Chapter Five:
Yin & Yang; Origins of the Prophesy
"Wake up, Marium!
Time for magic training. Altaire wants to help you learn to use the dark magic
you acquired." Cadillac called into her ear, making her groan and sit up
mechanically.
"I don't wanna go to
school, Mom... I feel sick..." she ran through excuses absentmindedly
forgetting that she didn't have school and that her mother wasn't even there.
Cadillac gave her an odd look that said "Whatta weirdo", then stepped
back.
"C'mon, Marium.
Let's go, or you won't get breakfast before we start practicing."
Marium leapt up from the
bed, quickly fixing the covers and stood in front of the shorter man. She
smiled, innocently. "Breakfast?"
"Uh..."
Cadillac sweat dropped, and stared at her, frightened of the sudden outburst.
"Y-yes, it's time for breakfast."
"Grand! I'm
hungry." she stated, happily. She skipped into the other room, and found
Altaire already in his cloak, leaning against the wall. "Is that all you
wear, Altaire?"
"He's got a year's
supply of those cloaks. Don't worry ‘bout it." Jonah said, looking up from
his plate. "We don't even know how he got the bits for them."
"Bits? Whadda ya
mean?" she asked, plopping down at the table. Jonah grinned.
"What you buy things
with. They're like little coins, you know?" Jonah offered. Cadillac
grumbled, reaching into his pocket. He handed her a small, heavy disk.
"Money! You have pennies
here!" she beamed, finally finding something she was familiar with. This
'bit' looked like a penny without the designs.
"Penny? What a
strange name." Cadillac commented, taking the bit back.
"Yeah, pennies,
nickels, quarters, and dimes! Then there're dollar bills. Those are all the
ways we keep track of money on our world." she said, turning to the food
on her plate. A disgusted look passed over her face, but was gone quickly.
"... What's this, Cadillac?"
"It's roast
pumblebird eggs and pickled ret's juice. Jonah's specialty."
'It's okay, Marium. You
don't have to eat it.'
"Hm. It looks great,
Jonah, but I'm kinda excited about this whole magic thing. Magic was fake back
in my world. I can't wait to learn some." Marium changed the subject,
rising from her seat.
Cadillac looked shocked.
"Magic? Fake? Impossible."
Marium shook her head.
"Only little people, y'know kids, believe in magic on Earth. That's just
the way it is!"
"You believe in
magic, right, Marium?" Cadillac questioned, frustratedly. Marium looked at
the ceiling.
"I guess I have to,
don't I? If I don't, my magic won't work, will it? It's like saying you can't
ride bike. You never know until you try." she stated, shuffling her feet.
"So, when do I get to have my chance??"
Cadillac motioned her
outside, and Altaire followed. Jonah went to work on her weapon.
"Okay, Marium, stand
this way." Cadillac stood next to her, with his hands poised in front, as
if blocking himself.
She copied his stance
with an attentive look on her face, and then turned to look at him. "Now
what?"
"Close your eyes and
pray." he said, surprised that she didn't even know that much. "Try
to get in touch with the spirits of the elements that you have in
yourself."
Frowning, Marium shut her
eyes and opened her mind. She concentrated for a moment. The moments turned
into minutes, and she still was empty. "Cadillac… it isn't working."
"Wait." he
pulled her to her knees in front of him. He placed one finger on her forehead,
mumbling a phrase to awaken the elements inside her.
Marium felt like she was
the center of attention. Around her swirled leaves, droplets of water, and dark
emptiness of the night. She was cold, alone, and incapable of controlling these
things.
'I'm NOT afraid... you
chose me for a reason. If you don't like me, you're free to go.' she thought to
the spirits. The only one that seemed to listen to her was the darkness. The
leaves slowly stopped spinning, and landed on the floor infront of her. The
droplets of rain fell limp and cool on her face, and the darkness seemed to
stare into her heart. It returned into her body.
Marium blinked her eyes,
returning to her body as well. She was in the Forest of Magic with Altaire and
Cadillac.
"I think we've made
some improvements. Now for the training… Come at me." Cadillac commanded,
stepping back. Marium looked at him and shook her head.
"No way."
Before Cadillac could
argue, Altaire stepped infront of the mage. With a motion, his cloak moved
back, revealing a staff.
'If you feel that way,
you'll have to go up against me, Marium. Come on, we don't have all day.'
"W-What?! No!
Absolutely not!" she yelled. He just watched her.
Without moving, he called
out his spell. 'Fire wall.'
A wall of flame whooshed
toward Marium with remarkable speed. She cried out and jumped to the side, but
her ankle got singed by the fire's heat. "I won't hurt you!"
Altaire's face showed no
emotions, as he called out another spell without a word or gesture. 'Flaming
singe.'
Marium saw the chain of
fire before it appeared in the air. She retaliated with a defensive chant of
her own. "Darkness summon... Cahlot appear!!"
A giant bird emerged from
no where, shielding Marium with its wings. The ball of fire bounced harmlessly
off to the ground and died. Cadillac was stunned speechless, and even Altaire
seemed to stop for a moment.
