Prologue:
Spoiler
She never really thought of such things.
While other children were off prancing about in the fields, talking about the dreams of living in the big castle up in the distance and raising magical creatures, Chiasa worked. She never had such dreams. She never thought of owning magical creatures, despite seeing them and their Magi in the town sometimes. She was too focused for that. Her family had been tradesmen and navigators for generations, and the bleak, cold land of Arkene was their home. Every few generations, recruiters from The Keep would come up to Arkene to see if anybody had potential. They rarely came up this far however, which is probably why there were so few Magi representing ice or cold elements at The Keep. Actually, now that Chiasa thought about it, two of her cousins were training at The Keep. Distant cousins, but cousins none the less.
Cousins from the glistening city of Synara, but cousins none the less.
That was probably why she was surprised when her little cousin came running up to her one day while she was out collecting stones for an order one of the residents of Arkene put in. “Chiasa! Chiasa!†Her cousin yelled in his high pitched little-boy voice as he came running up to her, huffing and puffing under his heavy clothes to keep the chill out. “Chiasa! Uncle Hisao sent me! There’s a man back at your house and he wants to talk to you! He’s from The Keep!†Her little cousin had that wild twinkle in his eye; the same one when he got a special treat or when one of the Magi from the faraway Keep let him pet their magical creature on their way through.
“There’s a what now?†But before Chiasa could really get an answer, her little cousin grabbed her hand and with all his might, sent her tumbling back to the hut, nearly tripping over him at every step but refusing to let go of her hand. Once the two stumbled into the door, one could immediately feel the tension in the air. So thick it was, Chiasa felt as if she could reach out and grab it in her gloved hand.
“Chiasa,†her father beckoned her forward. Her father was one of the few in Arkene who owned a magical beast himself, aside from Klara, the one who ran the trading post near the boarder of the frigid land. Her father had been extremely lucky to find a Light Raiju egg when he was a boy, and that very Raiju, named Luck, still guarded the family home today. Though Luck was normally cocky and territorial, there was something about today’s guest that suddenly turned her meek; sitting near the fireplace and casting occasional glances over her white-furred shoulders. “Come here, my daughter. This man wants to speak to you.â€ÂÂ
Chiasa sat down obediently on the large couch where everybody was sitting; her mother, father and the stranger. He wore dark robes with a hood that obscured most of his face. He removed it now, revealing an old, disheveled face from days of travel. “Hello Chiasa. My name is Keeya and I come from The Keep.†He gave her a thin, weary smile. “Perhaps you’ve heard of the place? None the matter. I’ve come to tell you and your family that you’ve been asked to come to The Keep for the recruiting of new Magi. It is very rare that we reach this far up into Arkene, so this is a great opportunity.†A pause as Keeya let her soak the information in. “We chose you because it seems that your family is very prestigious around these parts, and it does seem you have some experience with magical creatures.â€ÂÂ
Before she could speak however, her father placed a hand on her shoulder. “She would love to go, now would you?†He gave her a look, and she immediately knew that that look meant. But why? She didn’t have an interest in such things, and her father knew that very well. She opened her mouth to speak, but her father cut her off abruptly again. “Go pack up Chiasa, you’ve got a long journey ahead of you.†His voice was firm as he let go of her shoulder. She could only nod silently, unsure of what to do, unsure of how her life was going to go now. Before it had been set in stone; she would be a navigator for travelers and Magi that came up to Arkene looking for rare eggs. Now what? Now what would she do? At The Keep none the less?
Her thoughts were abuzz, so much that she didn’t even realize it when she finished packing. “Here,†Chiasa jumped as she heard her father’s voice behind her. “Let me help you with those.â€ÂÂ
“But father, what am I supposed to do at The Keep? I have no affinity for such things!†She was in despair. She was lost and didn’t know what to do. And her father of all people were sending her into the unknown.
“Listen to your father. He knows best.†He gave her a faint smile and picked up her bags, telling her to go out first. He always spoke in cryptic talk and though she could figure it out most of the time, this time she could not. She walked back out to the living room where the stranger, Keeya, was standing by the door. Luck whined and nuzzled her hand, feeling something was amiss. She leaned down and quickly gave her a ruffle before taking her bags from her father. And to think… Just half an hour ago, she was collecting stones.
The front door flew open and a gust of wind swept through the house. Outside was dark and bitter, but her clothes and natural affinity with the weather kept her snug. Looking back as Keeya lead her out, Luck barked and whined at the door but stayed put, as she was instructed to stay. Her parents stared out after her, faint smiles on their faces.
