Path to a New Age

"Hola,amigos!" I finally caught up with everyone and pulled out my jars of tea. "Here everyone, take this. You might find it "handy" if we find the beast. You never know when ya get thirsty." As passed them around I noticed Talask just kinda daydreaming and that one member was missing. "Where did Serriome go? I barely got to know em!"

I stop for a moment as Maikaru hands me a jar of tea. "Thank you." He notices Talask daydreaming and the fact that Serriome is not amongst the group. He then proceeds to ask what happened to him. "He went ahead to the next village because we were somewhat slow I suppose." I place the plugged jar under my coat while I continue to talk. "But we couldn't completely rush off without everyone, so we were going slower for you."

Coming out of my dreaming state I listened as Phoenix said do think to much of it,"Yea guess your right.." i saw that Maikeru had caught up with us, "Glad to see you found us," I then lifted my right hand to cath the tea he had thrown my way "....thanks" I then looked up ahead to see that Serriome had taken a sprint like pace. "hmmm wonder whats his hurry?"

I keep my focus on the path ahead of me while I reply to Talask's question. "I am not entirely sure what his hurry is." The wind picked up a small bit as if something was warning us about what we were after. It reminds me that we must look beyond the normal picture of a situation, for we may miss an important answer that one of us may be seeking. While I contemplate on this, I notice Aislinn hasn't spoken a word since we had left the camp.

**sorry it took so long guys. comps problems**

I had changed into my now dry clothes and followed the group. They semed eager to find thebeast and kill it, which was fine with me. I stayed fairly quiet as Serriome left he group, then Mikeru rejoined us and gave us all tea. I smiled to him as I put the tea into a pouch in my shirt. "Talisk, after we find the beast, can I speak with you. I would like to help you seek your answers." I whispered to him as we all continued to walk.

**not sure how long it will take to get back on so just work for my charcter as necessary. dont leave me out though ok. Thanks boys! Love ya'll!! Esp my MARIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

"Talk to me??..." i looked straight in Aislinn's eyes as she asked to speak to me once we have defeated the beast, "Sure....." I hesitated on my reply, for i was slowly getting confused now more than ever.I felt she was hiding something but i didn't want to force it to the open. "We should be reaching the village soon..."

"Look there is that village that Serriome was talking about." I point out to what seemed like destroyed buildings and an icy terrain. I look back, noticing that Aislinn and Talask were conversing amongst themselves. Facing back towards the village, I kneel down to examine the ice for a moment. "It seems he was using this place to channel his power. He must have been practicing." The ominous wind blew towards the village where Serriome was training, signaling for us to go over there. I think once more at the coincidences of our meeting. "There is definitely something leading us around, but for what purpose?" Without much more to go on, I move towards the destroyed village.

"I sense them approaching, its time to call it a day." I retract all Ice attacks and crystals surrounding me, so that I will not accidentially give a repeat of what happed to Hatizu. I sit down atop of the house of which I held my last training session. I see the others appearing around the corner as if from nowhere. I see them heading over toward my location, so I merely waited. As soon as they were 10 foot under me, I jump from the house, rejoining the group and slowing my pace yet again. "Anything I miss?" I asked with a smirk.

We had finally caught up with Serriome when he had asked if he had missed anything without even looking his way i kept walking and said "..........tea" i walked up to Phoenix and Maikeru with a worried look, "I think we need to up our pace a little,"

With Serriome rejoining the group, Talask believes that we should move faster to the village. I look down while we continue to walk. I pull out my Moon crystal and stare upon it. It was as if the moon itself could be seen inside this priceless gem. "Perhaps your right. A few minutes pass, and I see that the path leads over a towering hill out in the distance. "I'll go take a look. The village is just over the hill." With that said, I sprint off to the hill to see if the village was still standing. I arrive at the top of the hill only to find the village is under siege. The water beast was doing the damage and causing many of the buildings to crumble, while the panic of the people set other buildings ablaze. The ominous wind blew extremely hard, and it made my cape and hair shift in the wind, as it pointed towards the sieged village. I turn back to see if the others were close behind and yell. "Hurry, the village is under attack!"

"Damn!!!" I leaped up the path to cacth Phoenix, "Aislinn, Maikeru we are going to leave the kids in your care for now" turning back towards Phoenix i saw i had finally caught him "Lets go..." Looking upon the destroyed village all i could see was smoke a debris being chunked from left to right. "This is bad, we'd be lucky to find any survivors in all this..."

Running at full speed i lept into the air and into the blinding smoke to where i saw a man standing there to who seemed completely out matched. Slowly twisting my body to the left i cuffed my hands, focusing most of my energy between them. The energy now burning a bright green color was violently spiraling and was eager to be used. Still mostly blinded by the smoke i i fired the blast at the small creature that stood infront of the tall, dark, strange. I slammed into the ground creating various of cracks in the ground. I looked over my shoulder only to catch a glimpse of who i had just helped out, the shock had almost taken my mind from the real threat " YOU'RE!!!!!!...." with a loud roar the creature had appeared. Regaining my composure i took a sideways stance and lowered my body in an offensive position...

