Jacob Whitewind felt helpless, as he ran though the dark forest. Eyes belonging to monsters of unimaginable terror peered out at him. Brambles, trees, and even the shadows themselves tore at his clothes, slowing his pace.

     Escape. That was the only thought on his mind. But it seemed impossible. He had been running for what seemed to be an eternity.

     Out of nowhere, a tree root sprung up under his feet, tripping him. Pain shot through his leg, but he ignored it. He had felt worse. Yes, much worse.

     Laughter, coming out of the darkness. Mocking laughter. An all too familiar sound.

     "Brother?! Is that you?!" Jacob cried, desperately. He tried to stand up, but his leg gave way. Broken, then?

     The laughter continued.

     "Help me, brother!!"

     An image of Jerith materialized in front of him.

     "No," Jerith smirked, coldly. "You must learn to fend for yourself, as I have." The image wavered, beginning to fade.

     "No, wait!" Jacob pleaded. "Don't leave me here! Not in the dark! Not by myself!"

     "Goodbye, Jacob," Jerith said, vanishing from sight.

     The shadows are all that I have left, then, Jacob thought. Fine. Although their spidery touch and whispered voices scared him, there were worse alternatives.

     He whispered some commands, weaving a spell. Just this once. I'll harness their power just this once, to save myself.

     As he wove the spell, the scene around him shifted. A familiar place from his past. A place that held many painful memories. Memories he had tried desperately to shut out.

     "Shadows encroach!" He yelled. They enveloped the small, pathetic hovel, reducing it to rubble.

     That's right. Destroy. Destroy everything and everyone who brought this misery upon me.

     A faint cry from within the building. No! she had been in there, too! He hadn't meant!

     Mocking laughter. "Well played, brother dear." Jerith's image said, smiling at him. "I knew you could do it. At last, you have your vengeance."

     "Noooo!" Jacob cried, mournfully. "Not her too! I... I didn't mean it!"

     Thunder rumbled, and Jacob sat upright in his bed. His heart was beating, wildly.

     A nightmare. But, as most dreams did, it held the truth at its root.

     He shivered, violently. The storm that began that afternoon had gotten worse, continuing into the night.

     He glanced at his desktop clock. Three thirty. Having no hopes of being able to fall back to sleep, he stood up and switched on a lamp. Although its soft light illuminated the room, it did little to banish the shadows within his soul.

     From the room next door, he could hear Jinx's loud snoring, annoying people even in his sleep. There were soft rustling sounds coming from several of the cages and glass aquariums Jacob kept in his own room. One of the reasons he had wanted a single so badly was because very few roommates would be able to put up with all his little pets. Also, he generally preferred their company to that of humans.

     A pitiful "chirr-up!" came out of the cage closest to him.

     Jacob glanced at the roughly six inch creature within. A female sparrowfox. She resembled a tiny fox with large ears, only her fur was silver-gray and she had birdlike wings.

     "Can't sleep either, T'morall?" He asked, soothingly. "Your wing is almost completely mended. You can go back to the forest soon. Unless, you want to stay?"

     "Chi, chirr-up?" The creature chirped, looking at him with soulful golden eyes. Another rumble of thunder from outside made her shiver in fear.

     "Don't worry. I'll stay up with you, until the storm is over," He assured her, smiling in spite of himself.

...

     On the other side of campus, Chanse was also having trouble sleeping. Something dark had invaded her dreams, waking her up. She couldn't remember the dream itself, but it had left her with a feeling of dread.

     "Chanse? Are you awake, too?" Alaska's voice asked, tentatively, from the bed across the room.

     "I'm awake. Did all the thunder wake you up?"

     "Yeah. And I'm too scared to go back to sleep," Alaska admitted, sheepishly. "Kinda silly, huh? Being scared of a thunderstorm? At my age?"

     "Not really. Everyone's afraid of something, I guess," Chanse replied. At least she could put a name to her fears. "But the worst of the storm should be over, soon."

     "How do you know?" Alaska wondered.

     "The song the rain is making is changing," Chanse explained. "It's getting fainter. By morning, it will be completely over."

     "You can tell all that just by listening to the rain?" Alaska asked. She felt a little bit jealous. Although her ice magic was linked to the water element, she had never been able to hear its melody.

     "Yeah," Chanse answered. "I bet you think its kinda weird, huh?"

