• Chapter 6: The Origin of Alchemy
    Drake stood in his beautiful castle room, with dark red furniture scattered around the place (which looked high priced as well). He scratched his curled dark black hair and grasped the hilt of his sword with his muscular hands and scanned the ground with his feet across the room back and forth, peering down at the ground. Drake took a deep sigh and peered up at his wife. “Alchemy? Do you really think that is the answer to our problems? Isn’t alchemy forbidden?” He asked, his voice cracking on the word ‘Alchemy’ with a grim expression stretched across his face (you could also tell by his posture, it was highly stiff). His wife responded with a mere nod. “It’s our only choice, there’s nothing else we can do.” she said with, as her husband, a grim expression. She sat upon the couch and let her dark silver hair overlap its ledges. She fixed the tiara that laid in her hand onto her head. Drake was tempted greatly to use the forbidden power, but he wasn’t totally reassured. His wife saw that upon his face, so she suddenly created a frown upon her face. “Do you not see what our country is turning into?”She asked her voice high and angered. “We have had multiple riots, our people are going into poverty, and our cities are starting a rebellion against our kingdom!” She was standing up, glaring at Drake angrily. He didn’t dare her face, so he merely looked away, turning his wings toward her. He then peered to the far right. In his vision, he saw a bookshelf containing multiple books and scrolls. He flew over to the books, slowly and lazily, and picked up a large and thick book containing a distinctive symbol across its cover. He slowly opened it and in large letters, laid the word ALCHEMY. As he flipped through the pages his wife store at him, feeling as if about to intently throw a brick at his head. He then stopped at a page full of many pictures of darkness and despair. He read it out loud:
    “A long time ago a dark spirit which took over beings was unleashed across the land. After a while, our ancestors fought this evil being, and put it inside this book. Sealing it with signs which also purified the spirit, its signs rested inside this book that you are holding right now. Now it is said that since the spirit was partially purified, that the alchemy could be used in only of times of needs, and when used could create fountains of gold. Now alchemy is bad altogether because when you use alchemy too much, an evil darkness will be unleashed upon the land, especially being contained in the first user of this alchemy.” Drake then closed the book swiftly. There was a slight hesitation amongst the room. The candle that laid near the couch flickered and moved with the wind. Drake was the first to open his mouth. “We have looked over and over at this same page one million times; so many times I can practically say it by heart, normal and backwards, yet for some reason this still doesn’t bother you?” Drake lectured, moving his hands in positions as he spoke. Drake was determined to change his wife’s point of view. After yet another brief moment of silence, his wife shook her head. “Nope, not at all, cause if you have been listening every time we have this discussion, you would know that I have a rebound for this.” she said with a smile. Drake shrugged at the comment. “And that rebound is…” A grin formed on her face. He was curious, and she was pleased that he was. “That Rebound……”she started, her grin forming wide across her face. “That rebound is that just in case people use this alchemy too much….then we will get a lesser effect if we tell all the peasants to use this forbidden taboo” she said deviously, her eyes flashing demonically by the light creaking through the window. There was a dreadful silence that foreshadowed after she spoke those words. Even though his back was turned from her, he could still feel the demonic aura creasing out from her body. The wind suddenly started to pick up and Drake clutched the hilt of his blade tightly. His wings started to tilt higher and he slowly turned his head from the bookshelf and toward her. “Unacceptable…” he whispered to himself softly. His wife picked up on the word and looked glared at him sternly and angrily. “What, you don’t like this idea? This is for a great cause and some people have to go to better this country-” Drake was tired of it now. He had absolutely lost it. He suddenly peered around and screamed to the top of his lungs. “‘To better this country’? You have got to be kidding me! You, Elizabeth, are a sick woman! These people that we are sacrificing are the people that need our help the most!” Drake heaved and puffed and sweat beads slowly drifted down his neck. His temples where bulging and so where the temples that rested upon his hand. Elizabeth appeared to have the same expression that Drake wore upon his face, which was grim. There was an awkward and grueling silence that splintered the room, which made Elizabeth feel uncomfortable. Elizabeth was the first to retaliate against this distinctive silence. “I am doing what is good for the people that actually matter in this country…..I mean do you see any poor person a king, or any peasant a soldier? Please, this isn’t a fairytale, the low lives will always stay low and the higher ups will always stay high. It’s a basic principal…..no a basic law that is followed out throughout our world.”
