The Story of Ace
Throughout time there have been people who have had a great impact on the world we live in. My mentor Ace taught me everything I needed to know and told me stories of his adventures. After his teachings I was named PyroAce to signify the fact that I spread is values around like a wildfire. In all my life I can only hope to achieve as much as he has.
Civil War in Lastanyos
Ace was born in Lastanyos a kingdom, which was lost, many years ago. He lived alone for his parents had died a long time ago. At the time the Kingdom was being torn apart by civil unrest. The Traders Guild had been receiving merchandise from an unknown seller. The Thieves Guild believing that one of their followers was selling the merchandise. After finding out the Thieves were on to him the unknown seller told the Traders to sell the merchandise so that he could not be tracked. The Traders knowing that there seller would not be able to deliver any more merchandise if he was caught made a fatal move and sold the merchandise to the Assassins Guild. However the last merchandise shipment the seller made was fatly and the Assassin Guild soon found this out. Furious the Assassins declared war on the Traders Guild. The Thieves Guild and Traders Guild had always hated each other so the Traders assumed that the Thieves planned the whole things and drew them into the war as well.
During this time the five-year-old Ace took it upon himself to help a young Thieve whom was been attacked by a group of Traders. Because of his young age the Traders easily cast him aside and left him for the dead. Ace badly beating was however able to hold on to his mortal soul and stay alive. By luck a passing citizen picked him up and carried him to the nearest Shaman. As the Shaman worked he noticed Ace's heart was beating rapidly and uncontrollably, he was having a dream.
"Ace, listen to me," and spoke a dreary voice
Ace upon his eyes and saw an angel standing before him. As he tried to speak he learned that he had lost the use of his vocal cords.
"A great evil approaches Ace. You must protect the kingdom or it will be lost. The one they call Malchan has caused the disturbance within Lastanyos. Now that it is weakened he will gather his dark army and lead them on a path of destruction. Every man, women and child will be lost. Only you can protect it, your soul holds the secrets of eternity and with it you shall prevail..."
"Hmm, lets see a minor skull fracture and a broken arm," the Shaman mumbled.
"Will he be all right?" Questioned Ace's savior.
"I do not know. Ahhh, I have just the thing," the Shaman replied as he reached across and took a bucket. "Now then this should do it."
SPLASH!
"What the..." mumbled Ace.
"Works every time," said the Shaman proudly.
"What was that enchanted water?" Asked the stranger.
"Oh no of course not, it was just water."
"Excuse me who are you two and what am I doing here?" Ace inquired
"Us? Well my name is Katalas, Shaman extraordinaire and this is um, well that one I don't know. Who are you any way?"
"My name is Jaston. But who are you, young one?"
"I am Ace."
"Well hello Ace, nice to meet you but enough with the formalities were do you live?" Asked Jaston.
"Live, why I live in Lastanyos, why has any thing happened there?" Asked Ace in a scared voice.
"What do you mean, does it look like anything happened here? The boy meant where do you live specifically."
"Oh, I do not have a home I live alone."
"That's not right a child should not be living alone, where are your parents?" Investigated Jaston.
"I have no parents; they left me when I was a baby."
"Oh a classic poor little child losses parents and get involved with street violence eh? Well I have decided to take it upon myself to take care of you Ace. And do not start the other classic rebel against authority I do not want to stay with anyone," exclaimed Katalas.
"Sir I would not want to be cause you any trouble."
"Bah, there ain't no trouble I can not handle."
"Fine I shall stay; I always wanted a home. By the way have either of you heard of Malchan?"
"Malchan can not say that rings a bell. How about you Katalas."
"Well... Let me tap into my vast knowledge of the world. Hummmm, Hum, Hummmmmmmm. Nope never heard of him before. Why do you ask, is it the classic I think he is my father story?"
"No, I doubt you would understand. I feel quite tired I think I shall take a rest."
"Whatever you wish I shall see you in the mourning then..."
Malchan: Darkness Descends Upon Lastanyos
Ace grew up with his newfound guardian and began to train as a Shaman. However he found he was not very good at it. Besides training as a Shaman, he also started taking classes with the local sensei in order to prepare for Malchan. Although he started to think the Angel was just a dream rather than a prophecy. Through the years he got stronger and at the age of fourteen his sensei even admitted that Ace had surpassed him.
Well all this was going on the war between the Thieves, Traders and Assassins continued on. Many people were injured when they got caught up in the fights that happened on the streets. Many people believed the war was going to end soon for the Assassins were gaining the upper hand. Using their stealth and speed to their complete advantage the Assassins were able to quickly kill the Thieves and Traders one by one.
About five miles north of Lastanyos in the Hastlas mountain range a large army was gathering. At the helm of the army was a man, Malchan. Everyone in the army could barely look at him as he explained the plan of attack. His eyes were completely clear and when you looked into them all you can see is emptiness. He dawned black armor, two sheaths crossed each other on his chest and where covered by a large dragon scale. On his right leg tucked into one of the sheaths was a dagger and in the other one on his back was a giant sword. His hair was entirely white. And his time to attack was now!
