The Tale of the Elemental Stones

Book 1

The Ice That Froze Over

The Prophecy

“Three Elements Converge,

Three Elements Aligned,

The World will see peace one more time

Three Elements Opposed

Three Elements Hostile,

The World will descend into chaos one more time

Prologue

At the tip of the continent, cold wind breezed through the lands. Thick snow gathered on all surfaces, the cold consuming anything in its path. In the middle of this frozen wasteland, there was one small town. The town of Icehelm, the only sign of human life in the entire Frostbite Icelands. 

The town was largely deserted, however there were still people trying to make a go of it. 27, to be exact. To most people, Icehelm was more of a legend. For these people, it was a hard life. Food was scarce, there were little to no materials to collect in this place, so people had to rely on ice fishing to survive. They should have named the town Desperation because they had no hope to escape. As the wasteland was so huge, they wouldn’t be able to carry enough food and resources to survive a trip back to the mainland.

After a day of ice fishing, Matthew lazily walked back to his old house. He put down a small bag of fish on the table, and laid on the couch, quickly falling asleep.

“RUN!!!” A voice came from outside the house. Matthew jolted awake, and ran outside. He gasped. The village was being completely destroyed by what seemed like ice monsters. They were just normal creatures. Penguins, seals, even a polar bear or two. However, they were being consumed and their bodies surrounded by a sort of blue ice energy. It was corrupting them, and the creatures were acting uncontrollably. A penguin shuffled right up to him, ready to kill. Matthew sprinted away, and the creatures followed closely behind. 

“Am I the last one?” he thought to himself, exhaustion creeping up his body. A few seconds later, everything went black, and Matthew fell to the ground, ice creeping up his body. Then he stumbled around as he slowly got up, eyes shining a lifeless azure, his yellow t-shirt now covered with ice as he stumbled towards the pack of ice creatures and followed them forward, heading out of the Frostbite Icelands. 

Chapter 1: Attack on Tempest

Kuzo was relaxing in his house. He lived a life as exciting as watching paint dry, not too far from, but not close to the mainland. “What should I do today?” he muttered to himself, staring blankly at the walls of his house. He always wanted to be a swordfighter, and help his humble town of Tempest. However, his swordfighting skills and sports in general were not very good, and he preferred lazing around. 

A knock came from the door, and he opened it. 

“Oh, you guys are here!” Kuzo exclaimed. 

“Nothing to do today, may as well come early.”, a boy said, ruffling his black hair.

“Did you hear the news? People, not that far from here, spotted weird ice creatures coming from the north- including some weird humans! This means Icehelm really exists!” a girl said excitedly. 

“Personally, I'm more worried about the “weird” creatures and the fact that the Icehelm people could walk all the way here.” Kuzo said, uninterested. “Well, it looks like they’re headed our way, so we should be careful. I don’t know what happened to Icehelm, but I don’t want to be next.” the raven-haired boy said. “Well, we don’t have the means to head to the mainland ourselves without risking our lives- our parents would never let us leave, anyways.” Kuzo said. 

The three of them headed out of the house, and walked around town. The town was bucolic but backward at the same time, with a few shops and houses here and there. They arrived at the park, where the three friends enjoyed playing football while there wasn’t school (although only Crux, the raven haired boy was any good at it).

A few days later, Kuzo heard a knock on the door. My friends again? They had to do homework today. When he opened the door, to his surprise, it wasn’t his friends, but a seemingly agitated town crier. 

“Run! The ice creatures- they came quicker than expected- they’ve already destroyed the northern part of the town!” the town crier said, and sprinted off. Kuzo was shocked, and immediately picked up his satchel and followed. He saw his friends Crux and Rin, their faces in fear and desperation, also sprinting forward. He wondered what the commotion was about, not believing that the ice creatures were even real, let alone had  reached Tempest. Kuzo, joining them, quickly decided to take a glance behind him, and it was true- ice spikes covered the houses, the village laid in rubble, ice creatures and ice humans wreaking havoc. He even saw an ice human freezing one of his fellow citizens, and saw the gruesome transformation of a market stall owner into a feral ice creature in just a few seconds. He nearly froze in his tracks, shocked by everything happening, as he saw an ice penguin rushing towards him. He sprinted forwards in an adrenaline fueled panic, not looking behind him, as he scanned his surroundings. He was running right into a large plain, and if he kept running, he would reach a tree line, where it would be easy to lose the ice creatures.

