Something seemed off about the Ajenian king’s appearance. At first, Ishida and Rhina could not identify what it was.
The king was in a luxurious robe…did he have a crown? Yes, he did. Was he holding a scepter? Almost— he was holding a staff. What was the problem, then?
Ishida was the first to figure it out. When he did, he let out a cry of terror.
“What is it, Ishida?” Rhina asked.
“The king!” Ishida shrieked. “The king’s an old man!”
When Rhina saw the king’s long white beard, wrinkly face, and messy white hair, she, too, let out a terrified cry.
“What?” Kin
There once was a saying in the land of Medietus: “What is neither possible nor impossible is neither achievable nor unachievable. All of it simply depends on the individual’s point of view.”That night, Ishida had a dream. It was nothing like any dream he had ever had.Ishida found himself standing on the balcony of a seaside house at dawn. He was staring out at the dark ocean, watching as wave after wave lapped on the shore.Seagulls flew by in the unlighted sky above him. A breeze gently shook the leaves of nearby palm trees. A bright yellow sphere was rising from the mountains, illuminating dark clouds and giving light to everything.Rays of light emerged from the calm waters, lighting up the area an
THE MEDIETAN EMPIRE (also known as Medietus):SIZE: Largest country in the worldPOPULATION: Most populated countryLOCATION: Southernmost part of the known world on the continent of Medietus. The Gulf of Cessabit and the Strait of Calmis separate the Medietan Empire from the continent of PiletusRULER: Emperor Derisus IIICAPITAL CITY: MedietapolisARMY: Largest land armyNAVY: 2nd largest navyAIR FORCE: 3rd largest air force in the worldGOVERNMENT: MonarchyECONOMY: The Medietans had an abundance of all resources, esp
“Quick! A storm is brewing over there in the distance!” a man with a dark brown mustache shouted to his companion, Marcus, who wore a crimson cloak and was looking up at the dark sky above. “Hurry up, it’s getting closer!” the man with the dark brown mustache yelled, pushing his companion away to the side and grabbing hold of the machine. He dragged his fingers across the multitude of buttons, attempting to revive the island’s storm shield. Thunder cracked and lightning lit up the dark sky. The seawater came closer than ever. The man with the crimson cloak stared at the wall of water just a few hundred meters away, gathering speed. He reached into his cloak and drew his saber. The man with the brown musta
There once was a saying in the land of Medietus: “What is neither possible nor impossible is neither achievable nor unachievable. All of it simply depends on the individual’s point of view.” It was a fine morning on the industrial mountain of Lagoda. Grimy factories and their smokestacks— smeared charcoal-black by the fumes rising from them— took up almost all the land on the crowded mountain. Below the factories were residential areas. One side of the mountain was uninhabited. There, a handful of rusty, rundown factories stood in solitude. At the foot of Mount Lagoda was a small river that woun
Instead of finding an old factory with all sorts of debris on the ground, Ishida found that the building was completely new on the inside, with dozens of machines constantly working.The machines were producing guns, ammunition, and explosives at full capacity. Bright fluorescent lamps hung down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire building.The floor was littered with a multitude of unlabeled crates, many of which were open. These contained automatic guns, shotguns, pistols, sniper scopes, bullet cartridges, hand grenades, land mines, and anti-tank rifles.The sight of these weapons of munitions completely terrified Ishida.“Why are all these weapons being made?” he said, slowly backing away. &ldq
Once Ishida reached the gate and the barbed wire fence, he stopped to wipe the sweat on his forehead. He sighed in relief— no one had tried to chase him.Ishida was still breathing heavily from the terrible fright the incident had given him when suddenly, he heard a distressful call for help from somewhere in the distance.The voice did not sound like that of anyone on Mount Lagoda. It was a rather pleasant voice— a voice that resembled the sound of a small stream of fresh mineral water slowly trickling down a hill.“Help!! Somebody, please help me! I’m drowning!” the voice called ov
Soon, an inky black object emerged from the water. It was Ishida’s head.“That was fun!” He laughed as he waded through the shallow water.Rhina smiled in relief. She stepped back onto the sand and tapped her earrings once again. This time, when her foot touched the water, it did not float.“How is it that you were drowning just earlier, even though you had these magical earrings?” Ishida asked.“I wanted to know what it feels like to swim in the water. To tell you the truth, I have never done it before. That’s because my father hasn’t let me go outside in a very long time,” Rhina answered. “I didn’t think that water, the very substance that gives life, could al
It was a cold evening with heavy snowfall and long dark hours. After having dinner, Ishida offered Rhina his bed and slept on the couch.But a few hours later, he was still awake. As it turned out, he had not entirely forgotten the discovery he made at the ammunition factory that afternoon.I wonder what kind of people are operating the place and why they want to produce weapons, he thought.Perhaps another war is coming...?Ishida shook his head. No, it can’t be! The last war we had was over a thousand years ago! Still, what about those mosaic paintings?What do they represent? That mountain lo
There once was a saying in the land of Medietus: “What is neither possible nor impossible is neither achievable nor unachievable. All of it simply depends on the individual’s point of view.”That night, Ishida had a dream. It was nothing like any dream he had ever had.Ishida found himself standing on the balcony of a seaside house at dawn. He was staring out at the dark ocean, watching as wave after wave lapped on the shore.Seagulls flew by in the unlighted sky above him. A breeze gently shook the leaves of nearby palm trees. A bright yellow sphere was rising from the mountains, illuminating dark clouds and giving light to everything.Rays of light emerged from the calm waters, lighting up the area an
Something seemed off about the Ajenian king’s appearance. At first, Ishida and Rhina could not identify what it was.The king was in a luxurious robe…did he have a crown? Yes, he did. Was he holding a scepter? Almost— he was holding a staff. What was the problem, then?Ishida was the first to figure it out. When he did, he let out a cry of terror.“What is it, Ishida?” Rhina asked.“The king!” Ishida shrieked. “The king’s an old man!”When Rhina saw the king’s long white beard, wrinkly face, and messy white hair, she, too, let out a terrified cry.“What?” Kin
As the wooden door was slowly opened, a flash of golden light flooded out of the small opening in the door and engulfed the entire mountaintop.Finally, when the door had fully opened, Ishida and Rhina had the opportunity to gaze upon the grandeur and opulence of the reception hall.“Welcome to the Great King’s palace! Welcome to the Great King’s palace!” a multitude of voices chanted. These were the voices of King Rexius’ servants, who were all half-fish and half-beaver.The reception hall was brightly lit by crystal-like chandeliers that hung from the high ceiling and were covered by thick, red carpets with golden edges that extended up the stairs and onto the second and third floors as well.
