CHAPTER 2

[Zabutur]

(the end of page 8 and some of page 9)

CHAPTER 2: SECRET, BUT PLANNED BANISHMENT

Tera grew until she was 11. By then she had nearly enough physical strength as Victory and Artemis, the strongest of the titans. She was almost 3 feet tall, as Koldians and Clazmars at their full height only got to about 3’ 3”-3’8”. She had fair hair that nearly reached the ground, and she was very awkwardly built according to earthly standards. She had large hands and feet, muscular arms and legs, and a stunning face with a sharp nose, and vivid eyes and eyebrows. However, just like her 7-year-old appearance, these proportions were proper according to the Clazmars, the Marics and the Koldians, so Tera did not feel abnormal. Today Tera would be going to the underground abandoned Maric city of Cronia, where Artemis said they would find someone that they felt Tera should know. (After all, nearly everyone knew this person) However, when Tera saw Artemis next, she looked different. Her eyes were glowing and the symbol on her hand shone. “In case you were wondering,” she said, “which I know you are: this happens every time I use my powers. It is the same way with my brother and sisters too. Anyway, we’ll have to dig our way to it in order to reach it. Nacreloo may have taken our powers of creation away, but our elemental powers remained. Each of us can handle our particular elements very well. In fact, each of the elements responds to us—they’ll do our bidding before they do. Now wait right here, young Tera. I’ll be right back.” With that, she plunged underground an out of sight. While she was gone, Echo appeared. Tera meant to follow, but Echo stopped her.
“Wait there for Artemis.” She said, “in the meantime I need to make sure Luna’s not up to no good.” Echo left, and a few minutes later, Artemis returned, her eyes no longer glowing. “Come with me Tera.” She said, “I found the city.”
Tera and Artemis went deep underground into the Maric city called Cronia. It had been built back in the age when Clazmars and Marics intermingled and the Maric Empire stretched all the way to beneath Krippa. However, not far after the dawning of the 9th age, (this being the 4419th year of the 9th age) it was razed and destroyed by Kadzdaks, 1-2 feet tall demon-like creatures that were made by Nacreloo and the Zabuturs. Ruins of buildings and faint lights were everywhere.
“Stay low,” Artemis warned; as Tera ducked, she saw a pair of vivid green eyes glaring at her. Without warning, Tera jumped out at the creature, pinning it down. Artemis came forward and looked down at Tera. The creature Tera had pinned down was a Clazmar: a Kemet: a woman: Kada Lahka.
“Get off me!” she shouted, tossing Tera off her,
“What were you doing in here?” Tera asked,
“I was here killing off Kadzdaks and trying to stay alive until the prophecy is fulfilled;” Kada replied, “remember this, kid. You’ll need it: When the time comes, just act. You’ll know the better decision when you’re faced with a choice. I… Oh my holy sweet mother of Melundell, Get behind me, kid; you too, Artemis,” They got behind Kada as she shook her arms. Suddenly flames burst up onto them. Kada was a fire sensei—someone who was able to control fire, just like the titans could. She suddenly punched the air and huge fireballs shot from her hands and hit some of the Kadzdaks.
“Run while you can!” Kada shouted. Artemis grabbed Tera and shot off through the tunnel. Korzinia may have been far away from the temple of the titans, but Artemis made it seem like it was a sister city to them. When they got to the temple, the moon was out; night had fallen.

~Z~

[Zabutur]

(page 10 and the rest of 9)

