A party of six was organized to make the trip to Burmeka for the rescue mission. Among the six would be Izanami, Zane, General Kyros, and three of General Kyros’s men. The sun was just rising as the party prepared to leave the still-sleeping city. Traversing the mighty Mentrez River was the first course of action in reaching Burmeka. Far downstream, the river runs into Burmekian territory, where the terrain turns into an expansive tundra. It was going to take a fair bit of time to trek across this terrain, from the point where they planned to disembark. At the northernmost limits of the tundra, icy foothills rise and surround Kandal, Burmeka’s capital.
It was the first time that either Izanami or Zane had been on a boat. At first, they were both too intimidated by the massive expanse of the river to come close to the sides of the craft, or even move around it much. After a while, however, Zane became more comfortable. As for Izanami, she sat quietly on the deck, rocking back and forth; not from the movement of the boat, but from fighting her fear. General Kyros came towards her and said, “If you sit at the center of the boat, there will be less movement.”
To alleviate any suspicions on the other side of the river, the boat they used was disguised as a cargo trading boat. General Kyros had his three men and Zane carry cargo boxes aboard to aid in their ruse. Zane and Izanami had spent most of the voyage, nearly half a day so far, sitting on these boxes on the deck and pondering the challenge ahead of them.
Suddenly, Zane leaped off the box he was sitting on and drew his sword. Izanami stood up and drew her sword as well.
“On guard, men, on guard!” shouted General Kyros. Without hesitation, the three of Kyros’s men cracked open one of the cargo boxes and revealed heavy artillery.
“Stand back, Mages; those swords won’t help you much for what’s coming our way!” said one of the three men.
The roughness of the raging river ceased. Silence filled their surroundings; it was like the calm before the storm. The three men held their weapons close, staying alert. Izanami and Zane were sensing their surroundings.
General Kyros was on the upper deck. Izanami yelled towards him, “Move away! It’s coming!”
With a violent eruption, a gigantic, serpent-like river monster blasted forcefully out of the water and over the upper deck of the boat. The General was thrown into the icy waters. Grenades were being launched from the three men’s weapons. Two of the three shots found their target. The serpent let out an ear-piercing shriek as it fell into the water. The men yelled in victory, but then remembered the General.
Looking over the sides of what was left of their boat, they could see that General Kyros was nowhere to be found. The water in this area of the river was dangerously cold. It was certain that no normal human could survive more than a few minutes in such waters. The frozen tundra was now visible on the distant horizon, downriver. But the boat was slowly sinking, and it would only be able to make it to shore on the riverbank.
Still holding her sword, Izanami looked over the edge of the boat. The water looked like it was pulsing. The more Izanami watched the water, the stronger the pulses became. “Zane, it’s coming back!” shouted Izanami.
The angry sea serpent burst through the centre of the boat and split it in half. The three men and Zane were thrown together on one side of the craft, while Izanami fell on her knees on the portion that ripped away from them. Her wreckage began to sink rapidly. “Zane, get General Kyros’ men to shore! We have to rescue the younger Mages and we’ll need their help! I’ll take care of this creature!” shouted Izanami.
“I can’t let you fight this thing alone!” replied Zane.
“I’m not alone,” cried Izanami. A blinding white light enveloped Izanami. The powerful roar of Amyntas echoed, as Izanami took flight on his back.
The serpent was heading towards the men on the other piece of the boat. Izanami focused and released a searing bolt of lightning at the serpent from her blade. Crying out in pain, it turned around and rushed towards Amyntas and Izanami. Now I’ve just made it grouchier… I didn’t really think that over too well, thought Izanami. The wave that the serpent created towered so high that the sky was no longer visible to Izanami. The tidal wave devoured her and Amyntas. Finally reaching shore with the other men, Zane watched in horror as Izanami and Amyntas were engulfed in the mountain of water. The pressure from that volume of water was surely enough to kill them. Zane began to run back into the river, but one of the men grabbed his arm.
“What do you think you’ll accomplish, boy? By the time you swim out to that thing, the coldness of the water will kill you. If the water doesn’t, then that serpent will kill you!” said the man holding his arm.
“I just… I just can’t let her die!” Zane shouted.
“That girl made sure that you made it safely to shore so that you can rescue those kids. What good will it do if you both perish?” the man lectured.
Zane dropped to his knees with his head lowered. His hair shielded his face from anyone seeing the emotional pain he was feeling. He looked out over the water to where he last saw Izanami. The serpent had not moved from its place in the water. Then, he noticed a faint glow in the water just beyond the serpent. Before Zane could guess what was happening, the glow of light exploded and sent water flying as far as the shore.