Keeya lead her out into the cold night.
While other children were off prancing about in the fields, talking about the dreams of living in the big castle up in the distance and raising magical creatures, Chiasa worked. She never had such dreams. She never thought of owning magical creatures, despite seeing them and their Magi in the town sometimes. She was too focused for that. Her family had been tradesmen and navigators for generations, and the bleak, cold land of Arkene was their home. Every few generations, recruiters from The Keep would come up to Arkene to see if anybody had potential. They rarely came up this far however, which is probably why there were so few Magi representing ice or cold elements at The Keep. Actually, now that Chiasa thought about it, two of her cousins were training at The Keep. Distant cousins, but cousins none the less.
Cousins from the glistening city of Synara, but cousins none the less.
That was probably why she was surprised when her little cousin came running up to her one day while she was out collecting stones for an order one of the residents of Arkene put in. “Chiasa! Chiasa!†Her cousin yelled in his high pitched little-boy voice as he came running up to her, huffing and puffing under his heavy clothes to keep the chill out. “Chiasa! Uncle Hisao sent me! There’s a man back at your house and he wants to talk to you! He’s from The Keep!†Her little cousin had that wild twinkle in his eye; the same one when he got a special treat or when one of the Magi from the faraway Keep let him pet their magical creature on their way through.
“There’s a what now?†But before Chiasa could really get an answer, her little cousin grabbed her hand and with all his might, sent her tumbling back to the hut, nearly tripping over him at every step but refusing to let go of her hand. Once the two stumbled into the door, one could immediately feel the tension in the air. So thick it was, Chiasa felt as if she could reach out and grab it in her gloved hand.
“Chiasa,†her father beckoned her forward. Her father was one of the few in Arkene who owned a magical beast himself, aside from Klara, the one who ran the trading post near the boarder of the frigid land. Her father had been extremely lucky to find a Light Raiju egg when he was a boy, and that very Raiju, named Luck, still guarded the family home today. Though Luck was normally cocky and territorial, there was something about today’s guest that suddenly turned her meek; sitting near the fireplace and casting occasional glances over her white-furred shoulders. “Come here, my daughter. This man wants to speak to you.â€ÂÂ
Chiasa sat down obediently on the large couch where everybody was sitting; her mother, father and the stranger. He wore dark robes with a hood that obscured most of his face. He removed it now, revealing an old, disheveled face from days of travel. “Hello Chiasa. My name is Keeya and I come from The Keep.†He gave her a thin, weary smile. “Perhaps you’ve heard of the place? None the matter. I’ve come to tell you and your family that you’ve been asked to come to The Keep for the recruiting of new Magi. It is very rare that we reach this far up into Arkene, so this is a great opportunity.†A pause as Keeya let her soak the information in. “We chose you because it seems that your family is very prestigious around these parts, and it does seem you have some experience with magical creatures.â€ÂÂ
Before she could speak however, her father placed a hand on her shoulder. “She would love to go, now would you?†He gave her a look, and she immediately knew that that look meant. But why? She didn’t have an interest in such things, and her father knew that very well. She opened her mouth to speak, but her father cut her off abruptly again. “Go pack up Chiasa, you’ve got a long journey ahead of you.†His voice was firm as he let go of her shoulder. She could only nod silently, unsure of what to do, unsure of how her life was going to go now. Before it had been set in stone; she would be a navigator for travelers and Magi that came up to Arkene looking for rare eggs. Now what? Now what would she do? At The Keep none the less?
Her thoughts were abuzz, so much that she didn’t even realize it when she finished packing. “Here,†Chiasa jumped as she heard her father’s voice behind her. “Let me help you with those.â€ÂÂ
“But father, what am I supposed to do at The Keep? I have no affinity for such things!†She was in despair. She was lost and didn’t know what to do. And her father of all people were sending her into the unknown.
“Listen to your father. He knows best.†He gave her a faint smile and picked up her bags, telling her to go out first. He always spoke in cryptic talk and though she could figure it out most of the time, this time she could not. She walked back out to the living room where the stranger, Keeya, was standing by the door. Luck whined and nuzzled her hand, feeling something was amiss. She leaned down and quickly gave her a ruffle before taking her bags from her father. And to think… Just half an hour ago, she was collecting stones.
The front door flew open and a gust of wind swept through the house. Outside was dark and bitter, but her clothes and natural affinity with the weather kept her snug. Looking back as Keeya lead her out, Luck barked and whined at the door but stayed put, as she was instructed to stay. Her parents stared out after her, faint smiles on their faces.