After saving some Trader from a group of Assassins, Ace was quickly running away from them. The chase took him to the top of the castle gates were he confronted the Assassins.
"Now is, as good a time as any to kill you guys, so who is gonna go first?" Ace mocked.
"Why you insolent little brat. How dare you challenge the Assassins Guild? Maybe we will let you live if you give us all your money. Just remember you are outnumbered."
"Outnumbered eh? I only count five of you. So if you are done with your threats, you are welcome to attack me."
"Your choice, attack!"
In an instant the air was filled with the sound of whirling blades as Ace nimbly dodge any assault made on him. He brought up his sword and cut one of the Assassins in the stomach and then brought the sword back down as he twirled around just in time to strike the Assassin behind him. He jumped up kicked another in the head.
"Uh it seems we have made a mistake," stuttered one of the Assassins who was still standing, as he and the other healthy one picked up there fallen comrades. "I am sorry for any trouble we caused you we did not know that you were this skilled."
"It is alright; I should not have been so hard on you. I did not know that you were so unskilled, I expected more from Assassins."
"Yes well we will be going n..." The Assassin stopped in mid sentence as he was struck in the back with an arrow.
Ace was able to duck just in time as hundreds more arrows came streaking across the sky. Then all at once the army charged into the kingdom. After getting over the shock the Lastanyos army was able to keep the dark horde from advancing further into the city. Ace looked down and saw his worst fear. He knew the man on the horse was Malchan.
Ace quickly entered the battle hoping he could prevent Malchan from winning like the angel told him. He tried his best to fend off the intruders but blood was flying everywhere and he could barely see. In the middle of the bloodbath Malchan rode upon his horse kill all those who got in his way. Malchan quickly cleared himself a passage straight to the castle. Ace could hardly see Malchan whiz by but he was able to grab hold of one of the horse's reins.
"Foolish boy get of the horse!" Malchan shouted as he dragged Ace down the street. "Does not look like your going to give up. Well I am sorry but the ride ends here!" Malchan with one swift movement grabbed his dagger and stabbed Ace in the shoulder.
Falling to the ground Ace could barely move.
"Ace, my boy are you alright. I knew you would be out in the middle of things," shouted Jaston, "here take this it should help your shoulder."
Ace took the flask that Jaston held out and drank its contents quickly. "I, I feel great. I must catch up to Malchan."
"So that is Malchan eh? Well it does not matter you can not do anything about it. The potion I gave you should stop the pain for awhile but we need to go to Katalas to make it go away completely."
"No, I must follow him or he will destroy the kingdom."
"Don't worry so much the army and the guilds will make short work of him. As we speak Malchan's forces are losing."
"No you do not understand. He has reinforcements I saw them at the base of the mountains. The army can not defeat them alone and the guilds are weakened because of the war the held between each other. They can not win Malchan planned the whole thing."
"But..." Jaston began but Ace had already run off towards the castle.
As he approached the castle Ace could see that Malchan had single handily killed all the soldiers. He entered the castle and headed for the throne room. As he walked into the throne room he heard Malchan's voice.
"You are persistent young one, or should I say Ace. Ha you look surprised; did you think I did not know you were preparing for me? I have seen you fight it is most unusual but then I realized that you had been infused with the power of Angels. Even with their power you can not defeat me and do not think I am just being overconfident."
"As you wish but know this, I will win!" Ace yelled as he assaulted Malchan.
"Is that the best you have got," Malchan mocked, as Ace's relentless onslaught did not even touch him. With as thrust Malchan was able to cut Ace's face. Using all his force Ace countered Malchan's next attack and brought his sword into Malchan's stomach.
"That was not so hard. You talk big but you are nothing compared to me."
"It's not over yet." Malchan took his dagger and stabbed Ace in the kneecap in an instance. Before he could strike Ace again Malchan's sword was deflected as Ace sent it whirling across the room. Furious Malchan picked up Ace and drew his dagger and as he thrust it deep into Ace's chest, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. He let go of Ace and looked down and saw a dagger embedded into his heart. "How dare you... I should have w...o...n."
A sudden sound blast through the kingdom. The soldiers and guild members ready to charge into the mob of the Dark Army were covered in dust as the sound blew the army apart...
Dritz: The Lost Soul
"Ace you have done it, you beat him. But something is wrong; it is not over yet." Explained the Angel. "There is another threat one more powerful than Malchan. This other being appears to be suppressing his dark urges. Ace you must find the one called Dritz."
Once again after the battle with Malchan, Ace stood face to face with the angel who warned him of Malchan's threat. And once again he found he could not speak.
"There is no need to say anything Ace. I know what you are thinking. To answer your question I will go into further detail about the one they call Dritz...