Amyntas launched out of the water in a spiral motion, with Izanami still on his back. Sweeping down towards the serpent, Izanami slashed it just under the eye with her sword. With the hook at the tip of the blade, it pulled out flesh and skin which was sent flying into the water. Amyntas circled around the serpent for another attack. To defend itself, the serpent raised its fins. At the end of the fins were tentacle-like whips. The tentacles whipped at Amyntas. Dodging them, Amyntas made another attempt to get in range for Izanami to slash the serpent.
One tentacle came from behind and struck Amyntas. Amyntas reeled, and then another tentacle struck his side causing him to roar out in pain. Becoming disoriented, Amyntas shifted his wings to back away from the serpent. Before reaching a safe distance, a tentacle struck Izanami and plunged her towards the water. Amyntas dived to catch Izanami before she could hit the water.
“Enough playing around, let’s finish this now!” said Izanami. Amyntas nodded. Zigzagging while spiralling towards the serpent, Amyntas navigated towards the serpent’s head. Izanami tore off its eye with her sword, as blood spurted onto them. At the same time, the serpent grabbed Izanami’s leg by its mouth. The razor-edge tooth tightly dug into her flesh and ripped her off Amyntas’s back. Impaled by the serpent’s tooth, Izanami pierced her sword through the upper part of the serpent’s mouth.
Amyntas was trying desperately to reach Izanami, but kept being struck by the frenzied lashing of tentacles. Finally, he backed away and opened his mouth – a white beam formed from within him and he blasted it, from his open jaws, toward the thrashing tentacles. The hit caused them to explode and disintegrate. But, this drained his energy so much that Amyntas had a significantly difficult time staying airborne.
Izanami looked over towards Amyntas, “No Izanami, don’t do it!” cried Amyntas. Izanami closed her eyes and tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword, still piercing the serpent’s palate. Her blade began to spark. As she focused her energy, the sparks intensified and blazed upward into the serpent’s head. Succumbing to the lethal shock, the serpent plunged into the water, with Izanami still in its mouth.
Dashing towards the serpent, Amyntas could not reach Izanami before its head was submerged. Amyntas dived into the water.
At the shore, the men could only watch the fierce struggle, as there was nothing they could do to help. After the serpent fell to its death, it seemed like an eternity waiting for either Amyntas or Izanami to re-emerge. Zane frantically scanned the water for any signs of life. Fearing the worst, he was ready to plunge in, and no man would be able to stop him this time. Then, in the distance, he caught sight of a glint. He feared it was an illusion, produced by his desperate hopes for Izanami’s safety. A faint glow illuminated the water. Or was
it the reflection of the sun’s rays? Zane strained his eyes on the spot, not daring to breathe.
A massive roar shook the air as Amyntas’s head broke out of the water. Izanami, unconscious on Amyntas’s back, still had a tight grip on her sword. Amyntas tried to keep her on his back and above the water by using his wings to prop her up, but she kept slipping. As soon as Amyntas swam close enough to shore, Zane ran towards them.
Izanami’s pant-leg was stained with her blood and her skin was turning blue. Zane took her from Amyntas’s back and carried her to shore. Taking off his cloak and wrapping it around her, Zane held her close to use his body heat to warm her.
“You men make camp so we can get her out of the wind, she needs shelter!” ordered Zane.
“Is she even alive after all that?” asked one of the men incredulously.
“Yes, but barely. That’s why she needs shelter,” barked Zane.
“I don’t take orders from some kid,” snarled another of the men.
“But you take orders from me! Set up camp and salvage whatever you can of our supplies that washed ashore, that’s an order!” General Kyros barked as he struggled towards them on the sand.
“Sir, you’re alive?! We thought that you perished in the river!” exclaimed one of the men.
“I believe I gave an order. This is no time for a touching reunion,” replied General Kyros.
“Yes, Sir!” said all three men.
Amyntas had made it to shore. Blood was trailing behind him as he walked. His entire body was covered in lash wounds. He limped towards Zane, still cradling Izanami. Once he reached them, he collapsed. His eyes stared in sorrow as he looked up at the one whose existence depended on his protection; she was at death’s door and, in his mind, he had failed her as her beast guardian.
Kyros looked at Amyntas, then at Izanami in stunned silence. This was his first sight of Izanami's beast guardian. He seemed quite taken aback, but no one noticed his reaction, as his men were busily scrambling to set up shelter, and Zane's attention was completely focused on Izanami.
“Izanami, can you hear me?” Zane whispered. Izanami slowly nodded her head. “You’ve lost so much blood and you’re so cold, but don’t worry, I’m going to save you,” said Zane.
