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Note: This story takes place moments after The
Wizard's Apprentice (a story of mine that was published two weeks ago) ended.
So you might want to read that story for this one to make better sense. It's not
obligatory, just advised.
Tadayo scanned the castle courtyard intently, looking
for any sign of his friends. The courtyard was packed with tons of Neopets,
ranking anywhere from serfs to princes. Peasants roamed the streets asking for
Neopoints, while bishops chatted quietly amongst themselves. The medieval courtyard
was filled with beggars and royalty, but what else could be expected from the
days of NeoQuest?
But still, the Lupe saw no sign of either of
his friends. Of course, that didn't surprise him. He was previously informed
by them that they'd be busy for most of the morning. Slowly the sun rose higher
into the sky, until it beat directly down onto the Lupe's shaggy starry pelt.
Lunchtime was quickly approaching, and still no friends.
While he waited, Tadayo reflected on the earlier
events of the morning. The outcome of his first lesson in magic was a mixture
of different shades of grey. Sure, he managed to perform the spell he intended
to cast, but a catastrophe was lurking in the shadows. His master--Boraxis the
Healer--had instructed him to perform an elemental spell. Elemental spells were
a time of enchantment that involved using one of the six elements (light, water,
fire, air, earth and darkness) and casting a spell with it. After Tadayo tried
repeatedly to light an old boot on fire like instructed, he got frustrated and
cast the spell repeatedly. The result was mass chaos; the entire room engulfed
in flames. The Lupe had just managed to leave when his master had ordered him
to leave.
Suddenly, Tadayo's thoughts were interrupted
by a figure clad in silver armour charging at him. For a brief moment fear filled
the starry Lupe's heart, but it washed away after a few seconds when he realized
whom it was. He bounded across the courtyard toward the armoured figure. Tadayo's
smoky grey cloak whipped in the wind behind him.
"Hey Raiden, you made it!" Tadayo exclaimed excitedly.
The armoured Neopet stopped and pulled up the
helmet's visor. The smiling face of an electric Kyrii peered back. "Hey Tad!"
the Kyrii exclaimed. He was covered from head to foot with the heavy silver
armour. Tied around his waist was a belt of some kind. A scabbard was attached
to the belt, and inside the scabbard was a sword.
"Woah, it looked like Sir Bornavir let you try
on the armour," Tadayo observed. Sir Bornavir was the most famed knight in the
kingdom of Neopia City. He was a master swordsman, and could give even the mightiest
rogues a run for their Neopoints. Raiden was accepted as a squire by Sir Bornavir
only a few days back. Humble as he was, something like this was definitely something
to talk about and Tadayo had heard an ear-full of it for the past two days.
But being chosen to be a squire by a high-ranking knight was an honour, just
like being taught magic by Boraxis was. Suddenly, Tadayo eyed the sword in the
scabbard. His jaw dropped when he saw it. "Is that... a.... a... sword?" he
stammered in awe.
A laugh escaped the Kyrii's mouth. He slowly
removed the sword from the scabbard. "Not just any sword, THE sword. Sir Bornavir
told me he used it in his first battle ever. Isn't it just awesome?" Awesome
was an understatement. The blade was shimmering silver, and the hilt was made
of bronze. A picture of a Gathow was engraved in the blade and the two ends
of the hilt were formed into two Cyodrakes.
The starry Lupe just stood there admiring the
scimitar. "That is the ultimate weapon," murmured Tadayo in disbelief.
"Er, yeah, it's pretty amazing all right. But
not nearly as good as your wand," the Kyrii pointed out as he made a potion
toward the wand sticking out of Tadayo's cloak pocket. "With one wave, you could
probably turn my sword into jelly, right?"
Tadayo laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, whatever
you say. So far Boraxis has only taught me how to cast a fire spell. It worked
quite well... maybe too well." Raiden raised an eyebrow and looked curiously
at Tadayo. The Lupe sighed. "I used the spell and sort of got out of control.
Let's just say if Boraxis' favourite colour is black, then that room is definitely
for him."
Raiden fell on the ground laughing. He rolled
over on the grass, his armour clinking each time he moved.
Tadayo shook his head. He had to change the subject.
"So... er... hey, have you seen Seryll lately? It's already lunch, she should've
been here by now," Tadayo pointed out.
"I never thought about," Raiden replied as he
stood up, shaking the grass off his coat of armour. "I wonder what's keeping
her."
Suddenly, they heard a sound like a whisper.
The two friends spun around to see someone in the shadows. "Head to the orchard."
Suddenly, the hiding creature scurried off leaving Tadayo and Raiden standing
there.
"ER think we should follow it?" questioned Raiden.
"It's not as if we have anything better to do,"
Tadayo replied.