Keeya lead her out into the cold night.
Spoiler
The girl with the short black hair, plain dark brown eyes and blindingly white cloak with dark blue and grey fringes sat quietly in her class. She was the only one in the class with this particular coloured cloak, and one of the very few throughout The Keep. She was an ice Magi, having control over cool temperatures, snow, ice and other elements affiliated with temperatures below 0 degrees.
“Chiasa, what is the spell for flooding an area?†Her spells teacher was the one and only Keeya, the old man who brought her here in the first place. She had no ill feelings towards him, he was only doing his job after all. Sometimes, however, she simply didn’t feel very comfortable around him at all.
“That would be Prope Unda, sir.†Her tone was formal, lower than most girls, but with certain serenity. She had been studying here at The Keep for almost a year now. It had been a long time since she had gone back to Arkene, and she did miss it. The Keep was too warm for her, she found. The people were strange, the teachers varied greatly, and there were many confusing creatures to be seen.
“Very good,†He smiled at her. She remembered the day when she had first been placed into The Keep, assigned roommates and all the like. After Keeya had warmed up and had a good drink of strong coffee, he had turned from that bitter man to almost grandfatherly. He was much loved by the students, and she had to admit that despite feeling occasionally distanced, she also found a great liking to him. Just then, the bell rang its loud, shrill shriek. “Alright, class dismissed. Remember your homework, will you?†The class had completely vanished even before he had finished his sentence. There were a few stragglers, including Chiasa, but that lot was quickly gone as well.
Chiasa knew when her next class was and she knew that she didn’t have way too much time to get there, but she made her way up to her room none the less. When she opened the door, a blast of cold air hit her, but she relished it. Near the window lay a cardinal gryphon, male, with the bright red feathers that caught peoples’ eyes. She remembered how she came to receive him, even if her father seemed to act like the cardinal gryphon never existed. Whenever she wrote to her father, asking about how the egg had made its way into her luggage when nobody touched it but herself and her father, he would ignore her question, making it sound like she was talking tongues to herself.
“Hey there Delirium,†She ruffled some feathers on the cardinal gryphon’s head before picking up a few books from her desk, dumping some from her bag in return. Delirium made a raspy noise from his throat, followed by a loud squealing noise in greeting. They weren’t the most pleasant creatures to listen to, but she loved Delirium none the less. The bright red and grey creature stared up curiously at her from his lying position. For the first time today, a wide smile plastered itself across her features. This happened about twice a week and for a single class only; duel class.
Oh yes.
It wasn’t that Chiasa was a particularly violent person; anything but. Most of the time she was very passive, and her temper was but a mouse compared to the fire Magi. But it was the honing of magic, the sheer amount of concentration, the excitement of it all that she loved. Concentration and focus was something ice Magi excelled in, as fire Magi excelled in strength and water Magi excelled in healing.
It took a moment for Delirium to understand, but once he did, he jumped up with an excited shriek that was guaranteed to burst anybody’s eardrums. Chiasa brought Delirium on the majority of her dueling classes, and today would be no different. A student was allowed two to three creatures with them in a duel, as rules stated. Delirium followed her dutifully out of her room, and just as she turned around from locking the door to her room, she nearly crashed into another student.
“Whoa Chiasa, what’s the crazy rush?†A boy with a deep green and brown cloak greeted her with a wide smile that went from ear to ear. It never, and she meant never, went away. His dark hair fell around his face in healthy locks, and his eyes were even a darker brown than her own.
“You know why,†Chiasa rolled her eyes. “Duel class. You’re in the very same class, stupid.†She was just teasing and would’ve patted his head… If she could reach. Barely any students could match Scree in height. He was a towering 6 foot 3 and built like a tank. Actually, it looked like he could stop a tank while making a milkshake. He looked all big and intimidating, but he was friendly as a jackelope, though not always as gentle, since he didn’t comprehend his own strength well. “Now you should go get your creatures.â€ÂÂ
There was a pause as he processed the information before he smiled even wider and followed Chiasa along as she went in search of a team to bring with her to duel. Scree skipped along like a puppy behind her, greeting everybody he knew and didn’t know. Despite earth and ice being rather contrasting elements, Chiasa and Scree were the best of friends. Hell, very unlikely friends, but if one was spotted, the other was surely around. When Chiasa first came to The Keep, Scree was the first to try and make friends. And by make friends, she meant tackling her into submission. None the less, they grew close.