“That was Kada, lady of the prophecies,” Said Artemis calmly; “Don’t worry; she won’t die until at least the prophecies are fulfilled. She…” Nevertheless, she was cut off by a shout that sounded very much like Eryel’s shout.
“Luna, it’s funny once, maybe twice, but after 12 or 15 times it gets old!”
“Hey!” came the sound of Luna’s voice in return, “I’ve only done it 9 times!”
“Aye, this month;” Replied Eryel,
“So? Are you saying that that is too much? After all, I still think it’s funny.”
“You aren’t counting the time you froze the place while Echo and Victory were gone,” protested Aryka, “Kiya was furious.”
“So that’s why she kept running into walls for 3 days straight;” Luna chuckled, “I was beginning to wonder…”
“So you have done it 10 times this month!” shouted Eryel indignantly,
“Maybe I was counting that time.” Luna answered guiltily.
Tera laughed as she and Artemis raced inside. “How could these powerful beings be so lighthearted sometimes?” She thought to herself
Inside, Tera instantly saw what the source of the chaos was: Luna had iced the floor and Eryel had slipped and fallen on it. Luna was now standing in a corner with her eyes and the symbol on her hand glowing brightly.
“Luna,” said Ginny mischievously, entering into the fray. Her eyes and the symbol on her hand were starting to glow. “This is going to cost you dearly!”
“Stand back Tera,” Artemis whispered. “Everything great and terrible is about to break loose.” She was right. It seemed that all the titans, except Lyacs and Scayl were there; ready to fight against Luna. Luna however, was not at all intimidated.
“Bring it on,” she said, doing a summoning gesture with her hand,
“It’ll be my pleasure,” Eryel answered, and then the battle began. It raged for quite a while before any of the titans began going out. Ginny shot fireballs at Luna like crazy, and Luna dodged them, making them melt some of the ice. Eryel hit Luna with her water, which Luna froze a little too late. She was stuck in ice.
“There is some irony here,” Shouted Luna, breaking free. She created an ice platform, where she shot an ice ball at Ginny. Ginny melted it in mid-air, making water pour down on her. Luna hastily froze her, thus removing her from the fight.
“I told you that you wouldn’t beat me!” shouted Luna, laughing and jeering. Victory in retaliation flung a huge rock at Luna, who avoided it by inches. Eryel approached Luna from the water Ginny had made from the ice. She would have succeeded and defeated Luna, but Echo, who Luna was following, appeared in front of Eryel and Luna froze them both.
“None can defeat me!” Luna boasted, laughing.
“We’ll see about that.” Muttered Artemis grimly, shaking the ground and shattering much of Luna’s ice, including her platform. Luna fell and hastily refroze the floor. Aryka, who was on solid ground, was frozen with it. There were only three titans left against Luna, as Lyacs and Scayl did not participate. Kiya, one who remained, got behind Victory and absorbed electric energy. Victory was frozen by Luna, and Kiya quickly dodged and passed right in front of Artemis, who got a face full of Luna’s ice and froze.
“Kiya,” said Luna, “prepare to lose again,”

~Z~

[Zabutur]

(page 11)

“Think twice,” Kiya retorted naughtily, and she released her energy on Luna. It hit, and Luna was nearly shocked right through the wall. When the smoke and dust cleared, Luna was nearly all black and her hair was all frizzy. “Game over!” Kiya declared, laughing coolly,
“I reckon it is,” Said a voice from upstairs—it was Scayl.
“Don’t look at me,” Said Kiya in a guilty tone of voice;
“Well,” answered Scayl, “in case you didn’t notice, the moon is out. Night has fallen, and young Tera is asleep.”
“That kid can fall asleep through chaos like that,” Kiya exclaimed, “wow she’s good,”
After saying this to Kiya, Scayl revived the others and turned to Artemis. “’It was a wise decision to take Tera to Kada.” She whispered, “But now I have one question for you: Do you know where the blood came from? Aye, the blood that is in your chamber: Where did it come from?” Artemis held her hands behind her back and tapped the ground with her toes.
“I’m not sure,” Artemis answered, and she left as quickly as possible without causing suspicion. Scayl returned to her chamber, leaving Tera alone in the great room, where the light died. It was in the darkness that Tera stirred. In the moonlight, Tera’s vivid eyes glowed yellow. The blast of electricity that had hit Luna had woken her up, and since then she had only been pretending to be asleep. The fight had after all, lasted at least one or two hours. She got up and crept into Artemis’ chamber. Inside, in the pitch darkness, she stopped. She heard a sound of tensing pain coming from Artemis’ bed. It was after she heard this that she knew what Artemis was doing—she used to hear this in Koldia a lot. As she crept out and back into the main room where she had been sleeping without a sound, she couldn’t help but wonder: how did she let that happen?” She lay down, and was asleep again in a heartbeat.
The next day, Tera’s assumptions were proved when she looked at Artemis. She saw her with several scratches and cuts that had not fully healed, but Tera kept quiet about Artemis’ secret: something was driving her and making her cut herself—her arms, her legs, her neck, and (Tera assumed) her chest. However, she denied everything when Tera told her that she knew what Artemis was doing. The next day, Tera cornered her.
“I know what you are doing.” Tera said with the tone of one about to rat another out.
“Of course you do,” Artemis answered matter-of-factly. “I’m sleeping.”
“That’s not all,” Tera retaliated, “You do something else with a knife.”
“What makes you say that?” hissed Artemis defensively;
“It’s just a thought.” Tera responded coolly, “It’s not like I’m accusing you or anything. But if it’s not true, then why are you getting so defensive?”
“I’m not,” Artemis stammered, “I’m…”
“I can see you lying,” Tera chuckled, watching her grow more flustered,
Artemis replied, but she was cut off again, by what sounded like Kiya,
“Luna! I am going to kill you!” she shouted, enraged. “You froze the floor again!”

