanctuary inside the temple.

As she approached, she felt another life-force enter the village. She knew from the disruption in the elements around her that he was a powerful Elementalist. She could feel the energies which radiated from his aura as it told her of his strength. He was indeed powerful, certainly an advanced manipulator of the forces surrounding him. His essence betrayed the training of the next generation he had started. She could feel the strength of his advanced techniques, but his basic talents had now been passed along to fortify the aura of his student.

Elly had told her that Elementalists would train to master the element they felt the strongest connection with. They would learn to read it, and seek out those who could offer them training in that skill. There were many variations on the elemental skills, but no two manifestations were ever the same. In a past time, Elementalists could draw on light, spirit, and darkness, as well as various other traits, without being confined to those of earth, air, fire, and water, but that was a very long time ago indeed, and these skills, as far as she was aware, had been lost through the passage of time.

veryThere were many born who had the potential to become Elementalists but the lack of masters, Elementalists willing to give up their life as they passed their skills on, saw only a few would know of their hidden potential. To fight such a person would prove a challenge. If he stepped further into the village to prevent what was occurring, she would, with only a slight regret, extinguish the remaining talents he possessed from the world.

Marise hesitated outside the temple, wondering if she should go back to face him. He may pursue her in battle, but more likely, on seeing the events which befell the town he would seek to bring aid. They were a few hours away from the nearest town. Even should he leave now, she would be long gone before his return. She decided to finish her business.

Turning her attention back to the temple, she opened the wooden doors by the power of flame. The heavy oak doors disintegrating as her powerful magic connected. The priest stood behind the altar, watching in composed terror as a shadow stepped through the flames like Hades through the gate to the underworld. He turned his eyes to the book which he held clutched within his hands, attempting to appear both calm, and innocent, as she approached. It was something he did rather poorly. Even now she could smell his fear. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he focused the tome"s control onto her. He drew on its powers harder as he concentrated more and more on the force which enabled him to control those of the town. He blanched as the book"s power failed to make her hesitate for even a second. Then, she stood before him, only the altar between them.

and“Mind games?” She smiled sadistically as she raised her eyebrow. It was a smile which froze his blood. For a moment he was unable to speak, unable to move as he looked upon his own death. She teased her hand through her fiery red hair before she spoke again. “Give me the book,” she commanded, leaning forwards onto the altar; as she did so a sudden thought entered his mind. Just as he could not take the book from his predecessor, she could not take it from him. If she were to kill him, it would once more belong to the temple, and thus to the next holy man to cross the threshold and seize it.

Convinced of his safety, he ignored her request and focused all of his will in an attempt to summon a greater strength from the tome. This time she heard the faintest whisper in the back of her mind. It was a voice so faint, so weak, it almost made her laugh aloud. “Very well, two can play at that, I shall wait outside.” Her sea-green eyes locked with his for just a moment. There was so much she could do, so much fun she could have. She could simply whisper to his mind and tell him to give her the book, she could have him mutilate himself, kill himself even, but that was not her desire. She wanted to destroy him. “Killing easy, but to destroy someone completely is far more rewarding.” She smiled coldly, seeing the fear her words brought.

farAs she reached the door, she heard him cry out as his mind"s fears were realised. Creatures like those he had never dared imagine crawled through the floorboards and the ceiling. There were creatures he had always feared, and monsters that sought only his death. He tried to ignore them. He tried to dismiss them as illusions, as fragmented horrific visions, but then, he felt the warm, damp, hungry breath upon his neck which destroyed his logic.

He turned to face them fearfully as they lashed out towards him, sinking their claws deep within his flesh. He was certain now, by the evidence of his own blood, the creatures standing before him were no illusion. Their touch alone had proved them to be as real as the blood he shed. He retreated, clutching his side tightly.

“I shall give you to the count of ten,” she smiled once more as she left the temple. She had no intention of staying to watch him fighting with himself. She waited outside, her back towards the door leaning on the temple"s stone work and began to count.

