Fantastopia: The New Life (Part 1)

The Lord is testing me

Okay, I’m pretty sure I got away from the unicorn, and I am still lost. I tried looking around for anything that could help me, but all I saw were trees, bushes, and something that I’m guessing is just a bird, or a fairy maybe? I don’t know it was hard to tell. But until I know what to do, I really gotta take a piss. I honestly didn’t know where to go cause I was afraid it would end up on some fairy houses or something, and I was also scared to do it in a river or any form of water cause there might be- I don’t know- mermaids?

Oo, wait, this tree looks bare. Okay, you know what? Just do it quickly and let’s hope no one sees you.

“You’re back.”

That familiar voice once again made me jump in fright as I clutched my beating chest along with the rim of my pants while turning around to see the one and only creepy enchantress who I really hope didn’t see anything.

“Jeez Wren!” I breathed in shock “Are you gonna always appear like that?!”

“Yes, I like watching people jump from my sudden appearance” she smirked.

Grandpa said I should trust her huh? I’ll be the judge of that.

“Um, you didn’t see anything did you?” I asked, trying to appear cool.

“You’re lucky I arrived before your pants were down.”

Well, that just made my face red.

“Don’t worry,” she put in, “I know where you can go.”

She snapped her fingers, and just like that, we were back in her creepy lair.

“There’s a water closet down the hall to your left” she pointed to the door.

“Water closet?”

“Bathroom, the John, whatever you wanna call it, just go before you wet your pants.”

Hm, I guess everything really is old-fashioned around here. But, after using the... you know. I followed Wren down the spiral stairs and into the main entrance/throne room that was surprisingly empty, even the king wasn’t on his throne.

“I can see your ring has taken you to a different part of the land” she suddenly spoke.

“Oh yeah,” I replied, hoping my ring wouldn’t turn orange like last time, “My grandfather told me this would happen. And then he warned me about unicorns, and I just happened to run into one.”

“Oo” she cringed “Well it’s a good thing it didn’t stab you with its horn.”

“What is it with unicorns hating men?”

“Because men are known for capturing unicorns for their horns, they usually have young maidens charm the creatures before they capture it and cut off their horns.”

“Is it true that unicorn horns are able to detect if a drink is poisoned?”

“It is true, which is why their horns are so valuable. But if a unicorn losing its horn, it takes many years for it to grow another one, which is why it’s against the law to capture a unicorn. And even though there hasn’t been any capturing since the law was set, unicorns are still violent.”

“Whoa” I breathed astonished “And to think I wanted to pet one.”

“You can pet one someday” she smirked, “Just make sure you have a girl with you.”

Oo, maybe Aria could come with me. The two of us, alone, with a unicorn, I’m all for it.

“Jesse,” that sweet voice of the princess was heard as we turned to see Aria walking towards us.

“You’re back,” she smiled at me, “Did you find your way back here okay?”

“Nope,” I replied, “I got lost and was almost killed by a unicorn.”

“What?” she gasped.

“Yep,” I muttered, “How could something so beautiful be so violent at the same time?”

“Oh please,” Wren rolled her eyes, “We got plenty of those here. There’s the Sirens, Vampires, Witches, even some of the pixies can’t always be trusted. They may be small, but they got a big attitude.”

“Uh, a pixie’s a fairy right?” I asked, knowing my mythology wasn’t always that accurate.

“It is a type of fairy, but they don’t have wings like the other fairies. And unlike the other fairies, they can’t become human size.”

“Whoa,” my eyes suddenly widen, “They could do that?”

“Apparently so, but while in human size they don’t have their wings. Now, I can talk about fairies all day, but you should really start your training.”

“Oy,” I pouted.

“Come on,” Aria nudged my shoulder, “Let’s go to the weapons room.”

Oo, this should be interesting. I followed her down many halls and down some stairs until we were in the weapons rooms, and boy did this place look awesome. There were weapons everywhere, from arrows to swords, it’s like all the weapons from fantasy movies were in this one room.

“Welcome to the weapons room” Aria announced, “This is where all the warriors and knights come to choose their main weapons.”

“Gnarly,” I breathed astonished.

“Once again, you’re allowed to choose two weapons, one for close combat and the other for ranged combat. But first, let me hand you your knife.”

She walked over to a wall that had many different pocket knives hanging as she took one down.

“Here you go,” she handed it to me.

Whoa... this looked pretty awesome. It was a regular pocket knife with a wooden handle and Celtic design, and boy did that tip seem sharp.

“Everyone has a pocket knife like this,” Aria pointed out, “Even Hazel has one.”

“Well, thanks,” I smiled while sliding the blade into its little scabbard.

“Now, obviously this won’t do much against big enemies, but hey, it’s always best to have some kind of protection on you, even if it’s just a small one.”