Long ago before the western kingdom of Astas was unified a great war plagued their land. In the center of the destruction was Hachan the farther of Malchan. Using is unsurpassable powers Hachan brought upon Astas the fires of eternity, which still burn today. Hachan however was overcome by his own destructive force and was entrapped within the fire. He was able to escape but the fire had claimed his immortal soul. A young warrior from Astas then defeated him.
After Hachan's defeat Malchan ran away with his brother, Dritz. Dritz was power hungry but still had a cense of humanity unlike Malchan who used his fathers defeat to take control of the dark army. A number of years past since they had lost their father and Dritz had met a girl by the name of Umbria and had fallen in love. However Malchan saw this as a sign of weakness in Dritz and used it to his advantage so that he could take full control of his father's legacy. Malchan kidnapped Umbria and threatened to kill her unless Dritz forfeited his life. Dritz knowing it was the only way to save Umbria he succumbed to his brother's wishes. Before Malchan was able to kill Dritz however, Umbria was able to use her cunning to sneak up on Malchan and stick a dagger in his back. They were both able to escape but Malchan furious about this new development caused an earthquake which caused the land to split into two. Umbria and Dritz were both on different sides and in the Chaos soon lost track of each other...
Dritz now separated from his love began wandering the earth seeking his place in it. Through his travels he slowly cast away his dark shadows but they are catching up to him. Ace you must find Dritz and help him resolve his problems or else he will loose control of his dark side and unleash his colossal power upon the world."
With that Ace was thrown back into his own reality.
After saying his good-byes Ace was off to find Dritz. To find Dritz Ace knew that he had to go to Astas were it all began. As he approached the city he beheld a raging inferno, when he crept closer out of the corner of his eye he could see shadows circling him. Suddenly the shadows headed towards him and engulfed him in there fury. Ace was faced with several warriors whom where formed by the shadows. They all attacked him at once with lighting fast reflexes and he could barely dodge their fierce assaults. Ace was able to unsheathe his sword within a split second when the shadows were not ruthlessly attacking him. He was able to deflect their weapons with surprising ease but he began to tire and knew he had to finish the battle. Putting all his essence into his sword Ace swung his swords in majestic patterns which swallowed the shadows in a hail of blades. Ace got up but before he could recover from what happened he realized the shadows were still standing.
"What do I have to do to kill you guys?" Ace exclaimed as he charged towards the shadows and unleashed another sword technique. He looked behind him and saw that the Shadows did not even flinch.
"Foolish mortal you can not kill us but do not fear we can not kill you either. We are the undead reborn in the forms of shadows. We were merely trying to test your skills but in all honestly we could not hurt you anymore then you could hurt us."
"Why did you want to test my skills?"
"You think we are stupid you are obviously on a quest to find Dritz. He was a great kid, very unlike his brother and father. Dritz used his already great powers to gain more strength by training rigorously. Although he has become even kinder we have long sensed that a wizard is trying to make Dritz into an evil entity like his brother and father. If you seek Dritz you must travel to the Ice Fields in the northern reaches of our kingdom. Once you reach there you will found Dritz and whoever is trying to control him."
Ace once again set about his journey and quickly reached what he assumed were the Ice Fields because well... the land was covered in ice. For about five days Ace wondered across the frozen landscape hoping to find a clue about the location of Dritz. On the eve of the fifth day Ace heard a loud boom and suddenly the skies opened up into a roof of pure energy. When the skies cleared Ace saw a lone man on the peak of small mountain. Ace could see that this man was training. Quickly he reached the top and confronted the man. He looked just like Malchan but his eyes where red and filled with vibrant energy.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Questioned Dritz in a soft voice.
"My name is Ace and I have learnt that you are in great danger."
"Me in danger don't be foolish as I am now no one can even hurt me."
"You are wrong I have learned that a wizard is using his or her magic to try and make you evil once again."
"Evil? What is this evil you speak of? There has not be evil in my life for several years I am at complete peace with myself and will never be evil' again."
"I am afraid the boy is right Dritz."
"What who said that?"
"For a half god you sure are stupid. Could you not sense my presence? Of course not you have been to lost in your own sorrow for losing your love to even notice me. You have become strong enough now to serve my purposes. It is your day reckoning I will take control of you."
"In your dreams you said it yourself I am a half god, no wizard could take control of me."
"That is where you are wrong, I am no wizard. I am a sorcerer and I have been gathering the dark energies in which you have been vanquishing from your heart over the last couple of years. Now it is the time to release them into your soul."
Dritz reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange ball. "Hmm, if you have been following me for so long you should have learned to expect more from me." With that Dritz threw down the ball he was holding and a blinding flash covered the area.
"Where'd he go?" Exclaimed Ace.
