Chapter 2: Kai
Talo suddenly awoke from his sleep, his breathing a panic. "What the hell?! What was that?! How did I feel pain in a dream?!" As he said it, he noticed red spots on top of his bed sheets. He looked at his palms. They were gashed, just like the dream. He nearly screamed as he fell off his bed, well, as much as he could when it was very close to the floor. The loss of blood started to make him feel lightheaded. "Great, now there's blood on the floor!" he complained. He kept slinking and crawling along his now spotted floors over to a cabinet attached to the roof. He opened it, took out a silk bandage, wrapped it around the ginormous cuts and tied them tightly.
They were made from the purest and strongest of silk from various different magical spider's webs, yet a little bit of red was still seeable through the bandage. Talo sat down on the sturdy, slightly decorated wooden chair next to his also wooden table. He breathed in and out, in and out, drank a bit of water and eventually his lightheadedness came to pass. Where the bandage lacked in other ways, it was all made up by how easily it made the pain 'go away'. It truly deserved its name of Miracle Silk. He calmed.
Trying to process what had happened in his strange dream, he looked around his house, admittedly more of a hut. His bed was messy and covered in red, so Talo would have to clean them later. Next to his low bed laid his journal of things he learnt, events he experienced and feelings he had about all of them. He understood it was a bit weird. He didn't care. Talo was weird, obviously shown by the things shrewd across his small dwelling. His bedside table, wooden, like almost everything there, held many mementos, stationary, and other miscellaneous items.
On top of it were a few of his most successful 'attempts' of him learning and trying to draw. Even his best 'works' were still quite poor. There were also papers filled with many, perhaps hundreds and thousands of words of the multiple stories he created. He didn't know if they were any good, or if anyone except him would like it. But he liked them. He did really need to clean the table though. On the other side was a small bookshelf. Talo read more than anybody he knew, he loved books, if he got to choose what books he read.
His favourites were fantasy adventure, even if his world was fantastical itself. But he also had some other books, some about the landscape of Levonia, a guide for growing your magical potential, and a book called 'Those Born of Shadow'. It was a book that explained most of the evils plaguing the kingdom, vile things called 'Darkborns'. As implied, they were beings made of pure darkness. Talo had never seen one in real life before, but they were said to be created just to cause destruction and pain.
His bigger table held piles of paper, pens, pencils and a few books open on the page he was on. Pinned on the wall was actually good art based on his favourite media and real life, drawn and gifted to him by his best (and only) friend Kai. Kai... "Crap!" Talo fell out of his chair, yet quickly stood back up. "Kai! I'm gonna be late!" He ran and quickly grabbed a few biscuits from his small pantry and swiftly ate them. He pulled a deep blue tunic over his head and ran out the door, not bothering to lock. Any creatures in the forest surrounding his hut couldn't open doors (probably), and who in the village would try to break in?
The path to he and Kai's place wasn't without obstacles, and sometimes could even be quite dangerous. Vines covered in spikes poked and prodded at Talo, and large roots kept nearly tripping him. How familiar. Sometimes natural animals with flesh (unlike the Darkborns) attacked or at least attempted to, such as strangely aggressive bugs and arachnids, blood thirsty wolves with teeth like knives and an eerie dark grey coat, and sometimes, even the flora. There were strange lilies that could cause severe bleeding, therefore titled 'Bleeder Lilies', and seemingly normal flowers that extended and tried to grip, trap and bite you. But thankfully, Talo had grown very used to this path, and nothing got in his way. Not to mention he paid no attention to his own well being and focused on not being later than he already was.
The natural, normal greenery calmed his mind from the eerie purple trees still haunting his mind, but he kept running until he pushed past the shrubbery into the serene space he and Kai claimed as their own. The lack of trees in the area lets the sunlight cover them just like a warm blanket. The ground was covered in vibrant green grass and colourful windflowers. He took in the beautiful environment- only to realise Kai wasn't there.
"Of course we're both late..." he chuckled. He wasn't mad at this point, he was just glad to be back in his world, with his friends... friend, and not in a cursed dark green and purple woods that caused him nothing but pain. Only then did he realise that he hadn't really thought or processed what had happened in his dream. Was it just a jumble of nonsense his mind created without reason? Or did it have a purpose? Was someone trying to tell him something? If so, then who?