    Drake stood at her, pupils widened. His hands started to ease and his heart rate started to shimmer. Maybe she’s right…..I mean since when has anyone as low as peasants ever risen up…I guess in this world there is no second chances and the only chance that counts is the first. Drake thought to himself, peering down onto the ground. Elizabeth saw that Drake was slightly considering her ingenious plan, which made her highly pleased. She then slowly walked over toward to Drake and rested her hand upon his shoulder. “So shall we go through with this?” she said with a bright grin. Drake, with hesitation, nodded softly.
    Justin’s eyes widened as the angel uttered the last part of the story. He could tell that the angel had been getting into retelling his story, being that at one point he had only spoken in whispers. The angel saw Justin’s emotion that spread across his face and then smirked happily. “Yeah….I know….”he said slowly. “And that’s not all of it……” Justin looked at the angel in utter confusedness. “You mean there’s more?” Justin asked in surprise. The angel nodded lightly and then slowly opened his mouth to continue the story.
    Nexle stretched out his arm and slowly, trying not to cause distress, pushed the citizens away and made his way through the massive crowd that surrounded him. The sheath of his blade collided with the other citizens’ body parts, which caused a loud and annoying grunt that formed out of their mouths. ‘Sorry…..’ Nexle would say when he accidently made an angel fall onto the ground. As Nexle drifted through the crowd, two distinctive angels flew about in the crowd, following him. One had purple wings with a purple cap as if from Paris, and two daggers with a poison tip, which of course she left in her purple sheaths. She wore a dark purple shirt with a dark purple skirt and wore a grim expression upon her face. She had dark black hair which laid low down onto the pavement. The other one was quite different. Her clothing was heavily revealing, being that she only wore a bright-tan tank top that was cut up to her waist, and light brown shorts that only reached up to the tip of her upper part of her knee, and the shorts themselves where carved with multiple holes and tears that where severely reveling. Under her cowboy hat she wore dirty orange hair which shifted down short onto her shoulders. She wore a happy expression upon her face with a bright grin. Now the most distinctive feature of this character where her dark brown cowboy hat with little ridges and rips as well and her holster which contained two silver pistols in them. “Wait up!” the woman that appeared to be a western cowboy shouted. Her voice was high and was bursting with a high amount of massive energy. The girl behind her, the one that seemed as if from Paris, looked pestered by the other girl talking and sighed deeply. “Will you please shut up Jessica? As long as he is still in our vision there is nothing to worry about.” she said, repeating another sigh. After what she said, Jessica wore a disgusted expression on her face and then, immaturely, stuck her tongue out. “Why don’t you just shut up Melina, you big party poop” The other girl that had just gotten mocked peered behind her shoulders and rolled her eyes. “Immature brat….” she muttered ever so softly underneath her breath. Suddenly, in the distant above that clouded around their heads, a loud sound of an immersive horn rung out into the air, spreading out into the glistening aqua skies. Nexle came to an abrupt stop (as so did everyone else), making a high-pitched squeaking noise with the heels of his shoes. He then tilted his head and peered high toward the intriguing clouds. Amongst the clouds lay a tower (In which was appointed to in the previous chapter). Unlike before, this tower was marvelous, looking as if sprinkling bright red glitter from it bottom and a towering aqua covered its surface. The brightness from the sun looked dim compared to the intensity of the aqua coloring. To his unfortunate soul, Jessica’s eye vision was not signaled onto his body, so as he focused onto….whatever drifted into her vision in which she thought was more important, she came clumsily crashing onto his body, making a domino effect. As Nexle and Jessica drifted onto the ground, Melina, instinctively and gracefully, leaped into the air, stretching her legs in the air above the clumsy souls. Jessica blew the hair that laid amongst her forehead, which also stretched across her right eye. “Pst, show off…” Jessica mumbled with a slightly disturbed expression covered amongst her face.