"No this can't be he escaped my reach." Ace spun around and saw the Sorcerer was in the exact place Dritz was a second ago. The sorcerer downed a purple robe and in his hand he held a long sleek blade. Underneath the robe he wore a black suit and red boots. His eyes and hair were straight gray. For a magic user he seemed extremely well built and had to be at least as strong as Ace. He stood at an impressive height as well at 6'7".
"Not quite sorcerer." Ace heard Dritz say and in an instant he saw Dritz fall from the sky with his sword drawn and heading straight for the sorcerer. They met with tremendous force as the sorcerer countered Dritz's sword with his own. It seemed as though they were at a stand off as the pushed against their weapons hoping to overpower the other. Ace just watched awestruck.
"Your strong Dritz but you can't win," laughed the sorcerer, "teleport." The sorcerer then disappeared. "Perhaps I should properly introduce myself they call me Alaseous and if I were you Dritz and join forces with Ace if you hope to defeat me."
"Perhaps you're right. I am not proud enough to not except help, I now see your power. Ace care to join me."
"With pleasure."
"Then it's agreed a two on one match this should be fun. Since this is a mountain I find it only fitting that I should start with an appropriate spell." Sneered Alaseous. "Glacier."
Ace looked around and with astonishment he saw four huge packs of ice come straight towards him and Dritz. The ice hit and exploded into a cloud of snow.
"Well that was not so hard, you did not even give me a challenge."
Swiftly Dritz exploded out of the ground and engaged in a fierce battle with Alaseous. As Dritz fought Ace climbed out of the snow and joined the battle. With relative ease Alaseous was able to deflect everything they threw at him. Using the same force he had used against the shadows Ace unleashed a majestic pattern of sword swipes and covered Alaseous in a hail of blades.
"Erg, that kind of hurt but try this. Quadra slice!" Alaseous unleashed four strong sword techniques at Ace and Dritz. "Aw did I hurt you. Well you did not hurt me at all. Heal." Rapidly all the wounds inflicted upon Alaseous were healed. "The fun never stops does it? Storm." The sky was then covered in dark clouds and rain came streaming down from them.
"This is not so bad a little rain never hurt anybody." Assured Ace.
"Yes but that might." Dritz explained as he pointed upwards towards a swirl in the middle of the storm.
"Well that can't be good." Ace said as a lighting bolt just nearly hit him. "I think it would be wise to finish this now." They then began the fight again but Ace and Dritz found it a little harder to deflect Alaseous's attacks because of the rain, hail and snow beating against their bodies. Just as they began to were them down Ace noticed that the swirl in the storm had exploded into a tornado.
"Uhh, Dritz it would be wise to use one of those strange orbs of yours." Ace said as the tornado was coming straight towards them. Dritz managed to pull out one of the magic balls and throw one down just in time to engulf him and Ace in the flash before the tornado reached them. As the flash subsided Ace found himself in the same spot he was before and looked up to see Dritz right behind Alaseous.
"Alaseous you're not the only one who knows some magic. Rune Blade."
"You take me for a fool I am failure with the Rune Blade technique. So I guess I have no other choice but to attack Ace and finish you off the old fashion way. Aura Bolt." A energy blast came streaming towards Ace at blinding speed.
"Here's something else you may have seen before. Shield."
"No I can't say I have what does it do?"
"I guess you're not familiar with some of my techniques after all. Shield draws all attacks to my allies to me and with Rune Blade still cast I will be able to rebound your own magic attack back to you. Considering Rune Blade also doubles the power of your Aura Bolt, I'd say your pretty much dead."
"Well this doesn't sound like my day." Alaseous explained as with his final breath as the blast of his Aura Bolt hit him, killing him instantly.
"I think I'm just going to rest for a second." Stuttered Dritz as he fell down to the ground...
Stage is Set for the Treasure Hunt of a Lifetime
Ace and Dritz soon began to know each other better and were often seen causing ruckus in the local bars when they were not fighting the evil that still seemed to plague the land of Lastanyos. Becoming annoyed with their antics Katalas realized that slowly evil was being torn away from the pages of Lastanyos's history and began to scheme to get Ace out of his hair for a while. He soon found what he was looking for, an ancient parchment worn away by the cruel sands of time. Within the parchment he read a great many tales of climatic wars which were never recorded anywhere else. He was not very interested in the tales of war and disease. One legend however did make him stir with excitement as he walked to the Parched Well, which was currently the number one bar in all of Lastanyos.
Sounds of simple ballads and poems at a much higher decimal than the writers had originally ordained for their work began filling Katalas's eardrums.
"Hey Katalas glad you could find the time to join us" welcomed Ace from across the bar. "Hey Etsama get my friend here a drink." Ace told to the bartender, a rather mean looking troll.
"Aye all right than Ace but remember I'm putting it on your tab."
"I find it incredibly amusing that you still keep that thing around. Last time we talked about it you were rather hesitant in sending your goons to collect the payment. By the way they still haven't shown up."