Talo heard a ruffling in the bush, just as his friend came walking out of them, covered in dust and leaves. His brown hair was messy and filled with twigs and little pieces of wood, and Talo could very obviously hear heavy panting. He wore a red tunic, and everything else he was wearing was some shade of red, or reddish-pink or brown (and also dirty and scratched). "Hi... sorry... I'm late..." he said between each breath. He looked up, and his hazel eyes met Talo's own. Talo ran over to him, seeing if he needed any help, only for Kai to hold his hand up in decline. "Ya good?" he asked. Kai simply nodded. The fact he was still panting was not making that claim seem very truthful. "Well, I only just barely got here before you, less than a minute. Overslept." "Same!" Kai responded.
He fixed up his hair and posture, then started to walk towards a large, somewhat smooth grey rock and sat down. Talo sat down beside him. Kai's belt held two scabbards, yet he unbuckled one and handed it to Talo. "Thanks!" Talo said while unsheathing the simple blade. Its silver steel was cold and sharp, and quite sturdy. Kai took his sword out and revealed it to be similar to Talo's. Kai hoped to be a blacksmith one day, yet his parents were not able to get equipment, so they simply just bought him two blades, however, he let Talo practically own it, lending it to him very often. He would've bought his own blade, but Kai insisted.
"So to start off, simple sword match, no magic?" Kai suggested. "Sure!" Talo accepted. They both stood up and went to opposite sides of the small field and prepared to practise. Talo gripped his sword tight, yet the gashes on his wound did not pain him. The Miracle Silk bandages truly were amazing! "And... go!" Kai yelled out. Both of them ran at each other, then met at the centre, and pushed their blades back against the others, trying to knock over each other's balance. Now all they needed was a mid-battle monologue to fully make it a manga-esc scene!
They both took a step back as they simultaneously gave up on that plan, yet Kai came running straight after Talo. He slashed, yet Talo ducked and swiped Kai's feet. He fell to the ground, as Talo rose above and pointed his sword downwards onto him. "I win!" he said smugly. "Well, if you're so cocky, then why don't we try something else?" Kai proposed as he stood up. "You have to dodge all of my attacks. You can't fight back, but you can attack the obstacles. I'm allowed to use both magic and sword. Last 30 seconds without being touched, you win. Deal?" he asked. "Hm. Accepted!" Talo replied egotistically. He took a few steps back to prepare. He was stretching when... "Cool. Time starts NOW!" Kai yelled. Talo's head flicked up in surprise. "Wait, wha-"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
A stone pillar came bursting out of the ground behind Talo, narrowly missing him. Talo ran to the side just as flames spewed from the ground in front of him, small embers flowing in the air surrounding him. He stepped back yet got tripped by a knot in the grass. A blast of water approached his face, yet he rolled over and dodged yet again. He ran towards the stone pillar and slashed it with light, cleanly cutting it in two. Jumping over what remained of the pillar, he sent a small bolt of lightning to a rock coming his way, breaking it into dozens of pieces. Still running, a cold breeze passed him by. He shivered, but the wind did not stop, instead, it got harsher. How familiar.
The hairs on his arms and back stood up from both the chill and the memories of his dreadful dream, and now he could no longer run. The wind was ridiculously strong, and trying to run against the gale would be the plan of a fool. Maybe he could use it as a tailwind instead to speed himself up? It could possibly help him dodge Kai's attacks, so he took the bet. Just as he started his new strategy, three very spiky balls seemingly made of Plant magic came his way. He gripped onto his sword and swung it precisely through each of them. "Wait, that was actually kinda cool!"
The wind finally stopped, and as Talo wondered where Kai had gone, he heard the piercing note of whistling. He stood still where he was. A small light red beam now was right in his line of vision, yet due to him stopping in his path moments before, he was safe. He knew exactly what had happened. Every magic user had something called a 'Hald'. It was their specialty, the magic they used most and best with. While Talo was a Light Hald, Kai was a Sound Hald. That whistle summoned the beam, and was only one of Kai's weaker attacks. If he was using Sound magic...
"Oh, sh-" before Talo could finish his not very family friendly line, three more of those beams came blasting around him. Not knowing his next move, he summoned a small shield made of light to protect him. The beams pounded against it, yet it stayed somewhat sturdy. But that was just a simple Sound spell, his other ones would be far more dangerous and harder to avoid. He dissipated the shield as the beams seemed to stop, and looked around for his next obstacle. "...seriously, where did he go?" he asked.
Then, with just the warning of the pluck of a guitar, a much larger, much more dangerous light red beam came worryingly fast at Talo. But he had a plan. A dumb, showoff-y plan. He wasn't really scared, both him and Kai were incredibly careful not to truly injure each other, and if they do get hurt, they had ways to help each other, such as basic healing magic for small grazes, cuts and bruises, some remedies made in the village and even one or two people they knew who were more experienced in healing magic. So Talo could be cocky. Why not show off a little?