But he was back at it in
no time. 'Breath of heaven.'
An invisable arrow of
holy energy crackled directly at Marium. Cahlot took the arrow for her and let
out a shriek of pain. "Cahlot!! ... Cahlot retire!"
The bird limply
dissipated into the shadows, and Marium felt her face grow hot with tears.
"...Earth and water combine... TSUNAMI Crashdown!"
She cast the spell
without thinking, and quickly realized what she'd done. "No... oh, no!
Elements.. please, I command you to halt!"
Altaire was standing,
braced for the giant wave of water that was about to throw him down. But as
Marium's words spilled out of her lips, the water lost its force and splashed
feebly onto the priest. He blinked, surprised at the turn of events.
"I'm sorry, I almost
hurt you."
Cadillac glanced from
Marium to Altaire, then back again. "That bird, Marium, that was a
creature of evil. It came from darkness, how did it get into the
forest?.."
"A creature of evil?
Cahlot? Well, you could call him that..." she turned and seemed to smile
at a shadow. "He's not evil. Just... misunderstood. Besides, it was either
him or a Jinju..."
"YOU SUMMON
JINJUS?!?!" Cadillac shrieked, red all over. He was frusterated beyond
words at this revelation. Altaire glanced at the short mage with indifference.
"You're soaked, Altaire."
Altaire looked down at
his cloak. Marium grinned, and giggled.
"That'll teach you
to think before you act next time." she said, jokingly. He blushed a
little. "Atleast my spell was retractable..."
"You're the High
Priestess of Yin, and you're summoning evil creatures like a cheap palu!"
Cadillac exclaimed, face still red. Jonah was standing in the doorway, sweaty
and hot.
"I could hear you
over my metalworking, you guys. What're you yelling about now?" he asked,
wiping his forehead on the back of his hand. He was shirtless and the stubbles
on his chin stood out against his sunburnt skin. "Is there something
wrong, Marium? You must be hungry. I'll go make some lunch for you guys."
"Wait!" Marium
called out, making Altaire sweat drop. "Let me do the cooking,
please?"
"But.. you're a
guest..."
"And you're the
master weaponsmith. Go finish my weapon, make it all spiffy-neat. I'll take
care of the food!"
Jonah watched her half skip,
half walk to the well to get some cool water for them. She brought out three
cups and handed them water. "Oh. I guess you don't need any, Altaire.
You're already pretty wet."
Altaire flushed, and went
into the house to change his cloak.
"Cadillac, Jonah,
you guys just kick it out here, and leave all the domestic duties to me! I'm
used to it!" she rushed into the house, and shut the door. Marium sang a
tune as she put a bowl on the table. She found some vegetable that looked and
tasted like lettuce, and she pulled it apart, placing it in the bowl. She
searched for more veggies as she sang her favorite songs to no one in
particular.
She'd finished the salad
and was well into the sandwiches when she saw that Altaire was watching her.
She was surprised and accidentally cut her finger. "Ouch!"
Marium dropped the knife
and hopped around the kitchen, making a loud jamboree of vulgar cursings as she
did. Her index finger was dripping with blood, and she bit her lip at the sight
of it.
Altaire took her hand in
his and gazed at the wound. 'Breath of heaven.'
The wound sealed itself
and the extra blood dripped off aimlessly. Marium looked up into his eyes, but
she couldn't see them because his bangs were blocking them. 'Are you alright,
Marium? Why were you jumping around and yelling?'
"Huh? Oh, I was mad
that I cut myself, I suppose." she said, turning away to find a rag to
clean up the blood.
'What was that hymn you
were singing before you saw me?'
"Oh, that? That
wasn't a hymn. It was a song that I heard before I came here. How long were you
watching me..?"
'Since you walked in the
door.'
Marium blushed and
finished making the sandwiches. "You shouldn't spy on people when they
don't know it. They might be doing something private."
'Like what?'
"Well.. they may be
singing, like I was. That's only for me to hear. I'd be embarrassed if anyone
else heard it."
'I heard it. And I think
it was beautiful. You should sing that 'song' for Cadillac and Jonah too.'
Altaire took a step toward her. 'Why would someone want to keep something so
lovely to themselves? Other people would love to hear it as well.'
"Some things are
private, Altaire. That's all I can say about it. I wouldn't feel comfortable
singing in front of them, or you. If I'd have known you were there earlier, I
would've kept quiet." she admitted, putting the sandwiches on plates.
"There's something called modesty on my world. I have a lot of it."
'Modesty? Sounds like a
waste of time to me. All I know is that if you have something that would make
people happy...' he reached out and touched her cheek. His hand was warm and
his touch made her feel tingly all over. 'You should share it with others.'
Altaire started to lean
toward her and she blushed. "A-Altaire, I should take this to Cadillac and
Jonah. They're probably hungry."
'I'm sure they can wait.'
"All people on this
strange world are my responsiblity. I won't let them wait for anything."
she said, firmly, and turned to leave. He watched her go without an emotion
passing through his mind except confusion.