"You joke now but some day I'll find a way to get you to pay."
"No need for that you know I'm good for it. I am just having a minor cash flow problem."
"Ahem."
"Oh sorry Katalas forgot you were there for a second. Come sit beside me."
"Thanks Ace. Now down to business where is Dritz."
"Business? Aww come on there is time for business later. Now is time to bask in the fruits of life." Said Ace rather suspiciously.
"You're quite the poet Ace but I have no time for this. Now where is Dritz?"
"Dritz? Can't say I've seen him recently... In fact he did not even come with me tonight."
Suddenly the doors exploded into pieces. In the doorway Katalas could make out the face of Dritz and four men from the Traders Guild.
"Come on guys I have no money. So I lost a few games and bet some stuff I never had. Why don't we just let bygones be bygones?"
"I'm afraid not Dritz. We have let you off far to many times before," threatened the leader
"Maybe that is because I could kill all of you in the blink of an eye."
"Hey lets all just settle down," Ace said in an assuring tone. "I'm sure we could settle this in a civilized manor."
"I doubt it," mumbled Katalas under his breath. "I swear that Dritz has had a rather violent impact on the way Ace thinks."
"You think so do you?" Questioned the leader of the group of Traders. "Well I have news for you your both wrong. First of all you can't kill us and second of all we can't settle this in a civilized manor."
"I'm not sure you know what your talking about," laughed Dritz.
"Oh I do in deed. Ahem if the other traders would be so kind reveal yourselves."
In the corner of the room 15 men stood up who were obviously card-carrying members of the traders guild.
"Now what was that you were saying about killing us?"
"Allow me to translate what he meant," answered Ace as his hand swiftly grabbed his drink and threw it at the leader. To follow up on Ace's actions Dritz kicked up the table as the traders drew their daggers.
"Uhh we may be in a bad situation Ace."
"Bad!?" Shouted Katalas furiously. "I should have known better than to come out looking for you two."
"This really is not the time to lecture us Katalas. And besides we have been in bad situations before Dritz."
"you're right. So what's your plan."
"My plan?"
"Yes your plan you usually have a plan. I mean you have a plan now don't you?" Questioned Dritz as Ace shuffled his feat. "You don't have a plan do you..." sighed Dritz.
"Not in so many words. My plans in these kind of situation usually involve those orbs you carry around with you but as I can see you don't have them with you."
"Well it wouldn't be right if I didn't pay them something."
"Why don't you two just charge out there and slaughter the dirty ********?"
"Although we probably could defeat them it does not seem very honorable to kill someone who is just looking for what they deserve." Answered Ace.
"Ace I got an idea and it involves those orbs you rely on so dearly. If you could just be kind enough to grab one of the daggers they threw."
"Dritz I wouldn't want to take any credit in carrying out your terrific plan so I think it would only be right that you grab a dagger."
"What are you afraid of? It doesn't look like they have very good aim anyway."
"Although Traders are not well known for their skill in accuracy I'm sure out of the 19 of them they just might hit me. Besides if you're taunting me about being scared why don't you get it? Since you're obviously braver than me."
"Ok pay attention now because I'm only going to do this once." Dritz replied as he hastily grabbed for a dagger as another narrowly missed his hand. "There I got one now there's the manner of throwing it. I think you should have the privilege of doing it."
"Not this again all do it!" screamed Katalas. He stood up and threw with amazing accuracy the knife at the pouch on the leader's waist. A flash covered the area as it usually does when one of the orbs is used. Except in this case it was just a tad bigger than any other is at engulfed the whole block.
"Son of a... I think I'm blind." Complained Katalas as they ran out of the tavern.
When they were safe they stopped to rest at a street corner.
"So what was it you wanted to say to us Katalas?" questioned Ace.
"Thank god I thought you would never ask. As you know there has been a severe drop in the crime rate since you and Dritz arrived. Now the streets are safe and I can gladly ask that you please take a little vacation well having a small adventure of course."
"What is it Katalas?" Inquired curious Dritz.
"Well through some casual reading I have uncovered a small legend that talks of a great treasure and a all-powerful weapon. The Eclipse Blade. It is written that in the city of Jasten is where the treasure and the blade or held. I thought that maybe you guys would be interested in the challenge and you obviously need some money so are you up to it."
"Of course," replied Ace and Dritz in unison...
The Eclipse Blade
Within the legend it is written that the Eclipse Blade was forged from the souls of the sun and moon deities. It's power was unequaled and even in the most unskilled hands the deadly blade could heighten the skill of the person to unimaginable reaches. The gods lost the Eclipse Blade when the god Ataseas stole it hoping to use to overthrow Mantalister the head god. Unfortunately he was unable to control its vast powers and when he fled from the Garden of the Gods, and he dropped it. Where it fell is now known as the Forest of the Eclipse, which is in the very center of Jasten. When the Eclipse Blade fell it did not only create the forest but it also created a treasure valued at over 500 000 pieces of gold. The Jasten Army dared to go into the forest but never came out and now it is forbidden for anybody to enter...