Scree soon went his separate way to go get his own creatures for the class, but promised to see her again soon in just under 20 minutes in class. She didn’t quite understand why he needed to make such a heart-wrenching spectacle out of it, but he did. Chiasa always thought her friend was strange and wondered why she was so close to him none the less. She just hoped she didn’t have to duel him this time. Last time, and he probably didn’t even realize he did, but he wiped the floor with her and her team’s faces. He was much more skilled than she could ever be. Half the time it was out of sheer utter obliviousness.
She sighed. Time to assemble her team.
Chiasa would already bring Delirium, so now she had two more slots. She thought about it for a moment, trying to remember what everybody else often brought to the table. She would prepare to take on the strongest… And that would be Scree; the best friend and the one that she could never beat. She, and probably everybody else, were probably praying that he didn’t bring Duellona, his rewin ancient… Or Xue his chestnut kirin… Or Magnus his tan raza cobra. Scree probably had the smallest number of creatures in The Keep, with few rares, but he proved that the less he had, the more time he could dedicate to the ones he did have. She remembered the last time he brought the Duellona-Xue-Magnus combination to a dueling class.
Oh yes, remembered it well.
Destroyed every team in his way, he did. Every. Single. One. Hell, if he didn’t have so much respect for his masters, he could’ve destroyed them too, in Chiasa’s opinion. Of course he had a few more creatures than those three, but that combination could raze entire villages. But enough thinking. It was time for her to go put together her team right now.
Chiasa’s first stop was the ice caves, of course. There was where the majority of her creatures resided. Her breath instantly came out in puffs of smoke in the frozen air, getting colder and colder as she went deeper. “Darwin! Where are you?†She called out into the cave. From deep inside came a roar, soon followed by a heavy trampling noise. Out came an albino nandi bear. She couldn’t remember how much she paid for him, but it was a hefty amount of gold for the egg. But Darwin, as she named him, was an invaluable addition to her team. She went deeper into the cave with Darwin and Delirium following close behind, and she tried to think. How could she balance Darwin’s strength and Delirium’s intelligence? She needed something with agility.
Her question was immediately answered when one of her very first creatures bounded up to her excitedly. Arachne the Arkenian kitsune; perfect agility, high intelligence, cunning and sly in every way. Oh yes. Chiasa leaned down and ruffled up her companion’s ears. “Wanna come duel with me today, darling?†Arachne yipped happily and nodded. “Good girl. C’mon guys, gonna be late for class.†With that, she lead them all out and towards the crystal dueling ring.
“Chiasa, what is the spell for flooding an area?†Her spells teacher was the one and only Keeya, the old man who brought her here in the first place. She had no ill feelings towards him, he was only doing his job after all. Sometimes, however, she simply didn’t feel very comfortable around him at all.
“That would be Prope Unda, sir.†Her tone was formal, lower than most girls, but with certain serenity. She had been studying here at The Keep for almost a year now. It had been a long time since she had gone back to Arkene, and she did miss it. The Keep was too warm for her, she found. The people were strange, the teachers varied greatly, and there were many confusing creatures to be seen.
“Very good,†He smiled at her. She remembered the day when she had first been placed into The Keep, assigned roommates and all the like. After Keeya had warmed up and had a good drink of strong coffee, he had turned from that bitter man to almost grandfatherly. He was much loved by the students, and she had to admit that despite feeling occasionally distanced, she also found a great liking to him. Just then, the bell rang its loud, shrill shriek. “Alright, class dismissed. Remember your homework, will you?†The class had completely vanished even before he had finished his sentence. There were a few stragglers, including Chiasa, but that lot was quickly gone as well.
Chiasa knew when her next class was and she knew that she didn’t have way too much time to get there, but she made her way up to her room none the less. When she opened the door, a blast of cold air hit her, but she relished it. Near the window lay a cardinal gryphon, male, with the bright red feathers that caught peoples’ eyes. She remembered how she came to receive him, even if her father seemed to act like the cardinal gryphon never existed. Whenever she wrote to her father, asking about how the egg had made its way into her luggage when nobody touched it but herself and her father, he would ignore her question, making it sound like she was talking tongues to herself.
“Hey there Delirium,†She ruffled some feathers on the cardinal gryphon’s head before picking up a few books from her desk, dumping some from her bag in return. Delirium made a raspy noise from his throat, followed by a loud squealing noise in greeting. They weren’t the most pleasant creatures to listen to, but she loved Delirium none the less. The bright red and grey creature stared up curiously at her from his lying position. For the first time today, a wide smile plastered itself across her features. This happened about twice a week and for a single class only; duel class.