Marise was just about to reach ten when, as if on cue, the priest scrambled from the charred remains of the temple door. With a look of pure terror, he fell to her feet. His arms and front were bloody and his clothing torn. Marise sneered, the young priest would not even begin to believe each of his injuries were self-inflicted, not from the illusions which, even now, he thought pursued him with the desire to taste his blood. His hands shook as he pushed the book towards her, she looked down at him questioningly until he found the breath to speak.

“P-p-please, take it.” His voice faltered as he glanced nervously behind at the creatures which even now pursued him. “P-p-please, just send away your demons.” She took the tome from his grip. The instant he had released it the creatures vanished, leaving his injuries as the only physical evidence of his encounter. She turned slowly to walk away. There was no need to kill him, he was destroyed, a man pushed over the edge into insanity. There would be no life for him anywhere. Although the images which pursued him had vanished, he would be haunted by the events until, born of his own fear, the monsters would return for him.

As she looked down at him she could already see the cracks in his sanity. He hid it well, for the time being, but his sleep, his dreams, would be his downfall. She had, at that point, no intention of killing him. She would have let him live. She liked the idea of the torture and isolation his life would hold, but then he did something which sealed his death. She would have let him live, if not for the thanks he misplaced.

“Thank you. Thank you, Zeus, for sparing me,” he cried into the air. He had barely finished his praise when Marise turned sharply with her sword drawn. She swung it in a smooth motion to neatly behead him. The last words he heard as she struck him were so plain, so clear.

“It was not Zeus who would have spared you, it was me.” She sheathed her sword and nodded respectfully at Hermes as he collected the priest. She had seen a lot of him lately, today especially.

Just one person, excluding herself, remained with life in their body, and that was the Elementalist. He seemed to be rooted to the spot in fear as he gazed upon her. His already white hair barely a contrast against his pale complexion. She stopped mere feet away from him, and for a moment they simply stared at each other. She saw many things within the depths of his eyes, recognition, fear, and honour. As she studied him, something seemed to shift inside her, something that convinced her to walk away. In that one moment, she lost control.

“Next life, you save me.” Marise did not even know she had spoken these words, nor did she remember having left the village. By the time she realised he may have been left alive it was already too late to turn back…

…“He said it was hard t"believe such a sweet voice and heartbroken smile had come from such a malicious person.” Eiji began to summarise his far less accurate version of the story as the food had nearly finished cooking. “He was said t"be the only person t"ever survive her gaze.”

“Surely, he can"t have been the only one, or no one would know who she was. I"ve never heard such tales.” Zo glanced around, aware of the disbelief in everyone"s eyes. It was clear she was the only one amongst them who had no idea who Marise Shi was.

“You"re kidding right?” Zo"s expression told Daniel she was deadly serious. “You"ve never heard of Marise Shi?” His voice seemed to scream with disbelief. It had only been a few weeks back that he and Acha had discussed the assassin at length even she—or more precisely the person whose body she had taken—had knowledge of Marise and her deeds. As Daniel thought about it, he suddenly realised why she would not know such things. Her amnesia had taken away her memories of the past. She was spared from the curse of knowing, by the curse of not remembering.

“No,” she answered as she glanced between them for an answer.

“She was, well, still is, the most feared assassin of all time. She is a legendary warrior who has slaughtered countless numbers and razed cities to the ground. She is feared as a god, but lacking in compassion, she is sometimes deemed to be much worse.” There was an uncharacteristic bitterness in his tone as he spoke, one which portrayed his disapproval.

“So what happened to her?” Zo questioned curiously.