     "Actually, I was thinking 'Wow! She could make a fortune as a weather forecaster'!" Alaska joked.

     Chanse laughed, and threw a pillow in Alaska's general direction. It fell a couple inches short of her bed.

     "Missed me!" Alaska teased, sticking out her tongue. She picked up a pillow of her own, and lobbed it at Chanse's head. Chanse caught it, easily.

     The resulting pillowfight sent feathers flying around the room. When it was over, both girls collapsed on the floor with fits of quiet laughter.

     "Hey, Chanse?"

     "Yeah?"

     "You... umm. You and Fiore have really hit it off, haven't you?"

     "What do you mean?" Chanse blushed.

     "Well... I saw you two in the cafeteria today. Standing by the window, talking. And I heard about that incident in the kendo hall, between him and Jerith. I guess... all I wanna say is go for it."

     "But, I thought..."

     "Oh, he's really not my type, anyway," Alaska interrupted. "Too serious. I just felt bad for him, that's all. He's a really nice guy, but he's not very good at telling grabby girls like Pyra to back off. You aren't like that, though. I think he really likes you."

     Chanse felt her face turn crimson. "Do you really think? The weird thing is, he's not the type of guy I would normally be interested in. He's so smart and sophisticated, and I feel like just a plain little tomboy in comparison. We do have a few things in common, though."

     "Like kendo," Alaska laughed. "And, I think you really impressed him today, with that music you played. He plays the lute, you know?"

     "Does he?" Chanse asked, curiously. "He's never mentioned it. What else is he interested in?"

     "Let's see now..." Alaska began, counting on her fingers. "Aside from kendo, music and reading of course, there's chess, cooking, history, martial arts, pottery, tea ceremonies, dancing, theater, and about a bajillion other things."

     "Jeeze. I think I'm in over my head here," Chanse said, startled.

     "Naww, just be yourself," Alaska assured her. "I think that's probably what he likes about you, Chanse. You're not trying your hardest to impress him, like certain other people. He appreciates honesty."

     "But..." Chanse protested.

     "Hey, you were right!" Alaska said, suddenly, changing the subject. "The rain has died down."

     Indeed it had. The heavy downpour had receded to a softer, steady rain.

     "Guess we should try to get some sleep," Chanse said, listening.

     "Yeah," Alaska yawned. "I don't wanna be nodding off in my Math in Magic class. It's hard enough to stay awake with Professor Archamedies's rambling, anyway."

     They retreated to their beds. The soft rain gradually lulled them back to sleep.

...

     The old gnome peered over the well-worn text, and pushed his spectacles back up his long nose. The top of his wrinkled head was bald, save for a few tufts of white hair on either side of his head, just over his ears. His eyes held an expression that said 'I've seen it all', and, considering the fact that he was three hundred and thirty seven years old, it was entirely possible.

     He was short in stature, as all gnomes were. Even he would be quick to admit that he wasn't much, as far as appearances go. If there was one feature Professor Ignacious Gump was extremely proud of, however, it was his long white beard, which he kept neatly groomed.

     "In many ancient legends," he lectured, stroking his beard, "it is said that all magic on our world comes from the will of seven different deities. Would anyone care to name them?"

     Several students raised their hands, anxiously, while others, having neglected the assigned readings, tried to look inconspicuous.

     Please don't pick me, oh please don't pick me, Jinx prayed, silently.

     "Jinx Masamune?" Professor Gump said, calling on him.

     Darn it! "Umm... errr. Let's see," Jinx stuttered, lamely. He had though this questing class was going to be fun and lots of action. He hadn't expected to be required to memorize some boring old legends. "There's... umm, that chaos guy, Baka-what's-his-face. And then there's this fire and earth dude, and some chick that can..."

     "That's quite enough, Mr. Masamune," Professor Gump interrupted. "You obviously didn't read over your lessons very thoroughly. I suggest you study them more before the test on Friday. Anyone else? How about you, Fiore Masamune?"