"Whoa there Nitsamy," Ace beckoned to his horse as he and Dritz approached Jasten.
"So this is Jasten? It's not so great it looks just like any other kingdom."
"You forget Dritz within the center of Jasten is the Forest of the Eclipse."
"And in there is the treasure and the Eclipse Blade!" Dritz yelled as he enticed his horse to its full speed.
"Hey wait for me."
In Jasten Ace and Dritz saw the local townspeople who seemed to be suspicious about the strangers in their town. It was not long before they reached the forest.
"Wow, you don't see that everyday," Dritz whistled.
"We don't have time to stand here and gawk."
"What do you mean? Are we on some kind of schedule I'm not aware of?"
"Excuse me what do you think you are doing?" Demanded a guard who was standing in front of the forest.
"Well we just thought that we would take a little tour of the forest," replied Dritz.
"I'm afraid that the forest is off limits to townsfolk."
"Well I got a surprise for you; we're not townsfolk, so step aside."
"Dritz calm down. Let me handle this. "So guard why aren't we allowed in?"
"Well..." the guard stopped in mid sentence as Dritz kicked him.
"Was that really necessary?"
"Yes, yes it was. Come on let's go before he wakes up."
Within the forest Ace and Dritz were met by plenty of dangerous situations. At one point there was a large branch in their way! Actually going through the forest was not so much dangerous as boring. It felt like they were traveling around in circles. Finally they found a cave which was nothing more than a breeding ground for some really annoying rats.
"Ace?"
"What is it Dritz."
"Could you tell me again, why we are in this forest?"
"Find treasure, get all-powerful blade, you know the stuff that most heroes do."
"Right do most heroes go someplace where they have no clue where anything is?"
"No."
"That's what I thought so, why may I ask have we not found our treasure are blade."
"Well Dritz we're not like most heroes. You see we charge into places without thinking whereas other heroes almost always have a plan are at least a map which they found buried underneath the sands of time."
"Oh, just wondering. Ace?"
"Yes!?" Ace's patience was wearing thin.
"What the hell's that thing?"
"Whoa that's one ugly thing, I have no idea. Wait Katalas told me about something like this."
"Ace, how exactly did the conversation about a giant with fifty heads and one hundred arms but only has two legs."
"Actually we do have kind of odd conversations. Anyway I believe it is called Hecatoncheires."
"Did you make that up?"
"No I swear."
The conversation was brought to a blinding halt as the creature (no way I'm gonna spell Hecatoncheires every time it does something) threw a rock at the two adventures.
"Okay this could be bad Ace. But it can't be that bad lets see how he likes this. Quatra Slice." With those words Dritz let loose with one of his famous sword techniques on the creatures massive ankles. A mere scratch was all Dritz had to show for his attack.
"Dritz, perhaps brute strength is not the right coarse of action for this sort of thing."
"I think you are right." Dritz replied as he hurriedly jumped on his horse. They began to ride away from the creature but it was keeping up with there pace and there was no way they could keep ahead of the behemoth for much longer. With one swift kick the beast was able to throw Dritz off his horse. As Dritz went flying through the air, Ace was mercilessly able to catch him. Dritz's head hovered barely above the ground as Ace struggled to bring him up onto the horse. With all his strength Ace was finally able to get Dritz into the saddle. "Thanks."
"No problem, just being the hero again."
"So what's your plan to beat it."
"Plan?"
"Yes the plan. Must we really go over the fact you are the one who always has a plan again?"
"Okay, Okay. I got one. We need to find the cave."
"Ace I don't think hiding in a cave will help us, he'll just destroy it."
"Not a cave, the cave."
"Oh, you wouldn't happen to realize that we have been out here for two days looking for the cave."
"Listen he was obviously guarding the cave we were looking for."
"Obviously... but how do you propose we get there. The only possible way to find it is to go back the way we came and the giants behind us... Oh no I vote on a new plan."
It was to late, Ace pulled on the reigns of the horse and headed straight towards the creature. Amazingly they were able to make it under his legs. The giant turned around to follow them but his foot hit a tree and he fell over.
"Ha serves him right, right Ace?"
"Whatever we got to find that cave before he gets up again."
They road for about 15 minutes until they reached the spot were they first saw the creature.
"So were do you suppose the cave is..." Ace uttered as the creature finally caught up to them. In one swift movement the creature lunged towards them. Ace tried to ride away but as soon as the horse got going the ground underneath them shifted. Before they knew it Ace, Dritz and the horse tumbled into an underground tavern.
"See we just needed a little motivation to find the place."
"Ya, whatever you say Ace. Now what should we do?"
"Explore of course but we better leave the horse hear to rest."