    As Melina landed, oh so gracefully amongst the ground (On her tippy toes in fact) a small ring of wind circled her feet and then diffused amongst the crowd in a small ripple, which was highly unnoticeable being that all attention was amongst the sky, into the allusive castle. A wide smirk crossed Melina’s face, which was a bit rare for her. Jessica peered up at her and shot her an immaturely tongue, which was followed by a grunt. Melina just merely rolled her eyes and, as everyone else, peered up into the tower. What caught the citizen’s attention wasn’t the mere castle itself, but what lay amongst one of it’s opening, up in the high breech of the tallest tower of the castle. In this apparently intriguing part of the castle, stood two shadowy figures that appeared as a blur from such a height, and people had only narrow view from amongst the heads that shot in their eye vision. As if an instant, right when the two figures stood at the very right tip of the tower, they opened their mouths and all became still. The only sound that could be heard was the filtered hot breath that drifted in the back of people’s heads, or the heart beat that lay in the chest of the citizens. “Citizens……” the familiar voice spread from out the tower, and as it did, one face peered into the entire citizen’s heads, especially Nexle’s. The one face that shot into their heads was none other than the king of Grimor, the all powerful Drake. “Your brother……” Jessica said as a whisper (Note that they were standing up now) aiming her voice toward Nexle. Nexle merely nodded slightly. At this motion, Jessica’s mouth opened again. “You know that could be you up there. Do you ever regret going into hiding?” she said, this time a bit more secretly so her voice would not enter other’s ears. Nexle responded with a slight shake of his head. “If I didn’t leave….if I didn’t fake my own death…than I would be actually dead right now…” As Jessica tried to open her voice to reason with Nexle, a slight but powerful force elbowed her shoulder. As Jessica let out a slight yelp, she peered to the right in which this force came from, and saw Melina, putting her finger up to her mouth, obviously signaling Jessica to be quiet. Understanding what she was saying, Jessica responded with a nod and peered up in the tower, and in an instant Nexle followed. “As you all know….our natural resources have depleted due to the war over the neighboring country, who also seek the land of immortality….”Drake said from amongst the tower, lowering his voice yet still making it robust. As if directed only to Nexle, he nodded slightly. Drake slowly cleared his throat and then continued. “And as you all also know, this land can only be breeched by my own brother, who we believe may be dead, but our neighboring country believes we are simply putting him in hiding for our own selfish deeds…..” Drake explained, clearing his throat yet again and making his posture stiff. “My grandfather sealed off this land knowing there is too much power at that area….and we could not contain it in peace….” Nexle nodded again, putting the hood over his head, just in case Drake peered at him from amongst the crowd. Drake sighed sadly and then continued. “My grandfather was right…we can’t even access the godforsaken place and yet we are already in war over selfish reasons! And as our resources deplete we have no choice but to turn to a forbidden technique….” Nexle stared from amongst the ground to Drake in disbelief. “Please don’t say…….” Nexle mumbled to himself. Ignoring Nexle’s prayers, Drake mumbled the one word that hadn’t been in almost one hundred years. “This forbidden technique….is….Alchemy!” Drake shouted amongst the citizens. Nexle gulped loudly. “This definitely won’t turn out good…..” A mumbled voice called behind Nexle. Nexle peered and saw Jessica, with a concerned expression on her face. In agreement, Melina nodded. Nexle nodded as well and then peered up into the sky. “This isn’t my brother…..”he whispered to himself. “He couldn’t be that stupid…he wouldn’t really use alchemy…..would he?”