~Z~

[Zabutur]

(page 12)
Artemis, using this as an excuse to get away from Tera, did so and ran off.
Tera, deciding to strike in the nighttime hours, let it go for the time and raced inside to see the very same scene once again: Luna had frozen the floor, but this time Kiya had slipped on it. However, Kiya, full of rage, had sent out a huge lightning bolt at Luna, who got a mouthful of it, and stopped moving.
“That should put you into your place!” she shouted, feeling satisfied with herself. As the ice melted, Tera could not help but remember the words that Aryka and Luna had said before.
“Kiya was furious;” “Maybe that’s why she kept running into walls for 3 days straight.”
Over the next 3 days, Tera watched Kiya, but she seemed to find an explanation for every time that she ran into a wall. However, she was still going to get at Artemis for the last time. So that night, Tera snuck into Artemis’ chamber again and waited for Artemis’ return.
When she returned, Tera heard her reaching for her knife. Right before she grabbed it, she heard a strange voice coming from behind her.
“There is a shortage of perfectly good bodies in this world;” It said, “It would be a shame if you mutilated yours.” Naturally, this voice belonged to Tera.
“Why should I care?” Artemis hissed. “This body is not mine.”
“Really now,” Tera exclaimed, yet was still calm, “then whose is it?”
“It is the property of the Great Originators, whom Nacreloo, Zabutur and I now serve.”
“And who might “The Great Originators” be?” Tera asked,
“I thought you of all people should know,” Artemis cackled, “you’ve been really close to them for a while. However, that’s not the point. This body is no longer Artemis’.”
“It is now,” Tera replied, grinning maliciously. She jumped on top of Artemis and seized her right hand. She meant to stick her hand on the symbol, but her fingers went right through it.
“Try and fail, you disgrace to Koldia!” Artemis cackled;
This had done it. The one thing Tera hated at this point in time was being mocked. She seized Artemis’ hands and Artemis could not break free of Tera’s grip. This surprised Artemis, as even the gods were not as physically strong as she was, yet here she was getting out-strengthened by an 11-year old Koldian girl. However, Tera, beginning to cut off Artemis’ circulation, began swinging her around. She swung her faster and faster until she let her fly, and she smashed into a wall. Artemis broke through, landing upside-down in Lyacs’ chamber. Lyacs, who was a heavy sleeper, did not even stir. Scayl however, came rushing in. “what is the meaning of this?” She asked. Artemis, lying upside-down in a pile of stone, did not respond. Tera crawled in through the hole in the wall and explained the whole story, including Artemis’ secret. To her surprise, Scayl looked concerned, not angry.
“I see,” Scayl muttered to Tera over Lyacs’ snoring, “Then it is as I feared: Nacreloo is gaining hold of us. Judging by the buildup of power from our enemies, in about 3 years, we will have to fight. As I thought, Nacreloo had double-crossed us. She plans to destroy your city and attempt to slay off those who protect this world: us the titans.”