The cave was expansive and creatures of all shapes and sizes could be seen while traveling through it. Within two hours they reached their final destination. In the center of this impressive room Ace could see a sword in a placed in pedestal (as most legendary swords are found). He could make out thousands of tiny pictures molded into the glowing metal. However as hard as he tried he could not make out what the pictures depicted. As Ace turned his head and looked back he noticed that the pictures had shifted.
"So this is the Eclipse Blade." Dritz whistled. "Hmm, it seems to radiate pure energy, doesn't Ace, Ace? Bah I can see that I won't be taking it home. Oh well I'm perfectly satisfied with the treasure, besides swords stuck in pedestals can only generally be pulled out by those pure in heart."
Ace stepped towards the sword and gracefully pulled it out. Dritz however took the treasure chest.
"I my god. This chest is heavy. Ac..." Dritz stopped in mid-sentence as the wall in front of him opened up to reveal what appeared to be a man."
"What are you doing here?"
"Ace did the legend say anything about a guardian of the sword."
"You know technically nobody has actually gotten this far so it probably wouldn't be written down."
"You who have pulled the Eclipse Blade from it's sacred resting spot, I challenge you to a duel."
"Hey buddy if you challenge one of us you challenge us both."
"Dritz be quiet if I must I will do this alone. And if I don't except the challenge?"
"You must return the sword."
"Ace are you sure you want that so badly? How about we just take the treasure?"
"No. I will fight him."
"Than it's settled. We will need an appropriate arena." With those words the spirit whisked himself and Ace to a new place. "This is called the Fields of Eternity, and it will be the last land you will ever see."
Ace looked around him and saw that the place was barren besides four pillars which surrounded him and the spirit and some sparse vegetation and trees which had long ago died.
"This place is quite cozy. Let's begin."
The battle erupted into a howl of blades slicing through the air. The spirit ruthlessly lunged at Ace. With his newfound weapon Ace could feel energy coursing through his veins which allowed him to effortlessly deflect all of the spirits attacks. Ace was quickly able to gain the upper hand as the spirit made a failed thrust towards him. Ace was able to use the spirits momentum to trip him as he followed through with his thrust. As the spirit fell, Ace was able to knock the sword out of its hands. Using the spirits vulnerability to his full advantage, Ace unleashed his hail of blades technique and mortally wounded the spirit. Injured the spirit could no longer defend himself and as most heroes do, Ace did not finish of his beaten foe.
"You have done well Ace. Perhaps you are worthy of holding the Eclipse Blade." The area collapsed around them as Ace found himself back in the treasure room. "Do not let this victory go to your head. Even though you have defeated me it does not mean you can handle the vast powers of the Eclipse Blade. But alas I must allow you to have it without testing you further because I have completed my job and the gods will not allow me to do anything else besides the simple skill test. Before you go I must tell you of the Eclipse Blade's magic. If needed its true power will emerge in the form of the spell Eclipse that will temporarily blind and weaken your foe as well as inflict a reasonable amount of damage. Do not trust in this power for it will only come to you when it feels you need it not when you want it. I bid you ado..."
Dritz's Departure
After making a fortune off of some while placed bets, Dritz found himself searching for himself once again. All though when he speaks he comes off as an easygoing guy but deep inside the pain of his past still haunted him. He decided it would be best if he left to search for his love once again. Perhaps it was fate or just simple misfortune that brought the untimely end of the great Dritz. Ace learned of his old friend's unfortunate death at the hands of an Assassin in the land Shilla. It seemed that the mystery surrounding Dritz's death beckoned Ace towards Dritz's final resting-place. Although many tried to persuade him to stay for they feared for his life. Ace new that he had finally ridded the kingdom of Lastanyos of the darkness that loomed over it.
It didn't take long for Ace to reach Shilla, as it seemed that the winds themselves had carried him to his destination. The kingdom was thriving every street corner buzzed with wayward shoppers and eccentric merchants. Situated within the walls of Shilla was a Spy Guild, which was also the home of many Assassins as well. Although they looked at him in suspicion as he entered the guild grounds nobody dared go near him because the light of the Eclipse Blade seemed to have consumed them. The occupants as a matter of fact did not even know if the stranger was real or just an illusion brought on by a night of undying excitement which is pretty much every night whether the occupant in question was a spy or assassin.
Ace began questioning the people about Dritz's death but their confusion by his sudden ability to speak rendered them unable to do the same. Tired of what he thought were a bunch of drunks and second rate assassins and spies, Ace entered the guild. He finally made it to the main chamber after making his way through several passages, which didn't seem to know whether to go up or down.
As he entered the room he felt a slight disturbance in the air around him. Moving no more than an inch Ace looked as the arrow that had been fired missed it's intended target. In the balcony he could barely see a figure lurking in the darkness. As soon as he saw it however the figure disappeared. Once again Ace anticipated the impossible and moved out of the way as the figure materialized behind him. Ace grabbed the Eclipse Blade, just as the figure drew it's dagger and he sliced through the unknown assailant. Ace looked around stunned and saw that the figure had once again disappeared.