“Well, some say when Night returns she will join him. If Elly"s tales are true, and he has returned, then it stands to reason she would be beside him. Others say she encountered a stronger foe and met her end. Whereas me, I think she"s lying low, probably biding her time until she seizes the last Grimoire.” Daniel was more familiar with the tale of the Grimoire than he had implied when Elly had questioned Zo about it. However, he had wanted to hear just what this stranger had to say before he gave anything away. By listening to her, he planned to ascertain if the words she spoke were lies or truth. If they were lies, he could have protected Zo, and warned her about the deception. But, so far, it appeared she had spoken only the truth.

hasDaniel held his friends" attention so well they had been completely oblivious to Elly as she slapped Eiji, very hard, across the back of his head.

“You i***t!” Elly hissed forcefully as Eiji rubbed the back of his head. “What were you thinking?”

“I"m sorry, I wasn"t, I forgot. I was just tellin" a story.” Eiji bowed his head to her in apology. He hadn"t given it much thought. It was always so well received that it was the one he always told around the campfire. He hadn"t even paused to consider the people he travelled with.

“Do you ever think before opening that mouth of yours?” she scolded. This was not the first time he had received such a warning.

ever“I said I was sorry,” he sulked.

“Be more mindful of your words,” she whispered, noticing their low conversation had already moved onto other things. Safe in the knowledge Eiji"s indiscretion had not caused any problems, for now, she began to serve the stew. It seemed there were more than enough small bowls, perhaps in some way Zo had anticipated this. Maybe she had known they would follow her, and had planned one last meal together.

Zo found herself unintentionally withdrawn as they settled around the fire to eat. Her thoughts strayed to Seiken. Something about him seemed so familiar, but even the topic of their conversation had been forgotten, leaving her with only the memory of his image and the fleeting sensation of his importance.

A rustle came from uncomfortably close behind her, snatching her from her thoughts. Oblivious to the sound, her friends continued to talk as they ate. Zo knew, that thanks to the herbs she used on the fire, there should be no wildlife in the area. Even insects would take shelter from the subtle odour created. Something moving in the vicinity was a very bad sign indeed.

Placing her dish slowly to the ground she glanced anxiously, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound. It came from a nearby tree. She already knew it was nothing as harmless as a bird foraging for food, but she didn"t want to betray their advantage just yet. As she looked deep into the tree, she saw two large black eyes peering from the shadow. Eyes, for some reason, she thought she should remember, eyes which brought with them danger.

Her hand fell to her sword in a movement she hadn"t even noticed until she felt its cool hilt held firmly within her grasp. She pushed the hilt with her thumb slightly, releasing the internal catch with a click.

Everything went deadly quiet. Her friends had stopped in mid-conversation and now watched her with a mixture of expressions as she rose to her feet, holding her weapon ready to draw. She listened intently for signs of further movement. More eyes appeared in the bushes and trees around them. The sound of whispers, which had been nothing but a rustle of wind through the trees, suddenly became noticeable to all.

"You are chosen." Finally, one voice stood out from the rest. It seemed to engulf the air with its words, the quieter voices echoed its statement. Despite the fact that their tone was no higher than a whisper, the voices swelled before crashing over them with all in intensity of a stormy sea shore, battered under the force of the tide.

You are chosen.“There must be hundreds of them,” Acha whispered. They were all on their feet now, she turned a full circle as she listened to the same words being spoken over and over.

“It"s like they appeared from thin air. What can do that?” Eiji questioned, he too made a similar circular movement to Acha as he tried to determine the exact source of the many whispers.

“Demons?” Daniel gave one of several answers. The first one to enter his mind, an answer which was the closest they would get. They weren"t demons, demons could only appear at night when the enchantment, which sealed them to the world, was disrupted by the moonlight. This only happened during the full moon which marked the end of the year, a time known and celebrated as the festival of Hades, or Samhain.

“Chosen for what? Would probably be a better question,” Elly stated joining them to form an outward facing circle. Zo, however, still stood at the base of the tree looking at the one whose voice had addressed them so clearly.