     "Certainly sir," Fiore replied, standing up. "First, there is Baskali, the gentle goddess of light and healing. She is also the guardian of the gates to heaven. Her counterpart is M'desu, the god of death and darkness, as well as guardian to the gates of the underworld. Then, there is Fer'rekken, the god of fire and earth, who is also said to have brought writing and dance to this world. His counterpart is Kaishenza, the goddess of water and wind, who, according to one legend, also gave us the gift of music. Next, there's Wa'baka, the humorous god of chaos. In ancient times, whenever someone was born with magic that didn't quite fit any of the other elemental categories, it was said to be due to his mischievous nature. Finally, there are the two supreme gods, Ho'tan and A'genku, of creation and destruction, respectively."

     "Very good, Fiore," Professor Gump said, approvingly. "You appear to have a very good grasp of ancient mythology. I take it you've read books outside of the assigned text?"

     "Yes sir," Fiore blushed, "I mean, the subject interests me." He took his seat.

     "Show off," Jinx whispered, sticking his tongue out at his older brother.

     "Whether or not you believe in these old legends, they do offer a possible explanation for certain mysteries that even modern science has yet to fully answer." Professor Gump continued. "Another, much more recent theory regarding the source of magical power states that all creatures are born under the influence of at least one of the elements: wind, water, earth, fire, light, and darkness. For most people, the elemental power is never awakened, thus they have no magic. When the power does realize itself, it manifests in different ways. For instance, one person born under the influence of water may have ice powers, while another may have the rarer ability to hear the water elemental song, utilizing it for more powerful spells. Then, there are certain people that are born with the influence of more than one element, and others where the power appears to have mutated, leading to some unusual talents indeed."

     Professor Gump scratched his beard, thoughtfully. "I bet you're all wondering what all this nonsense has to do with questing. Well, mainly, I hope that if you get anything at all out of this class, it is a better understanding of your magical abilities."

     The bell rang. "For homework, I'd like you to finish reading chapter one. Those of you who haven't even started it yet- you know who you are- need to read though the whole thing. Remember, there's a test Friday. Dismissed!"

     From the back row, Pyra watched as Fiore, Jinx, Serenity, and Alaska walked out of class together. She still didn't think she could face Fiore just yet, even though he hadn't given any indication that he was angry at her. Today, she had sat with a few of her other friends.

     "I'm glad that's over with," Jinx was saying. "Sure was boring, today." He sighed.

     "All that mythology mumbo-jumbo is pretty confusing," Alaska added. "I can never keep their names straight."

     "I thought it was a rather interesting topic," Fiore stated.

     "I agree," Ren nodded. "It's facinating to learn about how ancient people viewed the world."

     "Yeah, you would say that," Jinx muttered. "What did you think about it, Chanse?"

     "My mother used to tell me stories about the seven gods, when she wasn't on one of her long journies," Chanse said, remembering. "She told me the legend of how Kaishenza brought music to the world the same day she gave me my flute. It was on my eighth birthday. It was... the last day I ever saw her alive." She remembered her mother, in the barn doorway, offering the flute, then telling her she had to leave again soon. Chanse had run away upset, and her mother had followed her, telling her the story to help calm her down. Then, they had a long talk together.

     The others stared at her, startled by her serious expression.

     Chanse noticed their stares, and snapped out of it. "Sorry," she blushed. "Sorry to go all gloomy like that on you. It's just sort of a sad memory."

     By now, they had reached the outside of the building. The weather had turned sunny again, and the puddles from last night's downpour were already starting to evaporate.

     "Sure turned out to be pretty," Jinx sighed, breathing in the fresh air. He looked at the sky. There was only one tiny, grayish cloud in sight. It was shaped rather oddly, and was approaching them at an unusually rapid pace. In fact...

     "HEY!" Jinx yelled, pointing. "What is that thing? It sure isn't a cloud, and I don't think it's an airplane, either."

     The others looked.

     "What? What is it?" Alaska asked, squinting.

     "Oh my!" Serenity exclaimed. "It looks like a giant bird."

     "It's a Roc," Fiore said, a feeling of dread coming over him. "And it appears to be headed straight for the school."

     "Aren't they supposed to be extinct?" Chanse asked. Something about this didn't feel right. And, wasn't that a rider, on it's back? She thought she could just barely make out a tiny figure.

     "A few must have survived somehow," Fiore replied. As the bird approached them, there was no mistaking its distinctive shape. "Someone should notify the headmaster of this, before it lands. I have a bad feeling."

...

Endnote: I know you're gonna hate me for this but- *ahem* "To be continued".

 

 

This story and its characters are © Chibi Ningyo (Cara V.), 2000.

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