The loud crashing noise echoed throughout the temple beneath the Light-Dark City-state after Xavier was thrown to the ground viciously. “What do you mean you didn’t get the Magic power tablet?” The Soul Taker roared at Xavier angrily as he made threatening gestures at Xavier who struggled to sit back up.

The Soul Taker’s thundering exclamation bounced off of the cold stone walls of the dank temple the corruption claimed as their base of operations. Since Xavier and Daniel’s corruption, the crypt became increasingly more damaged, with more tablets of writing ripped from the walls and shattered on the intricately tiled stone floor below.

Xavier managed to sit himself up and began to kneel down in sorrow upon the Soul Taker, leaning on the handle of a large battle axe that bared blood stains across the blade. Xavier’s human features were still present, despite being hidden within the clouds of disease that flowed around his body. Xavier’s decrepit mortal body was covered in scars, not from a result of battle, but rather punishment for his blunder as a general for his new sultan’s army.

The Soul Taker towered over Xavier at the front of the room as he kneeled in the same spot his body transmogrified days before. Surrounding them were survivors of the Magical Kingdom, along with the remainder of the Soul Taker’s army. The army stayed still, listening in solemn fear as the scolding continued.

Xavier’s head was hung low with his eyes darting across the floor frivolously as he spoke softly, “I don’t know… it all happened so fast… One moment we were winning… then the next… the Hunter…”

“The Hunter… what?” The Soul Taker interrupted and asked in a slightly condescending tone as he paced back and forth within the mysterious lair.

Xavier continued to leave his head lung low as the conversation lingered longer. “He… became enthralled with the power out of nowhere… and he wiped a majority of us out…” Xavier staggered, nervous and embarrassed at the performance he put on at the Magical Kingdom, shaking as he spoke.

The Soul Taker stepped forward and grabbed Xavier by the collar of his pelt as he exclaimed, “Power? What kind of power?”

Xavier’s shaking worsened dramatically as he struggled to formulate a sentence, “I… Colorful…Yes, he was surrounded by an aura of rainbow lights…”

The Soul Taker dropped him back to the ground and continued to pace before speaking again, “I suspected that fraudulent wizard would bestow the Elemental Gem upon them, but I didn’t perceive that they could harness its energy this soon…” He trailed off as he paced more quickly. After a minute he paused and turned to Xavier, who had resumed kneeling, “We should avoid those two at all costs… at least until we are capable of overcoming the power he wields.”

Xavier looked up from the ground at the Soul Taker with a confused look on his face as he spoke back arrogantly, “And how exactly do you plan on doing that? You don’t know what my battalion went through in the Magical Kingdom!”

The Soul Taker glared at Xavier menacingly after his outburst. The glare swallowed Xavier as if he was being strangled by the Soul Taker’s evil aura. He was instantly reminded of who he was talking back to. He then continued to hang his head towards the floor in shame as the Soul Taker explained loudly in an exaggerated tone, “I in fact have dealt with this power before. How do you think I lost the Mysterious Crystal in the first place? That’s why I’ve spent hundreds of years planning and strategizing a way to overcome those damned elementals.”

“I’m sorry master…” Xavier apologized softly as the nervous shaking continued to torment his body.

“Well… despite your efforts, your counterpart Daniel has been significantly more successful,” the Soul Taker continued softly in an ominous tone. “I sent him to the Hot Springs to retrieve the Fire power tablet, which he acquired fairly quickly.”

Daniel stepped out from the shadows of the crypt, walking portentously forward and standing behind the Soul Taker pridefully. Xavier looked up and saw his previous friend staring down at him as if he held a higher status. Xavier became slightly distraught, but carefully kept it hidden.

‘Hunter ruined everything,’ Xavier thought sorrowfully. Before the raids struck their quaint village, he was incredibly close to Mark. Mark was his closest friend, and they would do everything together, that was until Hunter arrived. When Mark took the responsibility of taking care of Hunter, he simultaneously severed the friendship between them.