In Mind: It's Maverick, the one Sage told me of. Funny we both fought alongside Sage, yet never crossed paths. The time for a proper introduction would be later, but should I tell Talask everything, I still haven't kept my word to him. All would come in due time, but as of now, we had a creature to kill.

Back in Action: I sprint past the beast as of a distraction. One of the creatures did follow me, yet the other remained in area. Still sprinting I turn around to see what I was up against. Obviously, if this creature is of a water kind, then Ice would either destroy it completely, or fail miserably. I extend my hand and force ice to form an ice blade. I then slowly charge up a new attack from earlier. The air around the blade began to freeze, as with the ground around me. The creature began to pick up its pace, coming at me faster and faster.

"Perfect" I say as the beast gets within twenty feet of me.
I thrust my blade into the ground and charge up my newest attack.
"Frostbite Wave: Permafrost Giant!!!!" As I say this, agiant frozen hand comes from directly beneath the creature, grabs it, and drags it beneath the ground. I now sit and wait to see if this was the way to defeat them. As I wait the other creature begins to charge.

The ground shakes once from beneath me, then again a few seconds later. I watch as a large arm comes from the ground. "I failed..."

I split from the rest of the group and unsheathe my blade, the Etherial. Each building I pass as I sprint is either burning or crumbling to the earth below. I could see a monstrous beast out in the distance break away followed by a howl. "That seems like the sound of a wolf. Don't tell me one is fighting that beast." An old man approaches from a burning building, trying to protect his granddaughter by using himself as a a carriage to get out of here. I rush to help them out and ask if there are any other survivors. The old man replies while running. "Many of our village is already dead, but some have made it out alive. Oh god, young man look behind you." I immediately spin around and swing my blade horizontally through a miniature water beast, only for it to reform behind me. Another follows quickly behind that one.

"Hurry up to the rest of the villagers, I'll deal with these two." I jump atop a building as the two small beasts stare at me. I spin my blade next to me and with a quick flash, I zoom past them, unleashing crescent energy waves slicing through them. With a small smirk on my face, I say. "Let's play your little game." With that the beasts begin to chase me, and I sprint knowing they would follow.

The beast had begun to emit minor creatures by the dozens, breaking houses and tearing threw rocks as they landed. Circling me i looked at each one trying to find a way out, At this point i had began to think that we had underestimated these creatures. Still low to the ground i placed one hand on the close to the dirt and fired a large blast using the explosion to propel me straight into the air. "heh....." Looking down with a slight smile i thought i had escaped until i noticed they were no longer there. I started looking around in confusion as to where they had went, "What tha Hell!" I had looked everywhere but behind me to where they had fused and were using the water to propel themselvs up to my level.Now free falling back to the ground we were trading blows..

The beasts I am fighting had immense speed, much like my own, it was if every step was in tune, and each stride pushed the same exact distance. "This should be good enough." I reach what seems like the central part of the village, and stop to quickly turn towards my opponents with a vertical slash. The blow goes right through one beast with the other following behind. As it came to pounce upon me, I duck and send my blade upwards towards it's stomach. This causes the beast to flip, as if my blade actually connected. I took this opportunity to land a reverse punch down upon it the moment it landed on it's back. Immediately, however, it reverts back to it's liquid form, and my fist goes through it to create a crater in the ground.

"What is this beast's weakness?" I hold my blade with both hands pointing towards them as they gain their footing once more. I recall Serriome using his ice powers to drag them under. "Apparently this beast's liquid can't be frozen easily." The beasts pounce on me once more. I parry them both with my blade, however we were in a stalemate, as they were trying to push through the blade. "They can't form into a pure liquid if they want to hurt me. Perhaps if I force it's substance to change into a different liquid." At that moment, I remember Maikaru's tea that he had made. "Of course, all liquids mix. Then let's try this!"

I push the beasts off of me with one strong push, and quickly get out the bottle of tea that Maikaru had given us. "Let's hope this works." While the beasts revert to their liquid forms after the attack, I jump above them. At the very moment, I send my blade through the bottle, releasing it's contents upon the beasts below, turning their color to look like tea. "Hmm, it works. Now, to freeze it." I look around for something to use as a reagent to create an ice attack, at that moment, I find a small shard of an ice crystal of Serriome's attacks. The crystal is then plowed into the blade of my sword, creating a icy aura for one attack. My blade is placed to the left of me with both hands as I prepare the attack, all the while the beasts rush at me once more. "Time to roar Etherial. Freezing Tempest!" Instead of a green blast of energy, it was blue, and circled around the beasts until they froze.


After the attack, my blade reverts back to it's basic state, with no special effects added. "....." I slowly walk up to the beasts as they fall directly to the ground and shatter completely. I keep my blade ready, thinking they may form back again, but instead, the small shards of ice evaporate into thin air. "So it did work, this is exactly what we need!" I start running in the direction of Serriome's battle so that we can use his ice powers to defeat these creatures.