"Are you ready?" Again, the words crashed over their heads as the question was echoed in, what seemed like, a thousand whispers. "What fun you"ll be." With those words, the dream returned to her, as vivid as the creatures themselves. They had promised her the truth. They had promised her answers, if she would accept their quest and play their game, and their "game" as they called it had something to do with Seiken, and something he needed from her.

Are you ready?"What fun you"ll be."She remembered almost everything about the dream, even the subject of conversation between herself and Seiken. Now she remembered she knew the answer to the question they asked. His world was in danger. This quest was their hope, and along the way, as she aided Seiken"s people, she was promised the answers about herself she so desperately sought.

“I"m ready,” her voice trembled. A chorus of her name and questions filled the air from her friends, their voices so loud they almost drowned out the whispers. It appeared they were shocked she would answer such a question, shocked that she seemed to know what they were referring to, and was ready for whatever it was, without so much as a word to them.

Zo said nothing. This did not involve them. Given the chance there would be time for explanations later, but first there was a need to understand the rules, to understand what was expected of her in order to win. Now she had agreed to their game surely everything would become clear.

"She"s ready." The whispers again spoke in unison. "Ever changing with the sun, your life shall be until you"re done." A mocking echo of laughter resonated through the air as the world around them erupted in a flash of light, it was a light so bright that no darkness remained, yet with this light came the same blindness which darkness caused.

She"s ready."Ever changing with the sun, your life shall be until you"re done."Zo"s hand shot to her shoulder. Although she saw nothing, she felt the skin on the top of her arm begin to burn as if a flame danced across it. It burned with an unnatural pain, as if something was being branded not just upon her flesh but into her essence itself.

She stood paralysed for a moment as the light began to fade. Taking a hesitant breath, she looked to her friends, ready to explain. As her eyes adjusted, an anger burned deep within her. Hers was not the only hand to nurse a wound, her friends, mirrored her posture. The game, or whatever it was, had just started and already they had cheated. They had involved her friends in something that didn"t concern them.

“Cheats!” she cried into the now silent air. “You said nothing about them. You asked me, me!” she screamed. Her sword was drawn before she had realised. She hacked at the tree the creature had first appeared in, frustration fuelling her every blow. “Show yourself, I dare you!” she challenged venomously as the blade on her sword flashed wildly, becoming even brighter. Her friends watched her in surprise, shocked by the anger and hatred in her voice as she screamed into the air. The leaves, which were forced from the tree by her violent actions, fluttered through the air in serenity, despite the lack of it at that moment in time.

Daniel placed his hand softly on her shoulder. She spun quickly to face him, her sword raised as if to strike. When her eyes met his, the blade vanished into a fine wisp. Her eyes seemed to change before his stare. He reasoned it was nothing more than a trick of the light, paired with the fast draining anger.

“What was all that about, what just happened?” Daniel asked cautiously as he held contact with her piercing blue eyes. She slowly lowered the hilt, her breathing still erratic from her outburst.

“What does this symbol mean?” Acha asked as she rolled up her sleeve to reveal an upside down Y, but where the top of the down line should finish, it continued down to draw almost level with the bottom of the symbol, it looked a little like an easel.

“It"s a rune.” Daniel answered when Zo failed to respond to his question. “It"s a symbol said to be used long ago by those who were able to travel between worlds. This one is known as Algiz. This one is a means to activate the higher self, but other texts also relate it to boundaries and the setting of limits, since it"s reversed, upside down that is, I assume it means just the opposite, the opening of paths otherwise protected.” As he spoke, his eyes never for a moment left Zo"s. "You okay?" he mouthed, unable to hide his concern. Never before had he seen her lose her temper, it was uncharacteristic. Zo lowered her head shamefully and sat on the ground as the remainder of the wild energy left her.

“What is going on?” Elly"s asked softly, moving to sit beside her. Something about her tone seemed to reveal a deeper understanding. Turning away, Zo jabbed the ground gently with the hilt of the vanished sword.

