Legend of Parocaav II: Against the Darkness (rough draft)

Chapter V: The Mysterious Seeker

A grassy field sits still, untouched even by wind. Birds chirp happily from the trees and the bees are buzzing among the flowers. A small black sphere appears above a small patch of dirt hidden under the tall grass. The air around the sphere starts to collapse into itself, bending and warping the colors. Then in a flash, the sphere explodes out. A shockwave breaks the stillness of the field, sending a ripple through the grass like waves in the sea.

Once the dust settles, a man wearing black robes can be seen. A small golden insignia on the upper right chest of the robes breaks its dark color. The man has spikey jet black hair and his eyes are a deep ocean blue. A giant katana is strapped over his shoulder onto his back. The blade is as black as his robes are and almost as long as he is tall.

"I made it Leon. It's good to be home," the man pauses to listen to the winds, "Yeah yeah. I know. Give me a minute. You taught me twice that the simple things in life are what makes life worth fighting for. Besides, it's been quite the journey. I'll seek out the Bringers as we discussed."

Leon's voice is carried through the wind, "Listen Seeker, and listen carefully. The Bringers of Hope must never know who you are. When the time is right, you'll know what to do. You have met yourself after all."

The voice fades as the wind does. All is now calm within the valley and the Seeker stares up into the skies. Those words Leon had spoken running over and over again in his mind. A name had been given to him before he left to come back to a home he had been away from for so long. A name that he would forever go by. Tao. The name given to him by Gaia herself. New name, New life. His old identity to be forgotten. His purpose has been rewritten. A purpose to serve the legendary Bringers of Hope.

The sun starts to set beyond the hills, leaving the valley in a state of twilight. Tao sits down in the grass and crosses his legs. He holds his hands out to his sides, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Slowly he lets it out in one long stream of air. Thoughts of Leon's words keep echoing in his head. Tao finds it difficult to clear his thoughts, but he keeps focusing on what's to come. His mind wonders to the love he left behind here. He's been away so long that it couldn't be the same. Besides that, his life's story has been written over. At this point, he decides to give up trying to meditate and to just go to sleep.

Meanwhile ~

The Bringers of Hope are sitting around a small campfire, not saying a word. An awkward silence has fallen upon them for the last few hours now. Roku can't help but feel sickened knowing her sister is once again free to cause havoc. Besides that, she can sense the presence of someone being carried in the winds. Sammi is at a loss of words to say to her, and she is respecting her brother's ways of silence. Drayk cannot focus his mind. His thoughts haze in and out, his vision as well. A strange sensation is overwhelming him from within his very core. Even his muscles feel like they are growing weak. His face turns pale and he falls onto his back.

"Drayk!" Sammi shouts.

"That can't be a coincidence," Roku mutters quietly, "Who are you Seeker? Why is Leon sending you after us?"

"What?" Drayk asks Roku.

"Leon is still holding something back from us," Roku replies, "I can hear it in the winds. Leon means the world to us, but I wonder if he can be trusted anymore."

"Don't say that Roku," Sammi sighs.

"It hurts me too.... trust me. I just don't think we can really trust anyone, except us of course," Roku adds.

"Agreed. All we know is we have to prevent Lady Parocaav from destroying Gaia and her inhabitants," Drayk agrees.

"Well, I'm with you guys, you know that," Sammi smiles, "What did you hear anyway?"

"A man by the name of Tao, the Seeker has come from.... somewhere," Roku answers, "To seek us out. I don't like the sound of it. It gives me chills thinking about it. His voice was so.... cold."

A voice can be heard shrieking from some rubble several yards away. Drayk glances over his sister's shoulder to see if anyone could be seen. He walks down toward the pile of debris and stops directly in front of it. Using Earth Magic, he carefully moves the pieces of broken city. Ryk is found laying on his back, bloodied and bruised. He seems to be barely breathing, gasping for air. His eyes grow dark on color as he looks up at the Bringers of Hope.

"You must not fear him," Ryk manages to say, "He is not.... a threat. Simply another obstacle to conquer if nothing else. Do not.... doubt.... Leo-"

No more words were spoken from the Storm Mage, he simply became lifeless. His body now still while his eyes slowly close. Sammi looks away with a feeling that she cannot describe. She just knows this death was different from what she has witnessed in her past. Guilt overcomes Roku. Her sister had done this.

"I don't know.... what to think at this point," Drayk wonders out loud.

"Meriiiiiiiii!" Roku yells as loud as she can, then calms her tone to say, "We can't let her get away with this. We have to end all of this."

"We will Roku. We've made it this far, we'll make till the end," Drayk assures her.

"Yeah! We will rid the darkness of this world. Just wait!" Sammi agrees.

"I couldn't imagine someone would destroy a whole city just to get to.... me," Roku says with remorse in her voice.

"Don't let that get to you, as long there is a darkness against us, no one is safe," Sammi points out.

"Not helping Sammi," Drayk pauses for a moment, "We will avenge these people, as well as all the others lost to the darkness."

"You bet!" Sammi adds.

"To Auzt then?" Roku asks as she pulls out the wayward stone.

"I can't think of a better place to start," Drayk shrugs.

"Neither can I," Sammi sighs.

"Well, I trust you both. If you say it's the best place to begin, I'm all for it!" Roku shouts excitedly.