Their swords collided. Xena Blackwood's bright green amulet hanging from a golden white chain swinging from the momentum of the collision. She was fighting a Blazing Witch, her bright scarlet eyes flashing with fury. She was on a high floor of the arena, fighting some of the best witches around. Then, it happened, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the tip of a javelin, and it broke. Her precious amulet broke, it was all the power she had ever knew. Just gone, a bright green light. Then... nothing.
It was as nothing was ever there, she disappeared without a trace, from her ink black hair, to her golden white scythe, matching her amulet with it's emerald green blade. The others were confused, but they couldn't fret about it for long, as the match had to go on.
Xena landed in a world, which she did not recognize. She landed on a strange material, not quite rock, it was too dark, too rubbery. Next to her, a viridescent meadow of grass next to her, and the crisp cold air filled her lung, and knocked the wind out of her. People stopped and stared at her as if they had seen a ghost. They were dressed very oddly, in cloth blazers and undershirts, which you only saw poor businessmen wear. In the distance, she saw weird shapes off in the horizon, as if they were touching the sky. It was like the witches arena, but completely made out of glass, and multiplied.
She stared back in awe at the individuals, who were staring right back at her. One was a little girl, holding what seemed like a plush bear. Everything wasn't as lush and vibrant as she was used to, it was browned and run-down looking, like a small village in the mountains. Except the bright pink petals on some trees, which made her giggle. Suddenly, what seemed like a small train cart... but on it's own, running on it's own, seemingly without energy such as coal, like some sort of magic was guiding it pulled up. Red and blue lights flashed. They told her to drop her scythe, so she did. They then came towards her, and but braces on her wrist, she tried to tug them, but she realized her hand were connected.
She heard one of the awestruck strangers explaining how one second, there was a man, and the next, she was there with her weapon in hand, as if she was ready to kill them all. She turned around, but her head was violently pushed back into the direction they were walking. She was placed in the magic vehicle, and they moved away.
* * *
Shiozuki landed hard on the cold tile. He didn't know where he was. Or how he had gotten there. He was coming home from school, and he just suddenly was here. Is that... blood on the floor? Has he been kidnapped? Was he in a hospital? No, certainly not, it was too quiet... until he heard it, the sound of metal clashing together with immense force, he bolted up with a sudden burst of adrenaline, and ran out. He saw light, but he was stopped in his path by a woman. Her eyes seemed to be made of fire, matching her hair. She was taller than he was, and holding a giant broadsword. She swung at him, while screaming about how a light got up here. What's a "Light"... she must be referring to him... right?
He ran towards a door, and a horn blared, saying that "Xena" had left the floor. The lady standing at the doorway asked for his scroll. He was confused, and he had left his phone at home. She asked again, and he questioned her. She then told him to leave immediately if he didn't have the proper identification. So he did. When he finally got down the seemingly never-ending flights of stairs, he stepped outside. The light shined bright like a flash of lightning, when his vision focused back in he felt as if he were in the 15th century.
Wooden houses and horses, vibrant grass, large trees sprawling. Strangely dressed people and "potion shops" all around. He walked around, getting stared at by everyone he passed. He heard whispers and murmurs, and he wondered where he possibly could be. Is this a dream? He must've been looking really desperate, because from a crevasse between two buildings, he heard a whisper.
"Hey, come here," The voice whispered. So Shiozuki ventured towards the sound, and he found a man, about his height, with deep blue eyes, and golden hair.
"You look lost, are you new to these parts?" The man asked
"Yes, I don't know how I got here, I appeared in there."
"You just appeared in the arena? Strange, but I believe you, I'm Asagishi, if you were wondering."
"Oh, umm, hello? I'm Shiozuki"
"Shiozuki, interesting name, follow me, I'll lodge you until you can find a better place to live."
So Asagishi led Shiozuki to his pub, where he led him upstairs into his quaint apartment. Shiozuki had never seen anything like it. It was very medieval-esque to Shiozuki. He felt like he just walked into a festival. Most of everything was either bright wood or cobbled stone. There were plants of the most beautiful vibrant green, Shiozuki went up to one, where Asagishi mentioned it was one of his hobbies. But what struck him the most, which he didn't even realized when he first entered, was the ginormous battle axe with a bright blue head leaning beside the little wood furnace.
He looked back and forth between Asagishi and the hammer, and couldn't help but be rude and stare. Asagishi acted as if everything was fine, despite the probably 7 foot hammer casually in his apartment.
"What? You act as if you've never seen a weapon before," Asagishi rambled as he grabbed the hammer from it's position. That's when Shiozuki also noticed the gem he had on his leather gauntlet, it was as blue as the head of his hammer.
"I- umm, well, that's not something I see everyday, no. What's with the gem on your wrist?" Shiozuki questioned.
"You mean you've never seen an artifact before?"
"No, I haven't. What's an artifact?"
Dumbfounded, Asagishi went over to his small bookcase, and took out a book. "You must've grown up out in the farm country or something. Everyone knows about the arena, and artifacts... I mean, every witch and warlock has one. You're meaning to tell me you don't possess one?"
"No, I don't."
"Well, I'll explain it to you then. Artifacts are what give us our power, when we enter the arena, we need one. It is usually something such as a family heirloom, and most commonly a gem or piece of jewelry. It's what gives us our power. They have their limitations, and you need to pay an enchantress to get them recharged. You can also get them blessed by the enchantress, which makes your magic more powerful, and last longer."
"That's interesting." Shiozuki cut in.
"I'm not done, give me a few more minutes. But, this requires a very substantial amount of money to do so, and the only efficient way to do it within a lifespan, is to fight in the arena. You need to train, make your physical and mental self better, in order to make your magic better. Now that I've given you that information, I want you to give me some."
"Ok, shoot."
"Shoot?"
"Go ahead and ask me."
"Oh, pardon me. You aren't a warlock are you?" Asagishi accused.
Comments (0)
See all