I placed the pocket knife into my pocket. I’ve never owned a pocket knife before, and even just having it on me is already making me feel safe, well, at least at the moment.

“Why don’t you just go ahead and pick out your two weapons?” Aria suddenly suggested, “Close combat weapons are on this side and range combat are on the other side.”

I decided to go to the range combat side first, they had everything from bow and arrows to crossbows to slingshots, but it was so hard to choose one. Or so I thought when I spotted a pair that caught my attention.

“Wait, what are these?” I pointed to a pair of circular weapons that had bladed sides and a place to be held.

“These are chakrams,” she explained, “Kind of like bladed boomerangs.”

“Aren’t these the same kind that warrior princess Xena used? Not that I’ve seen the show or anything.”

That was a lie, I have seen a few episodes when I was younger, I mean come on, Xena was badass to watch.

“Exactly,” she nodded while taking them down “You want these as your range combat weapons?”

“Um, I guess so” I shrugged, “Why not? They do look cool.”

“They are,” she smiled while placing them on a nearby table “So go ahead and choose your close combat weapon.”

I went over to the other side of the room that was mostly filled with swords, I’m not surprised, I was kinda expecting it. But man, all of these looked so awesome, but I was having a hard time trying to choose one. Unlike the chakrams, none of these drew me to them.

“Um uh, all of these looks really cool but, it’s so hard to choose” I admitted.

“It’s alright, take your time.”

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well, most start off with a sword or a machete, but try to find the one that speaks to you.”

“Right,” I doubted, “Like I’m gonna find one that speaks to- whoa wait a minute, what is that?”

I pointed to a certain weapon on the wall that was to the side, now this is something that definitely caught my eye. It appeared to be some kind of sword, it looked like the other swords, but there were somethings different about it. For starters, this one was wrapped in a lot of chains which I found odd. Why would they wrap up a sword in chains? Not only that, but this sword also had a really cool gold dragon handle with I’m assuming to be emeralds for the eyes.

The blade was so shiny that I could see my reflection in it, and it appeared so sharp that it could cut your skin if you lightly touch it. But what made this sword so cool was that I could see some writings in the center of the blade that can only be seen in the light, I couldn’t tell what it said because it was written in I think Norse or something. But damn, this sword, this sword was something.

“What is this thing?” I asked while being completely hypnotized by its shiny blade.

“That is one of the deadliest weapons we have” Aria explained “No one has ever used it in many years, not even your grandfather used it. It is an instrument of unparalleled power that no single man should ever wield.”

“... I’ll take it.”

“What?”

“I mean didn’t you hear it?” I asked while running my fingers near the blade “It spoke to me.”

“Jesse...”

“I have got to use this weapon, how do I take it down?”

“Um, are you sure you wanna use that?” she questioned sounding nervous “I mean shouldn’t you start with something simple?”

“Nope, I want this one.”

I have got to use this thing, this is one of the most epic weapons I’ve ever seen, and I haven’t even seen it in action yet. I just had to hold it, it was calling for me... man I sound so dramatic.

“Jesse” Aria turned me around to face her now serious face “I don’t think you should use this one.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t you hear me say that no single man should ever wield it?” she complained.

“Maybe, maybe not, I was kinda hypnotized by this sword’s epicness.”

“Oh my God,” she groaned.

“Hey what’s so bad about it anyway? Is it like cursed or something?”

“I don’t know, I never knew what it does. But all I know is that no amateur should use it.”

I was really disappointed, I knew I had to use this weapon, but Aria was probably right, I am just a beginner.

“Can I at least hold it?” I asked with a big smile.

“No.”

“Shit.”

“Look, we can come back later if you want. Let’s just go to the arena, if you still want to use a sword, then you’re gonna start with a training sword.”

“What’s a training sword?”

“Follow me.”

I followed her back up the stairs and into a hallway just as I spotted her father walking towards us.

“Ah, Jesse,” he smiled at me, “You’re back. And seeing how you two have come back from the weapons room, have you chosen your weapons yet?”

“Just these chakrams,” I pointed to the chakrams in Aria’s hands “But I also did want to use this awesome sword that was wrapped in chains, but apparently Aria says I can’t use it.”

“I’m just saying” Aria informed, “I don’t think a beginner should use it.”

King Hardwin didn’t say anything for a moment while taking glances at both of us.

“Aria” he suddenly spoke, “Would you mind if I talk to Jesse alone for a bit?”

Oh God, I did something wrong, didn’t I?

“Sure father,” she nodded before turning to me “Meet me in the arena when you’re done.”

As she headed off, I followed the king down the hall, wondering what he wanted to talk to me about, I just hope it was for a good thing.