“We"re not playin" games!” Eiji snapped; he covered his mouth, realising who he addressed. When he spoke again his tones were softer. “If somethin"s gonna happen, we need all the information we can get.” He examined the branding of Algiz on his arm in a ploy to avoid looking at her. He mulled over his choices once more, death, or death. Either way he may as well face it, for the moment he was stuck with them.

“I didn"t know. I thought it was just me, I swear.” As she looked up to him, tears of frustration ran down her face as she spoke. She was angry at the situation, but angrier at herself for her inability to understand the consequences of her actions. There was no possible way she was going to make things worse by telling them how they had tempted her to play. “But I never agreed to this, never. I thought it would just be me.”

they“You are not making any sense. What exactly is going on?” Elly touched her hand gently, an action to stop her from repeatedly thrusting the sword"s hilt into the earth.

“I don"t know. The eyes spoke of a game, a quest of some kind, and he… he needed my help. All I know is there is somewhere that needed my help, so I agreed.” She tried to explain but failed to put into words a situation she barely understood herself.

“Who needs our help?” she questioned.

“He called himself Seiken. He said I was to be their saviour but you weren"t a part of it. They cheated!”

“Saviour?” Eiji almost scoffed at the thought of Marise being a saviour to anyone, but then again, she wasn"t Marise anymore. The girl he had spoken to was completely different, apart from her looks. He hadn"t even seen the resemblance until just then. He had started to wonder if there had been a mistake, but after having witnessed her outburst, he knew he had to be very careful around her. There was no doubt in his mind, the murderer his master had spoken of lay just below the surface.

“He said something about different worlds, thinning boundaries.” Her voice had calmed a little. As she spoke, she tried to make herself remember exactly what had transpired, exactly what he had said, but the harder she thought, the further the answer seemed to retreat. “I don"t know,” she sighed in frustration.

“Why didn"t you say anything to us?” Acha joined the small circle as she sat in front of her.

“I couldn"t remember. I thought it was a dream. I saw the eyes, then when I awoke after the attack, Seiken was in my room. But then he simply vanished. I thought it was just delirium. That"s all I know. I"m so sorry.” She lowered her head again as she examined the ground in an attempt to lessen the force of their looks.

“Well, I"m glad it happened.” Zo looked to Daniel in bewilderment as he spoke. “If you"re going to explore strange worlds, I want to be with you. You can"t have all the fun.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder to hold her tightly.

“I agree.” Acha smiled, unaware she and Daniel had become the recipients of Elly"s questioning gaze. It seemed she could not understand their reaction, or had expected an alternative response.

“If they"re gonna cheat from the start it only makes sense t"have someone watchin" y" back.” Zo was even more astounded as Eiji offered his understanding. She was convinced when they had first met, he had taken an instant dislike to her. Yet now, when he had every right to hate her, it seemed he instead offered his assistance. Zo turned to Elly who smiled slightly as Zo"s eyes met hers.

“What?” she shrugged. “I expected nothing less. You have never turned down an adventure. You were always getting us into trouble. It will be just like old times.” Elly had known this would happen. She had known the naming of The Chosen was about to occur, but she had not expected it to be so early this night. She was aware they had approached Zoella and their doing so had marked the start of an ancient prophecy. Elly"s arrival had been timed perfectly to ensure she stood beside her when the time came. The prophecy was destined to begin here, this reason alone was why they had lingered on Crowley. Those with Zoella would be fate"s Chosen, and such was the reason the uninvited company had caused concern. But things could still work out as planned, bearing the mark was not a guarantee of longevity.

Gradually as the night passed, they settled down to sleep. Zo watched them for a few moments as she lay awake, she wondered what tomorrow would bring. She could only imagine what dangers lay in wait. At the moment, very little made sense, she could only hope they would understand more of the situation before it was too late, but for now she was grateful to have friends, people who would stand beside her during this journey. With that thought she too settled down to sleep.