Xavier was left alone and turned to Daniel, a young and strong warrior that helped defend the village from the raid. While he was aquatinted with Daniel, he felt as though he was living in a shadow. They would treat each other as equals but there was a clear distinction between the two. Daniel would always get the credit and praise for the things they accomplished together while Xavier was treated as a mere side kick.

Xavier had hoped that being given the role of general would change his status, but unfortunately, the same thing was occurring. With what little personal thoughts he had left Xavier had hoped things would be different. However, that wasn’t the case. He accepted his fate of always being the inferior half.

“Daniel,” Xavier acknowledged solemnly as he slowly stood back up, pushing back the memories that attempted to overcome him.

Daniel nodded slightly at Xavier with a straight face, handing the Soul Taker a rectangular stone with flames engraved upon it. The Soul Taker took the power tablet and slowly raised it into the air to observe it from the sunlight peering in from the cracks in the ceiling. Then, in an instant, he swiped his arm downward, and a stream of flames flourished from the tablet in his hand. The flames lingered and then disappeared after a few seconds. Xavier was taken aback by this demonstration of power, as Daniel continued to stand behind the Soul Taker with a stone-cold expression, as if nothing had occurred.

The Soul Taker continued to whirl around, gesturing his arm vigorously, creating a stream and swirl of flames around himself. Once his demonstration was completed and the flame dissipated around him, he walked over to the large tablet from days prior, now pushed up against one side of the crypt. He gently set the power tablet onto the stone, next to three others of various shapes and details.

The Soul taker turned around and explained perversely as he walked back towards Xavier, “That Xavier is how we will overcome the power of the Elemental Gem,” He reached into his robe and pulled out the Tome of the Forest. The ancient book’s green sheen was significantly faded now, hating its new owner. The Soul Taker flipped through the pages as he continued his tangent, “The power tablets are much more than keystones to retrieving my stolen power. Each of the tablets was infused with the power of the elements.”

He stopped on a page and showed it to Xavier. Depicted on the page was a diagram of the mechanism that protected the Mysterious Crystal within the Elemental Temple. Each of the power tablets was shown, each with a different description. The Soul Taker pointed to the image of the Fire power tablet on the page as he spoke, progressively becoming more confident, “In order to unlock the aperture my crystal is being held in, all of the power tablets must be together to break the elemental bond sealing the door to its vault. When infusing the power tablets with their respective elements, they coincidentally created weapons. Now normally, only people who resonate with the tablet’s corresponding element can control it, but because we do not resonate with the elemental powers of the forest, we have a loophole.”

Xavier sat in silence as a stream of questions flowed through his broken mind. He chose not to ask these questions and instead pretended to understand. The Soul Taker stepped back and pointed at two individuals deep in the crowd, and motioned for them to step forward as he slammed the Tome of the Forest shut.

The first individual that approached the Soul Taker made a commotion as he made his way to the front of the room. His body was disfigured, along with pieces of tattered and rotting clothing barely clinging to it. The plague around him was thicker than many other soldiers in his army, disguising himself inside. As he strutted grimly he dragged a chain behind him, which was attached to a chunk of stone with a large hook of steel embedded within it. He carried the remaining length of chain with him, holding onto the one piece of his past that he still remembered. With every step, the loud scraping of the stone followed. Once he made his way to the front of the crypt, he knelt in front of the Soul Taker proudly.

The second individual that emerged from the crowd was a woman, who looked like she was corrupted at nearly the same time as Xavier and Daniel. Surrounding her was a mischievous aura as her red robe swayed behind her. Though her body was more full of life than a majority of the other creatures that surrounded them, her eyes showed no signs of life, as she was a hollow shell of the sorceress she formally was. Her smug smile sent chills throughout the throng as she made her way to the front of the crypt. She knelt between Xavier and the Chain Master after she emerged from the crowd.

The Soul Taker then motioned for Daniel to join the three, who walked over and knelt beside the Chain Master. The Soul Taker walked back to the toppled tablet, setting the Tome of the Forest down, and gathered the four power tablets sitting neatly upon it. He turned around and approached the four powerful corrupted creatures kneeling before him as he began his exaggerated spiel, “I myself cannot control all of these power tablets at once. However, you four have demonstrated great stride over the time you have been a part of this army. Because of your individual accomplishments, I am bestowing these tablets to you.”