Oh yes.
It wasn’t that Chiasa was a particularly violent person; anything but. Most of the time she was very passive, and her temper was but a mouse compared to the fire Magi. But it was the honing of magic, the sheer amount of concentration, the excitement of it all that she loved. Concentration and focus was something ice Magi excelled in, as fire Magi excelled in strength and water Magi excelled in healing.
It took a moment for Delirium to understand, but once he did, he jumped up with an excited shriek that was guaranteed to burst anybody’s eardrums. Chiasa brought Delirium on the majority of her dueling classes, and today would be no different. A student was allowed two to three creatures with them in a duel, as rules stated. Delirium followed her dutifully out of her room, and just as she turned around from locking the door to her room, she nearly crashed into another student.
“Whoa Chiasa, what’s the crazy rush?†A boy with a deep green and brown cloak greeted her with a wide smile that went from ear to ear. It never, and she meant never, went away. His dark hair fell around his face in healthy locks, and his eyes were even a darker brown than her own.
“You know why,†Chiasa rolled her eyes. “Duel class. You’re in the very same class, stupid.†She was just teasing and would’ve patted his head… If she could reach. Barely any students could match Scree in height. He was a towering 6 foot 3 and built like a tank. Actually, it looked like he could stop a tank while making a milkshake. He looked all big and intimidating, but he was friendly as a jackelope, though not always as gentle, since he didn’t comprehend his own strength well. “Now you should go get your creatures.â€ÂÂ
There was a pause as he processed the information before he smiled even wider and followed Chiasa along as she went in search of a team to bring with her to duel. Scree skipped along like a puppy behind her, greeting everybody he knew and didn’t know. Despite earth and ice being rather contrasting elements, Chiasa and Scree were the best of friends. Hell, very unlikely friends, but if one was spotted, the other was surely around. When Chiasa first came to The Keep, Scree was the first to try and make friends. And by make friends, she meant tackling her into submission. None the less, they grew close.
Scree soon went his separate way to go get his own creatures for the class, but promised to see her again soon in just under 20 minutes in class. She didn’t quite understand why he needed to make such a heart-wrenching spectacle out of it, but he did. Chiasa always thought her friend was strange and wondered why she was so close to him none the less. She just hoped she didn’t have to duel him this time. Last time, and he probably didn’t even realize he did, but he wiped the floor with her and her team’s faces. He was much more skilled than she could ever be. Half the time it was out of sheer utter obliviousness.
She sighed. Time to assemble her team.
Chiasa would already bring Delirium, so now she had two more slots. She thought about it for a moment, trying to remember what everybody else often brought to the table. She would prepare to take on the strongest… And that would be Scree; the best friend and the one that she could never beat. She, and probably everybody else, were probably praying that he didn’t bring Duellona, his rewin ancient… Or Xue his chestnut kirin… Or Magnus his tan raza cobra. Scree probably had the smallest number of creatures in The Keep, with few rares, but he proved that the less he had, the more time he could dedicate to the ones he did have. She remembered the last time he brought the Duellona-Xue-Magnus combination to a dueling class.
Oh yes, remembered it well.
Destroyed every team in his way, he did. Every. Single. One. Hell, if he didn’t have so much respect for his masters, he could’ve destroyed them too, in Chiasa’s opinion. Of course he had a few more creatures than those three, but that combination could raze entire villages. But enough thinking. It was time for her to go put together her team right now.
Chiasa’s first stop was the ice caves, of course. There was where the majority of her creatures resided. Her breath instantly came out in puffs of smoke in the frozen air, getting colder and colder as she went deeper. “Darwin! Where are you?†She called out into the cave. From deep inside came a roar, soon followed by a heavy trampling noise. Out came an albino nandi bear. She couldn’t remember how much she paid for him, but it was a hefty amount of gold for the egg. But Darwin, as she named him, was an invaluable addition to her team. She went deeper into the cave with Darwin and Delirium following close behind, and she tried to think. How could she balance Darwin’s strength and Delirium’s intelligence? She needed something with agility.
Her question was immediately answered when one of her very first creatures bounded up to her excitedly. Arachne the Arkenian kitsune; perfect agility, high intelligence, cunning and sly in every way. Oh yes. Chiasa leaned down and ruffled up her companion’s ears. “Wanna come duel with me today, darling?†Arachne yipped happily and nodded. “Good girl. C’mon guys, gonna be late for class.†With that, she lead them all out and towards the crystal dueling ring.
