Age of Darkness

Chapter 11: I Get My Butt Kicked By A Girl

I woke up bright and early in the morning and woke Elizabeth. Zelda was already awake, sitting on a  rock watching the wind blow the leaves. 

''Hello, children,'' she says without looking at us.

''Morning,'' we say.

''Eat breakfast, then we may begin our lesson. I have some thinking to do...''

''Okay, Zelda.'' We prepared some of our dwindling food supply and ate.

''What do you think we're doing?'' I asked Zelda.

''Knowing Zelda, she's probably testing our fighting skills. We're going to get our butts kicked!'' She laughed. We cleaned up our mess and went back to Zelda.

''Hello, dears. How was breakfast?''

''Good.''

''Then let's begin.'' In the blink of an eye she flipped backwards off the rock and kicked me into the dirt.

''You should be prepared. Always be prepared.''

''Ow... thanks!'' She gave me a hand, which I took, and she tossed me back to the ground.

''Never trust your opponent. Do you think Zirkon will be so kind?''

Now it was Zelda's turn. She put up a better fight, managing to block several of Zelda's shots, but she ended up on the ground next to me.

''Zirkon truly will destroy you if you cannot even defeat me.''

I jumped up and kicked her. This caught her by surprise and she skidded through the dirt, but held her ground. I swung at her, and she blocked it.

''Do not be afraid to hit me! I can take it!''

She kicked my feet out from under me. I fell, and quickly tried to do the same, but she jumped up. I used this to my advantage and threw her to the ground. Elizabeth got in the fight. Two on one. Zelda continually fought as back for what seemed like hours. She chopped Elizabeth's side and Elizabeth stayed down.

''Are you okay, dear?'' Asked Zelda.

''Fine.''

''Good.'' She quickly attacked me, thinking I was caught off guard, but I was expecting it, and blocked her hit. I then hit her and flung her onto the ground.

''Good.'' She tried to kick me from the ground, but I jumped back and she got back to her feet. I threw magic at her. She drew her sword quickly and blocked it. My magic evaporated. I drew mine sword.

''Your grandfather trained you, yes? Good.''

I jumped and swung at her. She blocked it. The fight turned into a battle of swings, misses, blocks, and dodges. I kicked at her legs, she jumped, which I expected, and I hit her sword out of her hand. I kicked her down and pointed my sword at her neck.

''Well done.'' She smiled, and before I could realize it, she blasted my sword out of my sword out of my hand with magic. She blasted me back, and as if I were struck lightning, I flew back and hit a tree. I took a moment to get back my breath. Zelda stood and waited.

''Ready?'' I nodded. I threw magic at me, and she did the same. They clashed. She was using divine magic. It was white as the sun, and extremely powerful. The sheer force of the power pushed me back. Her power slowly began to overcome mine, and it inched closer to me. Finally it hit me, and I slammed back into the tree.

''Zirkon channels the power of the Dark Realm, and he will do the exact same, unless you learn to channel the power of the Goddess.'' I looked at her.

''Show me...'' She helped me up, and I had to make sure that she wasn't going to beat me up again before I grabbed her hand.

''You must think of a special memory. You need to focus on that memory of importance, and the power of the Goddess will flow through you. For many, it takes years to master, and few know how. But you, Nicholas, are the One. If you truly are, the power of the Goddess is already inside you. You need to use it. Hit that tree.''

I focused and threw a beam of magic at it. My magic was blue, my favourite colour. It hit the tree, and the tree set on fire.

''Is that it?'' I asked Zelda.

''No. You must try harder. Focus. A happy memory. You must rip right through that tree. I looked at the tree, which Zelda extinguished. It was extremely thick and tall.

''There's no way...'' I tried, again and again. Each time there was no difference and I barely harmed the tree. I was getting tired.

''What is the happiest memory you have? Use it! Use that power! Zirkon uses his hate to use the power of the Dark Realm. Use happiness to use the power of the Goddess!''

I thought of the happiest memory I had. Years of memories and one stood out to me. A memory of when I was young, about eight. I was sitting by the river in The Village with my grandfather. We were talking about everything that came to our minds. A weird memory, but one of my happiest. There was no care or worry in the world. I focused on that memory and threw everything I had at the tree. My magic burned with more intensity than before. I felt amazing, rejuvenated! The beam blew right through the tree. It fell down near Elizabeth, and I stuck out my hand. It levitated and I tossed it away. I fell to my knees.

''Phew... That was crazy!'' I laughed. Zelda smiled.

''You did it. Well done. You may just save Altaria yet. Let's go again!''

''What?''

''Fight me. No holding back on either sides.'' I stood on one side of the clearing. She stood on the other. We ran at each other. I blocked her swings. We fought like maniacs, as if on fast-forward. I swung and she ducked.

''Intense,'' I heard Elizabeth say. I attempted to kick her legs out from under her, but she jumped. I counted on that. I kicked her back and she skid through the ground. She drew her sword and I drew mine. She jumped at me and I blocked, just able to hold on. I twirled the sword and swung. She swung at the same time, and they clashed. Sparks flew. I managed to hit her sword out of her hand.

She jumped back and threw Divine Magic at me. I did the same. The impact created a huge shockwave. Bolts flew from the collision, hitting trees and bushes, burning them. Wind flew. It blew the bushes, trees, and even Elizabeth back. The power pushed both me and Zelda back. I pushed Zelda back. She waved our hand, and both magic powers evaporated. I hit her with magic and she flew back. She attempted to grab her sword, but I hit it with magic as well. I kicked her to the ground and pointed my sword at her.

I dropped it and we all laughed.

''Well done! Very impressive!'' Said Zelda.

''I can't believe it,'' said Elizabeth. We'd been doing this for hours. It was almost evening now. I was exhausted. Then for the second time in two days I passed out.

Hello again! This is a much needed update. Haven't updated for a week or so, but here I am again! So, what will Nicholas do will this new-found power. Can it help him? Or is it pointless? These are all questions that will be answered in future updates. So read on, friend, read on...