The Lupe and the Kyrii sprang across the courtyard
heading for the drawbridge. Despite how physically fit Raiden was, he found
it immensely difficult to run in the armour. Tadayo's cloak whipped behind him
as he bounded across the courtyard to the drawbridge. They gestured for the
armoured Draik manning the crank to lower the drawbridge. He did so and the
two friends ran across the wooden planks and over the rushing moat.
"Come on, there's the orchard," Tadayo said as
he headed toward the apple orchard. The ground was covered in white lulus and
yolkalias. They ran in and looked around. In the orchard, the ground was dotted
with dozens of song flowers, each singing a melody of spring. Suddenly, a figure
in the tallest tree started flittering down. She got lower and lower and final
landed on the ground. A smiling Faerie Ixi wearing a tiara and a turquoise dress
giggled at them.
"Hey guys! Here's a snack," greeted the Faerie
Ixi as she tossed two apples at the two friends.
"Woah, what was with the whole lurking in the
shadows thing in the courtyard?" Raiden inquired as he took a large bite out
of the apple.
Seryll laughed. "Oops, maybe I should've been
less secretive. And sorry I was late, it's just hard sneaking past my parents,
the priests and the guards. Me being... y'know... what I am and all," she mumbled.
Seryll turned her head and pretended to be preoccupied with the song flowers.
The truth was, no matter how glamorous her job was said to be, she truly despised
it. She was a princess. No freedom. No fun. No friends. If she hadn't rebelled
and snuck out, she would have never met Raiden and Tadayo.
"It's OK Seryll," Tadayo said sympathetically.
Seryll seemed to snap out of it and looked up
at her friends. Her cheerful smile returned. "Sorry about that... Hey, how were
your guys training sessions?" she asked.
Suddenly, Raiden and Tadayo launched into a big
story about how their days went at the same time. Seryll kept looking back and
forth between them with a blank expression. Tadayo talked about how he lit the
room on fire and Raiden explained how he almost chopped Sir Bornavir's tail
off. Words about swords, wands, knights and wizards filled her head. Finally,
the two friends stopped talking and looked at her.
"Erm... that was great. Hey, I've got an idea!
Why don't you two have a practice battle! Raiden with his sword and Tadayo with
his wand. And practice, so no decapitating or turning into Mortogs," Seryll
explained.
Raiden and Tadayo exchanged excited looks. Tadayo
untied his cloak and tossed it onto the ground. Raiden managed to pull off the
heavy armour leaving him much faster than with the heavy metal.
"OK," Seryll said. "Begin!"
Tadayo held the wand above his head. He waved
it through the air and muttered gibberish hoping something would happen. No
luck. Rats, he thought. Looks like I'm going to have to use the little
magic I know.
Using the time Tadayo took to think, Raiden leaped
into the air with his sword above his head. He came down and hit Tadayo in the
leg with the broad side of the sword. A dull pain filled his leg.
"FIRE!" Tadayo yelled with as much concentration
he could muster with the injury. Without concentrating, the spell was extremely
weak. A small flame hovered above the tip of the wand and vanished with a poof!
That wasn't much good.
"Take this!" Raiden yelled. He swung the sword
around and accidently nailed his friend right in the head with the sword's broadside.
The Kyrii paused because he had actually not intended to hurt his friend.
Fighting to remain conscious, Tadayo tried to
cast another spell. His incantation was nearly impossible to understand. He
shook his head and looked at the Kyrii who was still shocked at what he had
done. This was the moment to strike. He closed his eyes and tried to block out
the pain in his leg and head. An intense rage filled him. He was shaking like
mad now. "FIIIIIIIIIRE!" Tadayo screamed. Suddenly, the wand started shaking.
Molten hot magma burst from the wand's tip, straight at the Kyrii.
"Yikes!" Raiden cried as he picked his chest
plate off the ground in one smooth motion and defended against the magma. He
eyed Tadayo who had his wand ready to strike. Raiden had his sword in his hand,
ready to battle.
All of a sudden, a yell echoed in the distance.
"SQUIRE RAIDEN! YOUR LUNCH BREAK IS OVER; IT'S TIME TO CONTINUE YOUR TRAINING!"
The voice of Sir Bornavir reverberated in the distance.
There's my master calling. Anyway, great battle
Tadayo! Man that was intense. See you Seryll," Raiden waved as he picked up
his armour and ran off in the distance.
"I guess I'd best be leaving too," Seryll said.
"I don't want my parents to form a search party again. Bye Tad!" The Faerie
Ixi soared off on her pink wings in the direction of the castle.
The starry Lupe just stood there, marveling at
the spell he had just cast. It was officially a fire elemental spell just much
more powerful. Tadayo bent down and picked up his grey cloak and tied it around
his neck. Perhaps I'd better check out how Boraxis is doing, he thought
to himself. He ran off toward the castle with his wand in his pocket. He enjoyed
spending as much time as possible with his friends, but there was a time for
play and a time for work. And an apprentice's work was almost never done.
The End
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