He was getting tired, and he had lost sight of his friends, Crux and Rin. They had each split off to his left and right, and although he had pulled away from the ice penguin; it was still after him and was starting to catch up. The forest was right in front of him- high, towering trees, thick bushes, and small critters scattering everywhere ahead of the oncoming horde. He ran deeper and deeper into the forest, until he was sure that he had lost the ice creatures. He scaled up a small tree, and accessed the situation. Hopefully Rin and Crux got out, for now I should focus on surviving the night, and planning out my actions for tomorrow, Kuzo thought, and cleared an area for a small camp for the night. Luckily, he was carrying his satchel, and inside was a few packs of snacks and candies, his water waterskin, a notebook and pen, and some other basic supplies that would last him a few days at most out in the wilderness. 

The next day, Kuzo decided he would head to the mainland. Since the creatures were coming in from the north, continuing forward would probably be the best option. The mainland would likely be where Crux and Rin were heading as well, as it was a major- the most major landmark on the continent, which further enticed Kuzo to go there. It would be around a 2 or 3 day walk, remembering what Rin had told him a few weeks ago. He would have enough food and water if he set out now, as long as he rationed his supplies.

Kuzo walked for the entire day, and he finally got out of the jungle. He could see the mainland far in the distance. Castles, and many houses scattered around, surrounded by a big stone wall. He was almost there; to his new life in the mainland. He had no sight of any of the ice creatures, but hadn’t seen any humans either, let alone his friends. He just had to push on, and hope that the mainland would bring better times.

Chapter 2: In the Mainland

Kuzo was just outside of the huge, tall, and worn stone brick walls of the mainland. The mainland consisted of a giant city in the middle, concentric medium-sized towns surrounding its center, some inside and some outside of the walls, with forest and lake nearby. There were two guards standing watch outside, and they spotted Kuzo walking towards them. 

“What brings you to the mainland?” one of the guards asked. He was wearing chainmail armour and held a spear with a sharp iron tip. Even though they were both armed, they didn’t look menacing and rather looked bored and tired. Not many people ever tried to invade the mainland, so these guards had nearly nothing to do all day. 

“I came from Tempest. You’ve certainly heard about the weird ice creatures right? They attacked Icehelm, then Tempest- I was lucky enough to escape, and made the journey here.” Kuzo explained. 

“Okay, you can enter, but this place isn’t completely safe either. We don’t know when or if the ice creatures are going to advance here, so keep an eye out- you might get questioned about what you saw back in Tempest.” one of the guards said, opening the gate.

Walking inside, Kuzo noticed that the mainland was much more developed than the rest of the continent. The buildings looked less aged, and bigger, however there were 3 or 4 times the people then in Tempest normally. The mainland was already a sprawling city, and with all the influx of people from Tempest and other farther out towns, so the population was extremely high and crowded. He found his way to a huge building in the middle of town, looking for directions. Maybe I need to get a job, get money, get a house, and start a new life, he thought. He dug deeper into his satchel, and was able to fish out a  few old, rusty, coins. He walked over to a nearby market stall, and spent almost half of his money just on a piece of bread. Stuff here is so expensive, I could’ve gotten at least 3 pieces of bread for that back home. I’ll be lucky to even have enough to have a place to stay the night. Kuzo kept walking around, and saw it was starting to get dark. If he didn’t want to sleep on the streets, he’d have to find a place to stay fast. Just as he was about to give up, he caught a glimpse of Crux through a nearby window. He rushed over, and it turns out he was inside an inn. 

“Crux!” Kuzo exclaimed, greeting him. 

“So you made it here too. Seen Rin anywhere?” Crux asked. 

“No, unfortunately. I’m just looking for a place to stay, I don’t have that many gold coins though.”, Kuzo replied.

“It’s 7 coins a night. How many do you have?” Crux asked. 

“Not enough,” Kuzo replied.

 “Here’s the rest that you need. I brought a lot, you can have them.” Crux said, handing the coins to Kuzo. 

Kuzo rested for the rest of the day. On his way to the inn, he had seen an advertisement to become a soldier to help in the fight against the ice creatures. He decided he would go check that out tomorrow. 