“Bring it on!” Ishida and Rhina said in unison.The Guardian nodded. “As you wish— let’s get started. The question may sound simple, but it is far more complicated than you can imagine. The question is: what is the purpose of your search for Ajens?’ I repeat: this question is far more complicated than you think.”Ishida turned to Rhina. “I have the answer. You know it too, don’t you? Do you want to say it?”Rhina shook her head. “I know what the answer you’re thinking of is, but I think we should think very carefully before answering.”Ishida ignored Rhina’s advice and said to the giant, “The purpose of our journey was for us to have a talk wit
Lieutenant Monte’s agent was surprised to find his boss in Rexia Castellum shortly before sundown. It was at the least favorable moment that the lieutenant spotted his agent, clad in an all-black suit and relaxing in a cafe.The lieutenant was unsurprisingly furious. He ordered Sarem and Alamein to wait outside and stormed into the cafe. He trashed the place, turning tables over and smashing several chairs to oblivion.The owner of the cafe and the Del Cealans who had nothing to do with the matter took flight and rushed out the door in a stampede. With no one else around, Lieutenant Monte was free to let all of his rage explode onto his indolent agent.“Agent Lazy-Head!” Lieutenant Monte yelled in rage. “I did
Ishida and Rhina were journeying down the steadily declining slope of Mount Siwalai, walking hand in hand. They had journeyed past the meditating sage of Mount Siwalai, making as little sound as possible as they went. The sun was now about halfway between the uppermost part of the sky and the horizon. Below them was a valley in which a vast lake stood in between the feet of Mount Siwalai and Mount Nawarat. The lake’s water was clear blue, enriched by mineral deposits that came flowing down the slopes of the Holy Mountains every spring in the form of melted snow: water. The two travelers said nothing to each other. They simply smiled and continued down the grassy slope of the mountain. “Lake Azure,” as Ishida called it, was soon within an arm’s reach
It mustn’t be forgotten that far beneath the clouds, during the climax of the journey of the two young explorers, one of the largest wars the world had ever seen was raging on the continent of Piletus.When Rhina was trapped underground by the avalanche, an emergency assembly was held in Piletus City, with all the Piletan generals and admirals summoned to the palace of Emperor Khartoum the Seventeenth.There, the leaders of the Piletan military forces began arguing over whose strategy should be put into effect and about whether the Piletan forces should be saved to defend the capital or used to launch a counter-attack on the rapidly-advancing Medietans.General Iskenderson, who was the highest-ranking general in the Imperial Piletan Army, sat at the emperor&rs
Ishida had not regained his consciousness, but he was still breathing and his pulse was not fainting.Rhina went around searching for the “snow raft,” only to find that it had been smashed to pieces by a huge boulder that was brought down the mountain with the avalanche.She then tried to find a log to use as a new “snow raft,” but all of the logs on the mountainside were either splintered, cracked, or much too large to pull.Rhina had been trapped underground for about three hours, and she was now running behind schedule. It would only be a matter of time before the sinks under the horizon and the darkness settles in.Rhina lifted Ishida onto her back, and, with a miraculously renewed and empower
The opening of the cave was less than ten meters away. The avalanche, meanwhile, continued to increase its already inconceivable speed and was just a few hundred meters away from the two travelers.Five meters to go! Rhina continued pushing forward. She was not about to give in to Mother Nature. A few seconds later, her vision was obscured by the huge clouds of snow that rushed ahead of the avalanche.Even though she could not see beyond her own nose, she remained calm. Three meters!Soon, Rhina could feel the opening of the cave with her own hands. She lifted Ishida from the “snow raft” and promptly threw him into the cave. She was about to rush in as well wh