My eyes roll over to Phoenix as he destroys the beasts with one ice attack. I had been watching the entire battle between him and the other beasts, and he used tea to destroy them. I then recall not being with the group at the time that the group had tea. "Heh, I guess I probably shouldn't rush so much." I muttered to myself as I sprint around the beast I was currently fighting to see if there was any other weakness.

"While I can, I'll restrain this one." I think as I extend the length of my blade. I then begin forming a chain on the end of the blade, using ice crystals to extend it as far as possible. "Frostbite Special: Crystal Ice Restraints!!!!" I say as the chains wrap around the beast with extreme speed. After the chain hit the beast, A large dust cloud formed around it. While the beast was restrained, I quickly run over to Phoenix, hoping he has more tea on him.

Glancing towards the ground i had noticed that Phoenix had taken care of a couple of creatures by mixing tea with there previous state, with a smirk i muttered under my breath "Maikeru may be a Perv Dancer but that tea sure came in handy...." Looking back at the Creature that was charging at me i quickly drew my sword to block the oncoming attack. Drawing his fist back he threw a massive force of water directly at me that felt like a wall. After falling several hundred yards i manage to regain my balance . It didn't take long for the creature to catch up to my position and split back into its 12 mini beast, "It's either now or never...." yanking out the small container of tea, i spun in a circle completely surrounding my self with small droplets tea, the creatures charged thankfully not knowing my plan. As they all closed in i placed my hands in a crossed position in front of my face, though i was taking a beating, i had a slight smirk for they had not noticed they had absorbed the tea i had surrounded myself with. Looking towards the ground i could only hope Serriome or Phoenix would notice what had happen....

While sprinting toward Phoenix, I noticed that Talask, still falling toward the ground, had mixed some of the tea with some of the water beasts, yet had no ice powers to help him. I knew if I had run I would never make it, but If I were to throw him a crystal of Ice, he could do the same as Phoenix and use a single ice attack. I charge up a quick crystal and Throw it at him, hoping he would catch it. "Talask, Catch!!!!" I yelled as it sped through the air, hoping he knew what to do with it. About that time I made it to Phoenix. I wondered how long the beasts stayed infused with the tea, and how long we had until they were immune again.

Serriome was sprinting toward Phoenix when i heard him yell my name "HUH!!?!" looking in his direction i notice him throwing something that had seem to be sparkling as it traveled threw the air. "An ice crystal..." unfolding my arms i took a diving position to try an reach the crystal in time. "Just alittle bit more......GOTCHA" i turned around only to face a massive wall of water to the face, the water had so much pressure the crystal managed to escape my grasp and float amongst the air. Coughing up blood, i managed to see the crystal floating towards the creatures, trying to regain my composure from the hit i realized this was my last chance. Charging a small blast in my right hand i fired it at the crystal creating an icy explosion. Trying to stay conscience i looked to see if i got all of them. Out of the smoke, 12 ice blocks fell rapidly towards the ground shattering as they hit 1 by 1, "heh...." looking down i saw that i was reaching the ground aweflly quick head first."this isn't good..." crossing my arms once again i prepared for impact....

"Crap..." I watch as Talask falls to the earth after his destruction of the 12 beasts. I look around to see if there was anything to jump on, and notice a small tower with just enough height to get me to the altitude needed to catch Talask. I quickly turn to Serriome while sheathing my blade."Serriome, make sure there are no more beast's in the area." With that said, I run up to the tower and then wall run all the way up to the top, where I leap off towards Talask. I grab Talask's arm in mid jump and propell us both to the top of a still intact building. When we land I let go of Talask's arm and look out to where the howls of the wolf was coming from. "Are there any more of those beasts?"

I knew this had to be it, i pulled my arms closer to my chest, tucked my head in as far as it would go and then started to tense up. "This is it....." i spoke too soon for the words i had spoken sent to have thrown me into a more relaxed state. Unfolding my arms and i realized that it wasn't meant for me to uncover the truth. With nothing else to say i was then snatched out the air by what i thought to be the reaper, but had turned out to be Phoenix. I was never so glad to be on the ground. Though shakened from the fall, it didn't take long for me to pull myself back together and hear phoenix's question "Yes....i do think that takes care of all of them, except for....." moving my head slowly towards the Large creature ".......him.."

The moment Talask said that there was one more, the strange wind that had been blowing begins to swirl around a large creature. I slowly turn myself to see just the stomach of this monstrous beast. "Oh........" I slowly look up from atop the building, and see the face of this beast just give one of the loudest roars directly in my face. I close my eyes and let my hair and cloak blow wildly as I endure this beast's loud roar. My eyes reopen to see him towering above us once more. "Yeah, this will be just a great amount of fun, won't it." I unsheathe my blade from my side once more, unleashing an aura around it. I look to my left to tell Talask one thing. "Well, let's begin once more."

The beast sends it's massive claw upon the building we were on, and at that same moment I jump high into the air and over it's head. While in the air, I send my blade through one of the beast's large eyes, and then landing on the earth below. The beast, however, is unaffected by this attack, as he liquefies and tries to slam me with a large amount of water. I sprint off towards Serriome, hoping Talask and him could react quickly.