~Z~

[Zabutur]

(page 13 and a little of 14)

“So Terranea, my city, was sacrificed for you all?” asked Tera, hinting anger—not at her city being destroyed, nay, she never really cared about any Koldian, but at the selfishness of this act judging from what she knew.
“Aye,” Scayl replied, “But once we found out Nacreloo had targeted it for destruction, we knew there was no turning back. We didn’t do it for us, we did it for you. We had to get you out of there. It was primarily the deeds of Ginny, Luna, and Victory.”
“But where do Luna and Victory come in?” asked Tera, “I mean, was winter a coincidence?”
“Aye and no,” Scayl replied, “Ginny may have been the only one you saw, but these things take a lot of planning, and maybe a little brawl here and there…”
**********************************
“So, where are we going?” asked Victory,
“If you don’t know by now,” replied Ginny, glaring hard at Victory, “then you shouldn’t have come! We are here to get a certain Tera Zakatau out of Terranea. There is a magic unbelievable in her. I have never seen it like this before. It’s as if she is one of us.”
“What do you mean?” Victory questioned,
“I can sense some sort of connection between this girl and one of the titans,” Ginny replied, “now will you two knock off the questions?”
“gee,” Victory exclaimed, temper, temper… you’re not yourself today, Ginny;”
“How do you know that?” asked Luna smugly,
“Shut up,” Victory snapped, “so Ginny, what makes you think this about lady Zakatau?”
“I’m not sure,” Ginny responded, “But it was a prophecy long ago. Now stop asking questions, we need to get her out. I’m pretty sure that she’s the Princess of Koldia.”
“Hold,” Luna exclaimed, “that’s a Tenscimoric term for the world’s prefect person,”
“Aye,” Ginny snapped, “that must mean… it was made by a Tenscimor?”
“’course,” Luna replied, “just wondering why you were using it…”
“Well,” Ginny snapped, “now you know.”
“Aye,” Victory replied, “we knew that; I just wanted you to say something. It’s too quiet here.”
“Don’t worry, Vicky; we’ll get some action.” Luna replied; “winter is about to dawn.”
“You know she’s going to hurt you for that, Luna.” Ginny warned, “You know that Victory hates when people call her ‘Vicky’.”
“Ha,” Luna replied, “It’ll be worth it.”
“Moving on however, from Vicky’s name,” said Ginny, “Here’s the plan: Vicky, you watch Tera until she leaves the city. (Luna laughed.) Loony, you bring forth winter, and be sure to knock Tera out. (Luna stopped laughing.) I will retrieve the girl and take her to the temple. Just remember: the fate of Mencu rests with us, so don’t delay me; any questions?” Victory and Luna shook their heads. “Let’s go then.” Ginny ordered.
“Hold on,” protested Victory, “I need to beat up Luna.” Without warning, Victory and Luna were locked in combat. Even though it lasted about 10 seconds, Ginny complained, and the three of them got into another 10-second scuffle. Therefore, Luna and Victory decided to start acting on instinct, and their timing was perfect with everything.
**********************************

~Z~

[Zabutur]

(page 14 to the end of the chapter)

“Does this seem familiar?” Scayl asked; Tera nodded. “And seeing as we have naught but three years to ready you for what lies ahead of you, do you think you have what it takes?”
“Aye,” Tera replied; “Let it come,” Suddenly Artemis stirred.
“Tera,” she whispered weakly, “I’m sorry.”
“No,” Tera answered, “’it was Nacreloo’s deed. Scayl claims that Nacreloo is going to control us all—or you all. I don’t see what she would want with me.”
“Not necessarily control,” Scayl objected, “She’ll try to take control of us so she can rule the world of Mencu. Therefore, we must fight back. We must resist her and Zabutur. Tera, when you are older we shall meet again.
Tera was speechless. A few minutes later, the rest of the titans entered. (Artemis was still laying upside-down on the floor.) Kiya looked at Lyacs.
“Do you think we should rouse him?” she asked,
“No,” Scayl replied, “Let the man sleep.” She turned to Tera. “While we wait for the inevitable, we shall prepare you.”
“But if you’re gone,” protested Tera, “Where will I go?”
“There is always our home.” Scayl replied, “However, owing to the enchantments that will force us out, you should probably avoid this place for a while. Other than that, go to the south to the land called Krawvill. If you want a place buzzing with activity, then head towards the famous Clazmaric bar called The Zabutur Haven. You will have to live amongst the Clazmars. Don’t worry, they are a friendly people, and will use any excuse to welcome a friendly foreigner.”
“Aye,” Tera replied; she now knew what her future was going to be like for the next 3 years, but after that, it was anyone’s guess.

~Z~

[Zabutur]

so that's the 2nd chapter. not as long as the first one, but oh well.

enjoy.
~Z~

[Zabutur]

and that concludes chapter 2 for now.

questions, comments, etc. can be placed here or in a new thread.

~Z~