"You are quite good Ace." A feminine voice complemented.
"You are not bad as well. How may I ask do you know my name?"
"How? Don't you know that us spies know everything? You really haven't figured it out yet have you?"
"Well no, how about you explain it to me because my patience is wearing thin and I guarantee you that my sword will not miss it's prey next time."
"I'm sure it will but there is no need for violence for I will reveal to you my identity. My name is Umbria and I learned about you from my lover Dritz."
"So you are alive? And I suppose you know nothing of Dritz's death either."
"I know much in fact. I even know that he is still alive."
"What!?"
"It seems that I have your undivided attention now so please let me explain. The Assassin Kota was told to kill Dritz. The person who told Dritz to do this was none other than the spy guild elder, Leo. The order was due to an unfortunate incident while Dritz was looking for me within these very walls. He stumbled upon a plan being hatched to Assassinate our ruler ((I am in no way going to look up the ruler of Shilla at this time but for the sake of you accurate people I will just refer to the ruler as the ruler)). I do not know for sure but I believe that Kota failed in killing Dritz. Being the hero that he is Dritz will try and save the ruler before he is assassinated, tonight. If I am correct Kota will undoubtedly be on the lookout for Dritz and let's face it the gaze of Kota could not possibly miss Dritz."
"So you want me to help you?"
"Yes but you can not help prevent the assassination for the spies know now who you are and you will be spotted. After I prevent Leo from killing the ruler, the place will be in confusion and you will not have to worry about interference and will have an open shot at defeating Kota."
"Why do I have to defeat him."
"Honestly you are the only one skilled enough to beat him. Although you are slow, you have a miraculous sense of impeding danger and can therefore dodge his attacks before they happen just as you have done with me."
"Ok. Let's go."
While waiting Ace was attacked' by some assassins but right after they lunged at him from the rooftops they seemed to have forgotten why they were there and left. Soon the sounds of screams reached Ace's eardrums and he knew it was time to make his move.
When he made it to the castle he traversed his way through the crowd which was rushing out. In the castle walls he saw four figures. A dead body, which he assumed was Leo, Umbria, and a man who he knew, was the famous Kota standing over Dritz.
"So nice of you to join us Ace. Hmm, so you are the one who is supposed to defeat me. We'll see about that." Kota challenged.
Kota seemed to have suddenly disappear but Ace was able to see his movement as Kota charged towards him. Nimbly dodging Kota's first onslaught the battle began. Using all his training as a rogue and spy Kota ambushed Ace repeatedly. Ace although stunned be this amazing technique did not let any of Kota's attacks hit him. Kota ceased his attacks and appeared a few feat away from Ace. Then he suddenly yelled Ka~~!. In front of him Ace could actually see the air splitting in half as he narrowly dodged the attack.
"What is this? I haven't even touched you, how could my Lethal Strike have missed?"
As if to answer Kota's question Ace grabbed his clutched his sword and lashed out at Kota. Kota was able to raise his sword just in time to meat Ace's attack but stunned as he was by Ace's abilities, he could not hope to dodge Ace's powerful hail of blades.
Ace's foe fell before him and he immediately rushed to Dritz's aid were Umbria was stationed.
"Ace... didn't expect to see you here... Looks like I'm not dead but I'm not exactly healthy either." Dritz coughed.
"Bah you'll be alright in the morning Dritz. All you need is some rest." Comforted Umbria.
"Looks like my search is over Ace. I have found her at last, my true love..."
After Dritz healed Ace found himself being coaxed into another adventure. Dritz told him of the nearby lands of the Nexus. Convinced by Dritz, Ace began his journey to Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds!
Conclusion: A Six Yuri Stay in the Kingdom of the Winds
After reaching the kingdom of Kugnae, Ace began to train as a warrior. He often kept to himself but made many friends during his stay in Nexus. The people there were as strong and even stronger than Kota but Ace never bowed down in the face of any adversary. However unlike many intrepid explores Ace did not make much of a legend of himself during his stay. During the Nagnang war he fought for the kingdom of Kugnae but after the war was over he became bored once again with the community in which so many young adventures found great excitement. He soon learned of a path that held the same values of himself, the Chonguns. He trained long and hard and learned everything about the path. But his guide LanceX disappeared one day and Ace could not contact him. Distraught by this turn of events Ace took the knowledge he had gained with him and left the kingdom for good. He found his way to my kingdom, Azura and saw that I had great potential and taught me in his ways and the ways of the Chongun. The last thing he told me was this story which remains in my heart forever. However his legend is not yet over and who knows were he is now. Perhaps he has returned to his home Lastanyos, or even returned to his friend Dritz in Shilla. Wherever he is he will forever be 'The Supreme Warrior...'