Just before the beam hit him, he slid his foot forward a bit and turned a strip of the ground into ice, then crouch slid under the beam, gracefully dodging it using the reduced friction. He slid straight for a few moments, and started to see the beam falter its form. He tilted his head back and saw just how far he'd gotten away from where he summoned the ice. 'I'm pretty far away from where I started, I wonder when the ice trail will end-' his thoughts were interrupted when he fell off his path, and somehow, against all logic, cartoonishly landed face first in the dirt. 'Now, apparently.'
At least the beam was no longer there. Ears alerted to hear any noise that could precaution another attack, wiping the dirt off his face, he stood up. He returned the thin strip of ice back into normal ground, as he looked around for Kai. Surely, there couldn't be much time left of the challenge, so why wasn't he attacking him? There wasn't a sign of him anywhere, the only thing that remained were the remains of his abnormally strong spells. The silence was so strange. All he could hear was the sound of bugs, the now once again gentle wind blowing in the trees, and the sound of footsteps cracking leaves. How familiar. "Wait, footsteps?!" Behind him, he could hear Kai running out of the forest, then a gush of wind as he leapt to the sky. Talo turned his head towards the sky behind him to see Kai in the air, ready to slash down onto him. His face of excitement quickly changed to worry as he realised what was going to happen, yet he could not stop.
Talo froze as it seemed his death was mere moments away. Damage like that couldn't be healed by any of their methods, and by the time Kai could run to the village, Talo would be far gone. He would be gone instantly. But something, some sort of power was bubbling inside Talo. Something telling Talo he couldn't die. Something telling him he wouldn't. Whispers in his head refusing him to die.
Kai was just about to slash Talo in two, when it seemed something flickered in his blue eyes. Pieces of a soft yellow energy, light, surrounded Talo. Then suddenly, he vanished. Kai landed on the ground, sword first, yet thankfully, not cutting his best friend straight in half. He was glad of that at least. But how? He looked over to his side and saw Talo sitting down, panting. The light yellow was still around him, yet started to fade away. "So... how about not trying to kill me next time?" Talo joked. "Yeah, I'll think about it!" Kai responded, voice breaking yet still letting out a strained chuckle.
Talo stood and walked over to Kai, and offered his hand to help him up. Talo noticed Kai's eyes were puffy, and he was rubbing them as if he was wiping tears away. He felt a pang of guilt as Kai reached his hand then got up. "Sorry I went a bit overboard there. I wasn't really thinking that much." "That's OK, I'm just curious how the hell your spells are so good!" Talo changed the subject. "No amount of training in that short of time could've led to magic that strong!" Kai's face shifted from a guilty frown to a somewhat forced smug smile as he rummaged through his pocket. He pulled out a wristband with a small dark blue sphere, and handed it Talo. "Is this... no, it couldn't be..." Talo said as he inspected the orb attached to it.
"Yep! Magic Enhancer! Made from condensed magic in the undergrounds of Heartvon, attached to rope reinforced by Spinner Silk, aka Miracle Silk, just like the ones covering your hands that I somehow only just noticed now, but I'll ask why later! Put it on your wrist and try it!" Kai insisted. Talo slid the Enhancer onto his wrist, and tried casting a simple light spell. Normally it'd make a small energy blast, but with the Enhancer... The orb started to shine and turn light blue. "Holy crap!" The unexpectedly huge blast destroyed the shrubbery in its way, lighting up parts of the forest they couldn't see naturally. "Well that's a bit... stronger!" Kai began.
The spell ended, much later than usual. "Well, I think I killed at least 500 bugs with that, so that's cool!" Talo took off the strong item and handed it back to Kai. "So, what do we wanna do now?" Talo asked. "We can sit and chat for a bit, I don't really have anything else to do today. You?" "Yeah, nothing much. We can just mess around for an hour or two if you want!' Kai responded. "Cool!" When he looked away, Kai made a guilty face, trying to push the negative emotions away. Talo looked around and found a nice tree to sit under.
There was shade, and if the approaching clouds were to rain, it could give them a bit of shelter. They sat down on the colourful green grass and started to talk. "I had a weird dream. I injured myself in it and it somehow affected my real body. That's why I patched up my hands." Talo showed his hand to Kai. "That's weird. Never heard of that before, but now you mention it, I'm also starting to remember a weird dream I had last night too." "Oh, really? What happened?" Talo asked. Kai took a deep breath. "So..."