With a great amount of praise, the Soul Taker presented each of the power tablets to his pawns. The four soldiers in front of him held out their hands to receive their prize-like weapons. The Soul Taker dropped the power tablets into their hands gracefully as he waved around his other hand frivolously creating a cloud of black smoke around them.

The cloud continued to grow and wrap around them all as the ritual continued. The soldiers in the crowd began to recite a chant in the ancient language as the Soul Taker bestowed his chosen generals their prize. Once he had dispersed them all, the black could slowly fade away along with the chanting. The four soldiers looked at the tablets they were given with pride. The Chain Master was given the Fire power tablet, as Lyra the Sorceress was given the Dark power tablet. Daniel had received the Light power tablet, and Xavier received the Water power tablet. The Soul Taker cleared his throat and they all looked back up at their leader.

“I suggest you practice handling these tablets for when you will be using them against the enemy,” the Soul Taker suggested in an ornery tone, pacing in front of them as he spoke. He then looked up and raised his arms in the air dramatically as he spoke to everyone, “As for the rest of you, the meeting is over. I suggest you all sharpen up on your combat so we don’t have a repeat of Xavier’s blunder at the Magical Kingdom.”

The throng of corrupted creatures in the crypt started to get up and make their way out as Xavier remained kneeling on the cold stone floor, too overwhelmed with shame to stand. Eventually, he did stand, as a vast majority of the army had already left the decrepit temple. He slowly started joining the crowd piling outward when he was stopped.

“Actually Xavier, can you stay back for a minute?” The Soul Taker said in a curious tone.

Fear sprinted down Xavier’s spine as he heard this. His body and mind froze in place before he responded some seconds later, still struck with terror. With his body stricken with horror, he managed to muster out, “Uhm, sure…”

After everyone had evacuated the temple the Soul Taker stood behind the tablet with the Tome laying open. Xavier walked over to the tablet and stood next to the Soul Taker. Xavier looked at the Soul Taker curiously, as he stared at the frayed pages. He looked up from the pages and frantically looked around for anyone remaining in the sanctuary. He slid the tome over to Xavier as he spoke, “Have you ever heard about Alchemy?”

Confused, Xavier replied, “What?”

The Soul Taker sighed and spoke disappointingly, “Alchemy is the art of transmuting one substance to another. It’s a very ancient art of magic that the Magical Kingdom doesn’t use anymore.”

“And what does that have to do with anything? Going back to the Magical Kingdom would be a suicide mission,” Xavier asked abruptly, talking back to the Soul Taker once again.

“The Elemental gem was first crafted using the alchemy depicted in this book. What I want you to do is research and practice using this form alchemy in order to find methods of destroying it,” the Soul Taker offered.

Xavier was even more confused. He then asked wearily, “Why don’t you just get Daniel to do it?”

“Daniel’s strengths lie in brute force and battle. Your strengths lie in knowledge,” The Soul Taker went on, “I saw how you researched the Magical Kingdom before attacking. You explored all ways in and surveyed the area to strike when they were most vulnerable. That’s why I want you to research this because I know you can do it properly.”

Xavier leaned against the tablet in silence, not believing what he had just heard. He then finally sputtered out as he shut the tome and picked it up, “I won’t disappoint you, master.”

“Good, now get to it. I have matters of my own I need to attend to,” the Soul Taker said sternly as he walked away from the tablet to grab his sickle, which was leaning against the wall beside them.

Xavier smiled and turned to walk outside of the temple, hugging the Tome of the Forest as he walked away. As the distance grew further between the two, Xavier became more excited that the Soul Taker was noticing his strengths. He would make sure that he would not disappoint his sultan again. For once since Xavier’s corruption, he felt his skills were finally being appreciated.