The next day, Kuzo woke up to what seemed like a perfect day, a warm, sunny day, birds chirping. Despite all of his recent troubles, he felt an odd feeling of excitement, ready to start a new life in the mainland. He headed outside, and saw Crux relaxing . 

“What are you planning on doing today?” Kuzo asked, 

“Explore around town, maybe find a job to start getting money.” Crux replied. 

“Same, I'm planning on trying out to become a swordfighter.” Kuzo explained.

 “Trying to avenge the fall of Tempest, I suppose? Bold, but that kind of stuff requires a lot of training. Good luck, better you than me!!” Crux said, as Kuzo headed outside the inn. Kuzo walked around town, and was still surprised about how densely populated and packed the town was. I need some money, and fast. Perhaps I should take a loan from a bank, Kuzo thought, and his wish was granted, as right in front of him was a shady-looking bank.

 “This’ll have to do..” Kuzo muttered, walking inside.

 “Hello, how can I help you?” the bank teller asked, who was munching through a mutton sandwich, crumbs shooting all over his face, covering both his shirt and Kuzo’s face. Disgusting, even though food was scarce, we still had manners back in Tempest, Kuzo thought. He was wearing a fairly normal getup, and didn’t look particularly rich, with a blue t-shirt and black pants, with unkept blond hair. 

“I’ll need a loan of 100 coins.” Kuzo asked. 

“Alright, here’s the terms and conditions, read it carefully… Er… You can read, can’t ya?” the bank teller said, handing Kuzo a piece of paper. These mainland people think we outsiders are worth nothing, huh, these mainlanders have no manners AND no respect. Kuzo quickly flipped through the pages, and signed his name on it. Kuzo took the coins and exited the bank, the bank teller chuckling from behind him. Kuzo didn’t like where this was going, but he would have to deal with it later as he needed this money to survive.

Kuzo arrived at the building to sign up to become a swordfighter. 

“Hello, how can I help you?” The man at the counter asked Must be a war veteran, Kuzo thought, the man had a serious look on his face, scars lining his arm and face.

 “I want to become a swordfighter, how do I sign up?” Kuzo asked. 

“We usually have a voluntary draft protocol, but thanks to the ice creatures on the horizon, we will send you straight to the entry exam to join the reserve army.” the man said, and gestured for Kuzo to follow him.

The “entrance exam” was relatively simple. He just had to show some basic knowledge and skills on swordfighting and techniques on the battlefield, he showed relative ease at things such as parries and jabs, because he was an aspiring sword fighter- aspiring, not good-, he was still able to pass the test relatively easily. 

“Meet up with your team, Reserve Division 9, in that tent. Not the best quality, but over there tomorrow to begin training and preparations.” the man said, as Kuzo exited the room.

Kuzo met back up with Crux at night.

“How did the day go?” Kuzo asked, seeing Crux standing around in the lobby again. “Got a job at the lab, I trust you got added to the reserve army?” Crux asked. 

“Yeah, I'm starting tomorrow." Kuzo said, smiling at Crux and heading to his room. 

The next day, Kuzo didn’t even bother to eat breakfast- he was actually quite excited to go meet his teammates in Reserve Division 9, so he made his way to the place they were going to meet up. When he got there, he saw a group of people messing around, looking unsure what to do. There were people from all walks of life there. However, Kuzo knew these people; they were just like him, unskilled and trying to figure things out in this crazy new world.

“Are we all here?”, One of them said. He was a titan of a man, and looked like a very battle hardened soldier, probably an actually trained one. 

“Yes, sir!” the rest of them said. This must be the leader, Kuzo thought, and followed the leader to a training ground. 

“Some of us have probably known each other before, but this is the first real meeting of RD9, or Reserve Division 9. My name is Leonidas, the leader of this division.” Leonidas said. There were 5 soldiers other than Leonidas and Kuzo.

“Name’s Crow, I have some experience with battle before, but not much- I’ve actually seen those ice creatures before- gruesome- they took my parents, and I want revenge.” Crow said seriously, his jet black hair blowing in the wind. The rest of them introduced themselves, Red, Gem, Calem, and Zack.

“Alright, let’s get started with some training,” Leonidas said, tossing everyone a Training Sword and shield. 

