Before True Light: The Awakening 2nd Edition

Amyntas landed on a cliff on the mountains that overlooked the village. Izanami had a tight grip on Amyntas’s mane while tears fell from her eyes. She said, “So now where are we supposed to go? I’ve always wished that I could leave the village one day, but not like this… not like this.”

  “We can’t stay here, Izanami, we have to move. I promised the Grand Elder I’d keep you and our cargo safe,” said Zane.

  “Cargo… what do you mean?” replied Izanami.

  “The Emerald Tablet… I have it here, in the bag on my back. Amyntas, can you get us to the other side of these mountains?”

  Amyntas took flight again. Izanami was completely silent. On the other side of the mountains there was more forest, but this forest was covered in mist. In the very far distance there was a faint light, and an immense structure that seemed to be made from limestone stood magnificently in the landscape.

  “What is that?” asked Izanami.

  “I think it’s a castle and below it must be a city… it looks so big, even from a distance,” replied Zane. Izanami and Zane had spent their entire lives within the boundaries of the village and the forest. They were not completely ignorant of the outside world, but the only means of knowing the outside world was through books and stories from observers. So it was difficult to distinguish such sights for the first time.

  Amyntas began to descend into the misty forest.

  “Why aren’t we going into the city, Amyntas?” asked Izanami.

  “The gates to the city are probably closed already for the night. At the moment, we have no reason to enter the city. We need to determine what we are going to do first,” explained Amyntas.

  “Right… yeah, it’s probably wise to make a plan first,” Izanami added.

  The landing on the forest floor was bumpy and Izanami and Zane jerked about a bit. The mist was thick and heavy at ground level, and very wet. Amyntas did not lower himself to let Izanami and Zane down. He just kept walking, but in a cautious manner.

  “What’s wrong, Amyntas? You can let us down and we can walk ourselves,” said Izanami.

  “No, mist this dense can spawn deadly, horrifying creatures. I’ll let the both of you down once I find a place where you can be safe. After all, I am your Beast Guardian so it is my duty to keep you safe,” replied Amyntas.

  “Well, you’re not my Beast Guardian, Amyntas, and I’m Izanami’s guardian here in our world, so let me down,” said Zane.

  “It is for that reason that I must keep you safe, as well, until your Beast Guardian awakens from its slumber,” Amyntas replied to Zane.

  Straight ahead of them was a cave. Amyntas stopped at the entrance. The only light around them was the bluish white flame from Amyntas’s tail. It did not provide enough light to penetrate the yawning darkness; therefore, it was impossible to determine if something was in there.

  “Zane, can I have my sword please?” Zane gave Izanami her sword. She slashed her blade into a small boulder next to them to create a spark. From this, she intensified the spark with energy to produce a flame on the blade. The red crystal began to glow and the flame consumed the entire blade. Izanami focused the energy of the flames to the tip of the blade and the flames were sucked into a spherical shape. Launching the sphere, it fiercely lit up the entirety of the cave. The cave was completely empty.

  “Problem solved,” Izanami said. Amyntas walked into the cave and let Izanami and Zane down. With the coolness of the night and the dampness of the cave, it was uncomfortably chilly. Again, the only light source was from Amyntas’s tail, which was only enough to light up everyone’s faces.

  “I’m going to go find some firewood. I’ll be right back,” said Zane.

  “But Amyntas said it’s dangerous in the mist, you shouldn’t go alone,” Izanami said in a worried tone.

  “I’ll be fine. After all, I’m also a Red Mage Warrior and a human guardian to a Warrior of Light – that must count for something,” said Zane as he left the cave.

  “Amyntas, you should go with him,” said Izanami.

  Amyntas did not say anything. He walked behind where Izanami was sitting and he laid down so that Izanami was able to lean against his body. From the faint light, Izanami could see that Amyntas’s eyes were fixed at the entrance of the cave. An icy gust of wind burst into the cave, making Izanami shiver. Amyntas’s wing lifted and then lowered over Izanami like a blanket. He did not look over to her. His eyes were completely fixed at the entrance. Amyntas let out a small growl, which startled Izanami.

  “Relax, it’s just me,” said Zane, dropping some of the firewood.

  “Did Amyntas’s growl scare you, Zane?” asked Izanami.