•

The sun spread across the guest room through the circular window the morning after the vigil, slowly covering the vast majority of the quaint room. However, Hunter and Mark were already awake long before the sun made its inevitable appearance. They hardly slept at all that night as they were riddled with the thoughts and guilt of how impactful their mission was to the forest. Suddenly, they heard a loud knock on their door, startling the duo from their restless reprieve. Mark hopped off of the bed he sat on and opened the aged wooden door to Valin, who was standing in front of them awake from a well-rested slumber.

“Ah! You guys are awake! How did you guys sleep?” Valin asked them enthusiastically, smiling as she peered inside the once-vacant room.

Before Mark could speak Hunter spoke over him, letting out a drawn-out groan from the bed he laid on before exaggerating, “We didn’t, it’s difficult to sleep when you come to the realization that you are the saviors of the entire forest.”

“That’s… fun. Are you at least rested enough to get breakfast?” Valin asked worryingly, trying to push past the events that struck down their spirits.

“Don’t tell me they made another feast, the food from last night was exceptional!” Mark chirped up excitedly at the thought of the food from the night before. Hunter perked his head up after hearing this, piquing his interest.

“Oh no, we rarely prepare feasts, let alone ones of that grandeur. Normally the kitchen prepares a communal breakfast, lunch, and dinner for those who wish to eat.” Valin denied nonchalantly as she watched the excited faces of Hunter and Mark disappear as she spoke.

“Oh… but it’s still food nonetheless, I’m up for eating again,” Hunter announced boldly as he hopped off of the bed and walked to the doorway.

“Yeah but this time you can’t eat an entire six servings of food, they only give you a set amount,” Valin warned the duo, turning to walk to the grand hall.

“What do you mean six servings? That was a normal amount for us back at our village,” Mark commented sarcastically as he walked through the doorway to follow Valin.

Valin sighed and shook her head as she continued to lead the way to breakfast. As they entered the grand hall, the atmosphere was completely different than it was the night before. The room was significantly more sparse and empty, with the tables completely clear except for the plates and silverware sitting upon them. They sat at a table close to the exit of the hall overlooking a set of windows peering into the courtyard of the Magical Kingdom. Mark and Hunter sat patiently for a few seconds waiting for instructions on what to do next.

“So… how do we get our food?” Hunter asked curiously as he looked around the vast nearly empty room.

“Like this!” Valin exclaimed as she reached over and grabbed a book from the center of the table, opening it up promptly.

She set the opened book in the center of the table, then a bright blue spirit popped out from within the pages of the book. The Book Spirit stretched his little arms out as he looked up at Valin, who was sitting in front of him. He turned around and saw Mark and Hunter looking at the cute spirit in perplexity.

“Ah, you two must be the odd heroes I keep hearing so much about,” the spirit announced with a very strong accent, much stronger than Valin or anyone else in the Magical Kingdom had. The spirit then continued dramatically, “What can we make you all for breakfast today? Eggs? Sausage? Chopped Fruits? Or, my personal favorite, diced spider eyes!”

“Spider eyes?” Both Hunter and Mark said unexpectedly, confused about why such a dish would exist.

“Haha, I’m just playing around with you all, but seriously what can I get for you?” The Book Spirit joked, reaching into the book and pulling out a small notebook and pencil.

“I’ll order on behalf of them, they don’t exactly know what they are doing,” Valin commented, looking up at the duo who were still ogling the curious little spirit. “We will have three breakfast platters… they tend to eat a lot.”

“Excellent choice, I will get those notes to the kitchen!” The Book Spirit announced before disappearing back into the book, shutting the book in the process.

Hunter picked up the book immediately after the spirit disappeared within and started to examine it curiously. Valin then alarmingly snatched it back and placed it back on the table.

“I wouldn’t mess with that, the Book Spirit can get very angry if messed with. Trust me, one time Rudy kept opening the book after we ordered and the kitchen brought out a plate of eggshells instead of the eggs he ordered,” Valin warned sternly as she pushed the book further away from Hunter.