Kuzo found himself standing before Crow, ready to fight. He dashed forward, charging straight at Crow, but he simply blocked with his shield and counter attacked, easily scoring a direct hit on Kuzo. He’s definitely more skilled than me, Kuzo thought, trying to block a flurry of attacks that Crow was now unleashing. Kuzo swiftly evaded and jabbed, nearly piercing through Crow’s defense, but Crow parried and advanced, and with one structured hit, Kuzo’s sword went flying in the air. 

“Crow wins! You’re a natural,” Leonidas congratulated. Leonidas seems much more nice and kind-hearted than the man I saw back at the entry exam, despite his name, Kuzo thought, watching Gem and Calem duel. 

After all the duels concluded, Leonidas spoke up again.

“Every day, meet back here for training at eight thirty sharp. Now let’s plan our next course of action. Follow me.” The group headed back to the room where they first met, and Leonidas set down a map. “After Tempest was attacked, if the creatures were to have kept advancing, they would've been here within a week. But it looks like they’ve stopped there, advanced at the tree line over here, and have been spreading around the continents, eating up smaller villages like Kitam and Norea over here.” Leonidas pointed at the map. “However, they’ll soon have no more area to spread and will converge in Tempest, and will likely move towards the mainland, so we need to be prepared to fight at any moment.” Leonidas said, and put away the map. 

Leonidas spent the next hour or so teaching Kuzo and the rest of them fighting tactics and sightings of ice creatures. “Combat at a close range is not always optimal, as it’s pretty easy for them to corrupt you within a few attacks, so always fight with a shield, and have ranged weapons on you.” Leonidas explained. “We’ll probably be heading out on an expedition with a few other reserve divisions in a week or so,” Leonidas continued. 

“What are expeditions?” Calem asked, looking confused. 

“Expeditions, ah. I knew someone was going to ask. It was an ancient mainland army tradition. Believe me, these kinds of things have happened before, large scale attacks and invasions, whether from mysterious phenomena or other humans. Before full scale war, maybe 40-50 soldiers would leave the mainland and scout out the territory, trying to find out information about the enemy’s tactics, locations, and more. To be honest, basically the meaning of the word itself, very simple. The last of these many large scale expeditions were probably in the titan war around 25 years ago, when I had first joined the army, far before you all were born.” Leonidas explained. 

“Sounds dangerous,” Gem pointed out. 

“You did join the army, after all, that’s the whole point.” Crow scoffed. 

Kuzo walked back to the inn, munching on a piece of bread, thinking. Where’s Rin? Who caused all of this? Can I stop this?. These thoughts bugged him for the rest of the day, the sunrise on the horizon.

Interlude

“Have you found leads on the location of the other elemental stones, Bronx?” a shady looking man wearing black glasses with a mysterious black shirt asked, staring down into a dark cave, with peculiar glowing blue patterns lining its sides. 

“No, but there are leads on a prophecy of sorts that you might find interesting, Master Zenith,” Bronx replied, sweat dripping down from his head, as Zenith descended into the cave, disappearing into darkness.

Epilogue

Rin’s eyes were blurry as she struggled to assess her surroundings. She made out icy mountains, and a snow tundra. Suddenly, what looked like a humongous ice dragon swooped down and picked her up, and everything went black.

Rin woke up in a mysterious cavern. Where am I? Am I dead? What just happened? As she got back to her senses, she noticed a strange pedestal in the middle of the cavern, with what seemed like to be a glowing stone radiating azure light in the middle. She got up and walked towards the stone, and noticed peculiar patterns on it. Well, guess I might as well, she thought, and picked it up. 

This sense of power! She thought, ice radiating throughout her veins. Suddenly, Zenith and Bronx dropped down from the top of the cavern. 

“We’ll be taking that,” Bronx said, drawing his sword. Rin suddenly seemed to be unconsciously summoning some bluish, cold, energy from her surroundings, concentrating between her trembling hands. In a flash a piercing blue light shot forth from her hands, tracing erratic patterns into the granite walls, as she struggled to direct this mysterious beam of glacial energy at her attackers. Bronx easily parried and attacked, easily sending Rin unconscious.

“The first elemental wielder is here. We easily knocked her out, as she isn't accustomed to here your power yet, and we’re taking her to the capital right now. ” Zenith whispered into some sort of advanced microphone device and a deep voice echoed, “Very well.”

To be continued in Book 2