Chapter 3 : Valhalla Calling

While Theo has his little bout with the Devil, let's take a look at this wonderful world shall we? The world as we know it is essentially a combination of the four prime elements : Water, Fire, Wind and Earth, without any one of these, the world would be incomplete.

At first, the elements were subordinates of a Central God, in their Heaven up above, but with time, they got bored. It was then that they descended upon the planet: the Terra Niveus[H1] , the white land. At the time, there were also 2 other driving powers beside the four basic elements : Light and Darkness, Alpha and Omega, Creation and Destruction, the Beginning and the End. But they stayed by the Central Gods side, and acted only upon his wishes. Never thinking of their own: they were tools.

Needing these two powers to craft the land, they, without the consent of The God, stole these two powers, and for a time created and destroyed as they wished. They separated the Terra Niveus into four kingdoms: the Aqualia[H2] , where Water reigned, the Terrania[H3] , where Earth took office, the Aeria[H4] , where Wind laid claim and the Flavia[H5] , where Fire was sovereign. And together, they created creatures of majestic might: an ancestral dragon for each of the four elements. Tiamat for Fire, Basilisk for Earth, Leviathan for Water, and Bahamut for Wind. But throughout the ages, clashes of the elements created other mythical beasts such as Hydras, Chimeras, Krakens, Griffins, Unicorns, Banshees and many, many others. It was a time of magic in a land of wonders.

For a time, Terra Niveus was at peace. But they failed in the end to escape the wrath of the Central God, who punished them for stealing his trustworthy tools. By his mighty hands, he crashed the kingdoms into one another, and in a gesture of fury sealed away the four Elements into four receptacles: the Aquamirror[H6] , the Firebrand Gauntlet[H7] , the Aero Veil[H8] , and the Terra Shield[H9] , each cursed with a terrible fate. However, in that same fit of rage, his mind corrupted by anger, a small entity sprouted forth from Creation in his right hand and Destruction from his left. This entity was the Devil. Harnessing the powers of both the Alpha and the Omega, he stole the four receptacles and plummeted toward the Terra Niveus, unnoticed by the God. But in his descent, the four kingdoms still in chaos rejected him, who had the smell of God and he was banished to the Lost Land of Aevum. Where our story takes place.

To escape the eye of God, the Devil escaped underground while leaving the receptacles in the hands of the creatures of the Lost Land, and granting to only two of them the powers of Destruction and Creation, in each generation they would become the monarchs of Aevum (or in this case Atilian and Vivian).

The creatures living in the Lost Land of Aevum [H10] : humans were physically and mentally weaker than any other creature of the Terra Niveus. They were failed experiments of the four elements. As a result, God took pity on them and granted them minor powers of control over the elements. And so started the kingdom of Aevum : the kingdom of time. Many centuries later and we fall to this very date: the true beginning of the Legend of the Aquamirror.

Ugh. If last time was a brick wall, that time it was a mountain. Why couldn't I seem to wake up normally? First Reese, then the Devil, and now what? Ever so slowly my eyelids parted. And I was greeted by the sleeping face of Reese. What was Reese doing here? Why was she sleeping by my-? Wait this wasn't my bed. Where was I?

"Have a pleasant night's sleep?" Oh God not him! I thought as I cautiously turned around now. "Or seven nights I should say." Ok so it wasn't him.

"Seven nights? That's how long I've been asleep?" Wow that sure is a long time. "So what happened? And how long has-?" I said pointing at Reese's still body.

"Ah. Yes. We still don't quite know what has happened to you but you're lucky your-?" He says while nodding at Reese "Girlfriend? Brought you here, it could have been dangerous or else… Are you okay?"

"Wha-? Uh. Um. Yeah uh-huh no problem, of course I'm okay, why would I not be okay?"

"You sure, you're a little red in the face. Feeling hot?" I really didn't like that smile on his face.

"No. I'm okay just need a little time to recover is all."

"Oh okay then… I'll be going now." I'm sure he went out the door chuckling, or at least with a great big goofy grin on his face, and why does everyone seem to think that Reese and I-? Oh, right because she was sleeping on my lap…

"Thank you" I whispered while brushing the hair out of Reese's face. "You look so peaceful and beautiful when you sleep. Why do you have to get angry so often?" Using the back of my hand, I gently caressed her cheek and in a whisper almost too soft to be heard, said "I'm sorry."

At that precise moment her eyes fluttered as she awoke and realizing that I was looking -well staring really- at her, cracked a great big smile. Before breaking down into tears and hugging me. Stunned and confused, I simply rubbed her back while whispering soothing words.

After a few moments she finally calmed down. But still she refused to look into my eyes. Face buried into my chest she mumbled.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to punch you so hard. I mean you were unconscious for a whole week, I never punched you so hard before and I just… sorry." She stammered.

"Hey. It's fine I'm not dead or anything and I know you didn't mean to hurt me. Besides you punched the door and it was only a coincidence that it happened to fly into my face."

"But if I hadn't punched the door…" I gently placed a finger on her lips to shush her.

"It's okay really. Besides remember all those other times we ended up in here after you punched me?" I begin counting on my fingers "That time by the lake, that time on the roof, those two times in the field, those two times in the city, that one time by the fruit stand, those three times by the apple tree… hey help me out here! I'm running out of fingers!"

She put her hands to her ears. "Okay okay already! I get it, I'm a violent girl who put you in the hospital many times…" taking them off she continued softly "I already apologized okay?"

"Yup we're good! Sorry it was just so much fun teasing you, and besides it's been ages since this has happened. And uh… do you mind getting off? I kind of feel like sitting up. After all, it's been a week since I've been lying down."

"Get- oh yeah off course!" Huh, seems like she didn't know the -very comfy- position she was in…

Watching as she dusted herself of and straightened the wrinkles of her clothes, I waited patiently until she was done before asking "So… where are Cass and Levi?"

"They dropped by earlier today. I think they went back to school. If you want I could go get them?"

"No that's fine, just make sure that they know I'm okay now." Falling silent again, we just stay there, not really knowing what to say.

"Hey Reese? There's something I need to tell you. It's about the week I was unconscious. While I was knocked out there was-"

Right then, I heard a booming sound, then a roar, and soon after, the whole hospital began shaking, looking out the open door into the hallway, cocking an eyebrow at my closest friend I asked "What was that?"

I saw Reese furrow her brows together and say guardedly "That… was the roar of the Valkyrie… Valhalla's calling."

(Oooh, I'm bad! Leaving you guys/gals on a cliff-hanger. But that's okay since next time we're heading off to Valhalla Academy! And that's where the drama will hit head-on and where the next big chunk of the story will be. And can you guys/gals tell me if you prefer the diary style present narration or the story-telling style past narration because I'm thinking about changing it since past tense is easier for me to write)

Well don't dwell too much on my story, it's all in good fun. Have a nice rest of the day.

May Lady Luck blow her kiss your way, the4thera

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[H1]Central element, need to have a firm grasp of its geography

[H2]Kingdom of the sea and Infinite Illusions

[H3]Kingdom of the earth and Desolate Plains

[H4]Kingdom of the sky and Winds of Change

[H5]Kingdom of the flames and Powers of Creation

[H6]Mysterious abilities reflect the marquee and the attributes of water

[H7]Powers of great destruction and creation, its abilities change with the emotions of the user

[H8]Cloak and dagger, intellectual prowess unlocks its hidden secrets

[H9]Protection from harm and steady/wise decisions

[H10]A kingdom of magical proportions, descriptions yet to be conceived