“Your way of life here is vastly different than ours, I apologize if we do or say the wrong thing,” Hunter stated solemnly as he continued to stare at the book that was far out of his reach.

“Believe me, we know, and it’s okay. You are both welcome here anytime,” Valin reassured, smiling at the Hunter’s self-awareness.

Within minutes of ordering their food, it was brought out to them by apprentices that worked in the kitchen. Their plates of food were identical, each with a small portion of eggs, meat, and fruits. Mark and Hunter looked at the small portions of food in solace, before looking up to see Valin using the fork to eat her scrambled eggs. They did the same, noticing how soft and delicate they were to break apart.

Valin looked up to see them holding their forks incorrectly, holding them like they would a trowel. She stopped and corrected them with a mouthful of food, moving the fork around in Mark’s hand to show how to hold it properly. Hunter then mimicked what Valin had shown Mark, and had a much easier time eating their breakfast.

The rest of breakfast was spent in solemn silence, as they were dreading the interaction that was about to occur, Mark especially. All three of them were trying to piece together something they could say to break the silence but avoid the awkwardness of the situation. After they had devoured their plates of food, Valin broke the silence.

“We have to stop by my chamber before you can leave,” She stated softly, standing up from the table. “We can leave our plates here, the apprentices will pick them up after we leave.”

“Why do we have to stop by your chamber?” Mark asked immediately, following her lead in standing up.

“I have to grab some things before the departure…” Valin foreshadowed with a grin, making her way to the grand entranceway of the hall.

“What do you have to grab?” Mark asked curiously as he walked around the table to catch up to Valin.

She didn’t say anything else to Mark as he continued to ask her questions, humming a little tune as she walked. Hunter couldn’t help but laugh at the interaction between the two as he stood back up from the table and followed them out of the hall. As they walked through the grand hallways of the Magical Kingdom, Hunter slipped his handmade journal out of his satchel and started to sketch with the set of pencils that Rudy had given him. He started to draw a slightly stylized picture of the Lightning Wizard charging up his attack that he had witnessed while chained up on the ground during the battle.

After the winding trek to Valin’s chamber, she said to the duo reassuringly, “It’ll be a few minutes.” She opened the door and the Hunter and Mark started to walk in with Valin, before she turned around and exclaimed surprisingly, “No! Wait outside!”

She slammed the door to her chamber in an instant, shutting it in Mark’s face. In the few seconds that the door was open, they could see that Valin’s room was much more unkempt and messy than she implied the guest rooms were. She had tapestries of her own hung up on some of the walls, portraying male wizards casting spells. Piles of laundry and spell books littered the floor, along with scattered crystals around the room.

Amidst the chaos of the room, there was organization. Though it may seem like an animal’s nest, everything was in its place for a reason. Valin stood leaning against the closed door, looking at her anarchic room. She sighed deeply as she glanced all over the room sporadically, looking for a place to start packing.

Outside of her room, Mark and Hunter leaned against the wall on either side of the door, waiting for Valin. What was told would take minutes morphed into nearly an hour. The duo gave up on leaning against the wall and resorted to sitting on the floor. As Hunter peacefully finished up his drawing, which had become much more detailed, Mark sat tapping his foot impatiently. He got up and looked outside of a window in front of Valin’s door.

“It’s been almost an hour, what could she be doing in there?” Mark asked feverishly, looking at a large sundial in the courtyard, watching wizards and mages walking around it.

“Be patient Mark, it’s probably not easy for her to let you go,” Hunter said calmly as he added more lightning bolts to his drawing.

“Easy for you to say, you don’t have…” Mark started to say in a snarky tone before Valin abruptly emerged from her chambers. He whisked around after hearing the creaking sound of her door opening.

She had changed her attire, now wearing completely different clothes. She donned a navy blue robe, which was much cleaner than the one she had worn since they had met. Shining boldly was a battle emblem pin that clasped the robe together, reflecting her fighting spirit. Valin stood there with a beaming smile on her face, clutching her own staff and a satchel around her back.

“I’m ready to go!” Valin exclaimed in an upbeat tone, looking at Mark with a smile.