Setting Izanami down onto the ground, he placed one hand on her stomach and the other over the puncture wound. He had a firm grip on her bloodied wound. This made Izanami groan in pain. Closing his eyes, he began to recite a chant that was in the ancient language. A small light formed. The torn flesh slowly began to knit together. The more the flesh healed, the heavier Zane’s breathing became. “Zane, stop… you need to stop,” whispered Izanami.
Zane’s eyes widened. His skin turned pale, almost blue. It was as if the life was being ripped out of him. The connection between Izanami and Zane from the healing attributes of White Heka was strong. But, because Zane was a novice at the practice of using White Heka, he was unable to break the connection.
General Kyros reached for Zane and pulled him off Izanami. By doing so, the connection broke. Zane’s body became limp and motionless. His eyes were still open, but glazed over. General Kyros carried Zane away from where the men were setting up camp and ordered one of the men to cover Izanami with blankets for the time being.
A weak light seemed to flicker from where the General was bent over Zane, further up on the shore. Only Izanami seemed to notice it but, in the condition she was in, she could not fully trust her senses at the moment. Izanami’s eyes grew heavy as she watched the men set up camp. A bitter, cold breeze blew into her face, but she was too exhausted to care about it. She turned her head towards Amyntas. He was breathing heavily from exhaustion. Izanami nudged him with her foot and said, “Go and rest.”
Obeying her, Amyntas returned to the Realm of the Beast Guardians where he could rest and heal quicker. In the human world, Beast Guardians healed at a considerably slower rate.
Once Amyntas’ body had completely faded, Izanami’s vision became blurred, then completely dark.
A familiar aroma seduced Izanami’s senses. The familiarity soothed her body and spirit. It was as if all her worries were washed away, as if the horror of recent events had never happened. Light slowly penetrated Izanami’s eyes. She could hear a faint humming noise from within her tent. Seeing a small black box in the corner of the tent, she realized it was the source of the humming. Izanami reached out to touch it, but immediately pulled her hand back under her blanket. This black box seemed to be radiating heat into the tent. Izanami was not sure exactly what it was, so she left it alone.
It was now dark outside. The tent flapped about vigorously from the wind. Low murmurs of conversation could be heard from outside. Izanami put on her cloak and covered her face with the hood. While she emerged from the tent, the chatter ceased and all eyes were on Izanami. She nervously stepped outside and sat down in front of the campfire, which was the familiar aroma that woke her.
General Kyros leaned over towards Izanami while putting a thick coat on her shoulders. “If you just wear your cloak you’re going to freeze to death out here,” he warned her. Before returning to his seat, he placed Zane’s bag on her lap and smiled. Izanami was momentarily confused, but then memories of what transpired earlier that day came flooding back to her. She looked around the campfire and noticed that Zane was not in sight. “Don’t worry; he’s going to be just fine. He just needs to sleep it off,” General Kyros said.
Although the General’s words were meant to be comforting, Izanami was confused again. The connection produced by White Heka could only be broken by the one making the connection, or by an individual very skilled in the Arts from outside the connection. But, General Kyros claimed that he had only studied the Arts in theory, and unable to practice it because he is from the outside world. However, right now was not the time to dwell on what General Kyros was hiding – if anything at all. The main focus was to continue their search, and rescue the younger Mages that were currently held captive in Kandal. Their small squad would need to infiltrate the Palace of Kandal. The mission was onerous – to get in and get out without being detected. Around the fire, each member of the squad was playing out, in their imagination, every possible scenario that could happen and how they would react.
Izanami soon became mesmerized, staring at the fire dancing in the wind. Lost in her thoughts, she held out her hand flat with the palm up. Slightly curling in her fingers, a small portion of flame was transferred to her cupped palm, floating slightly above the skin. She passed the spherical flame back and forth between her hands.
“Doesn’t that burn your skin?” asked one of the men. Izanami shook her head in response and kept passing the spherical flame back and forth.
“Stop playing with the fire! It’s not a toy, it’s a tool. You’re going to hurt someone!” growled one of the other men. At that moment, Izanami made a motion with her fingers and the flame disappeared. “Stop looking at me like that! Geez, you kids aren’t only strange, but creepy,” the scornful man said.
“Leave her alone, Lieutenant, she’s not hurting you,” said General Kyros.
Izanami got up from her seat and walked past the Lieutenant. She moved towards the opening of one of the tents, where a silhouette stood. She handed Zane the bag and whispered something to him, but the rest of the party could not hear.
“And the hero awakens!” greeted General Kyros. Zane humbly shrugged off the comment as he joined the men around the fire. Tonight, all they could do was meditate around the fire in anticipation. Tomorrow, the threads of destiny would begin to unravel.