  “No… of course not; why would you say that?” Zane replied in embarrassment. Zane picked up the fallen twigs and sticks that he had previously dropped. Izanami did not say anything to him. Warily shuffling his feet across the ground so as not to stumble in the dim light, Zane slowly made his way through the darkness to where Izanami and Amyntas were resting. Zane began attempting to light the wood to create a warming fire, but he could not create a spark for combustion due to the extreme dampness. He then tried the conventional way by hitting two rocks together to get the fire going; that, too, ended in failure. Letting out a sigh and dropping his head, Zane accepted defeat.

  “I’m sorry, Izanami. I’m supposed to be your guardian… you know, look after you, but I can’t even make a fire to keep you warm. Not just that, back in the village… the way you reacted to take out those men with weapons was remarkable. But, I don’t know what happened to you when that man in the red leather trench coat came. I wanted to get you behind me so that you’d be safe, but I froze. I don’t deserve to be your guardian… I don’t deserve to be a Red Mage Warrior,” Zane softly said as he walked backwards into the darkness.

  Izanami was silent. She was not sure what she could say to reassure Zane and to let him know that she was honoured to have him as her guardian. Turning onto her side, Izanami buried her face into Amyntas’s shoulder. Subconsciously reaching out her hand, she lit the pile of wood. The cave became visible around them. Zane had sat on the ground with his head on his knees, but looked up in bewilderment at the fire.

  “How were you able to create a combustion reaction?” asked Zane in confusion.

  “I don’t think I made a reaction, to be honest. It’s way too damp in here for a successful combustion. I think I did this once before, but I’m just as confused as you are,” replied Izanami.

  “You are beginning to become one with the energies. Once you master this, your skills in the Black Arts will increase significantly,” Amyntas explained, his eyes still directed towards the entrance of the cave.

  “Black Arts… do you mean Izanami can use Black Heka?!” said Zane. Amyntas continued to focus on the cave entrance, and did not say anything more.

  “Hey, Amyntas, can I ask you a question?” Amyntas nodded his head in silence again. Zane continued to speak, “What exactly did you mean when you said that you will protect me until my Beast Guardian ‘awakens from its slumber’?”

  “Your destiny was determined even before your birth. As a fetus inside the womb, it was predetermined that you would eventually become a Red Mage Warrior. As you began to grow inside the womb, your Beast Guardian began to grow. When you were born, the Beast Guardian was born. However, the Guardian stays dormant until it is truly needed. That is why, in this age, Red Mage Warriors did not receive a Beast Guardian. Since the Mages have been in hiding, there was no need for protection,” Amyntas explained.

  “So, now that our village of Red Mages is no longer hidden, my Beast Guardian may awake soon?” Zane said in a hopeful tone. Amyntas nodded again.

  “I have a question, too,” Izanami quietly spoke.

  “What is it, Izanami?” Amyntas answered.

  “What was that pendant that man had? I tried to make a transmutation, a reaction, and I guess I even tried to use heka, but it wouldn’t work,” said Izanami, trying to hold back tears. Amyntas nudged his head gently aga
inst Izanami’s.

  “I’m sorry, Izanami. I feel like I know or should know, but my memory is clouded on that,” Amyntas said shamefully. Izanami grabbed his left paw and held it, the way Artemis would hold Izanami’s hand. The growl Amyntas made sounded like he was surprised at this gesture.

  “I can shed some light on this…kind of,” said Zane abruptly.

  “Oh?” replied Izanami.

  “Not really about the pendant, but why those people were there. They were rounding up the younger Red Mages and that pendant must have been the reason why they didn’t fight back. At first, I thought they were just scared, but what Izanami describes makes more sense. They couldn’t fight back. But why would these men want just the younger Mages? They were also after the Tablet. How did they know that, out of the five tribes, we were the ones that had the Tablet?” Zane wondered.

  “They captured all of the younger Mages… but why capture just the young Red Mages and kill everyone else? Why go after the Emerald Tablet? It’s useless to anyone unfamiliar with the Ancient Text. Even then, the Tablet chooses those who can wield its power. I don’t understand what’s going on,” Izanami said dejectedly.

  “All we can do now is be careful and wait for events to unfold. At this time, there is not much else we can do,” said Amyntas.

  “Maybe what we can do is try to figure out where the captured Mages were taken and get them back. Tomorrow, at first light, we should head to the city and gather as much information as possible,” Zane added.

  “I think that’s a good idea. I don’t know what’s going on, but maybe we can find some clues. But we can’t do anything until morning, so let’s get some rest,” said Izanami.

  Chapter 12