“What?” Mark exaggerated, with Hunter looking up from his drawing to witness the interaction. “You can’t come with us, what would the Mage of Darkness think about this?”

“Relax Mark, I talked to him about it earlier. He said he was okay with me traveling with you two as long as I kept up with my training.” Valin reassured calmly, walking out of the doorway and shutting her door.

Mark started to tear up slightly as he rushed to hug Valin. Valin blushed and hugged back. Hunter shut his journal, stood up, and looked at the two rolling his eyes.

“Hey Mark, what was that you were going to say before Valin finished packing?” Hunter said facetiously with a grin. Mark and Valin immediately broke the hug.

“Oh, nothing…” Mark trailed off awkwardly as his face turned a brighter red.

Hunter started to laugh, with Mark and Valin slightly joining him. Hunter put his journal and pencils away as he spoke, “We’ve been lingering here for a bit, we should get going.”

“Definitely,” Mark agreed excitedly, turning towards Hunter.

Valin nodded and turned back to the door to her chamber. She took a key out of her pocket and placed it within the large metal deadbolt on the front of her door. She turned the key with a loud clanking sound, then turned back to Mark and Hunter who were watching curiously. She giggled and started to walk past the duo, leading them to the courtyard to leave.

•

To the surprise of Hunter and Mark, nobody was in the courtyard to say goodbye. However, to Valin this was normal. As they walked through the sparse courtyard towards the main gate they looked around curiously as Valin acted casually.

On one side of the wall, large pillars of scaffolding were placed beside the wall Hunter had slammed himself into during the battle. There were multiple wizards and apprentices using spells to reconstruct the damaged wall in a very timely manner.

Upon the vast walls, there were many tower guards patrolling the area as they would normally, except they had more guards than usual. Though there were more tower guards, not even one was batting an eye at the group walking toward them.

“Why isn’t there anyone down here?” Mark asked Valin curiously. “I would have thought that there would be some farewell to the person that saved the kingdom.”

“That’s not how things work around here Mark,” Valin stated honestly, gesturing towards the tower walls. “We are on a strict schedule almost every second of the day. Everyone’s tasks are crucial to keep up with the integrity of the kingdom.”

“Things seem incredibly strict here,” Mark commented in a concerned tone.

“Yeah, it can feel that way sometimes,” Valin responded slightly disappointed. “Though it seems strict, everyone does appreciate what you did for the kingdom. They show their appreciation in other ways, like the feast yesterday.”

“Or by creating tapestries?” Hunter asked astutely, watching the tower guards walk from one tower to another.

“Yeah, exactly!” Valin answered excitedly, turning her head to Hunter, whose attention was partially elsewhere. “We express quite a bit of our gratitude through art. Well… through those who are good at it, that is.”

Valin and Mark chuckled after she said this. Mark responded in an upbeat tone, “Hunter here is one of the best artists and craftsmen of the village. When he first arrived we put him to work hunting for food. After a while, he showed an interest in making clothes. That slowly evolved into giving him more and more tasks.”

Valin and Mark both looked at Hunter, expecting a response. “Yeah, it’s nothing really. It’s just a skill I picked up from somewhere, but because of my amnesia I don’t remember where.”

“That’s still really cool… maybe if we had more time I could introduce you to the elder of the art wing,” Valin offered to Hunter as they approached the wall. The trio stopped at the base of the monstrous wall looming upon them and Valin stepped forward, calling out flirtatiously, “Oh Marvin!”

A head appeared from over the wall and looked down at the trio with an annoyed look. Valin continued speaking kindly, “Can you open the gate, please? We have an adventure to go on!”

Marvin rolled his eyes and his head disappeared back over the wall. Seconds later, the bricks in the wall started to fold inward towards them, exactly how they did when Mark and Hunter first entered the Magical Kingdom. The trio walked through the large gate with it then closing behind them the second they were beyond the wall. They looked back for a few seconds before starting their journey to the edge of the mountains. With two of the power tablets and greater knowledge of the world around them, they felt like they were on top of the world.