Two Worlds: Clash of the Guardians (Completed)

0 - A Backstreet Boy - Part I

Vadiraj

In the year of 8835, Reminis Calendar (RC)

A turf of cold wind blew in through the mouth of the cave, leaving numbness in its wake. 

Shivering, Vadiraj stood at the entrance. His amber eyes swept through the grassland below him, waiting for someone. As if challenging his patience, the merciless wind howled and attacked him again. He sneezed and his shoulder blade hit against the door he had just built. Tendrils thrived on the wood surface, creating a contrast to his bony figure. Don't let this nasty weather beat you! Vadiraj kept encouraging himself as he stretched his limbs, trying to ease his sore muscles. 

He had slept through so many freezing nights on that thin straw mat, yet he still couldn't get used to the agony. Young as he was, the misfortunes he had endured were not to be looking down on. Shivering again, he pulled his threadbare cloak closer to his body.

But the thin wool which he had carefully stitched into his cloak couldn't comfort him. He needed to seek supply. He couldn't constantly use magic to keep himself warm, neither his twin sister. Magic casting consumed their energy faster than any physical activities would, causing them to feel hungrier. He bit his lip. He was fifteen years old now but he looked scrawny. He related his fate to them. Gripping his fists and shaking his head, Vadiraj shook off the images of his parents.

"Achooo!" The early spring air assailed him again, challenging his optimism. The clacking sound as his teeth ground against each other reverberated around the cave. Raising his gnawy fingers to his nose, he pinched it to prevent the mucus from flowing out.

"Vaj, are you already awake?"

A thinner figure in a torn shawl and a soiled dress climbed into the cave, holding a basket of wild mushrooms and yellow flowers. "I could only find these. You know, the snow hasn't fully melted yet. I've washed them. Here." She handed over the biggest mushroom to her brother.

Vadiraj chewed it, wearing a contented look on his face. His stomach still squirmed with hunger but he wouldn't show it. It would disappoint his sister. After forcing the rubbery substance down his throat, he asked, "Are you not going to eat?"

"I plan to fry the rest of them. It will be ready once you get back from the town." 

She walked to the makeshift stove set at the left wing of the cave. After putting the mushrooms on top of a frying pan which Vadiraj had filtered through the garbage dumps years ago, she went to arrange the trumpet-shaped flowers into a cylindrical bottle.

Vadiraj pointed to the flowers in the vase. "They are beautiful."

Joy glinted across the girl's amber pupils as she turned to look at him. "They are called daffodils. I saw some witches plucking them just now. From what I heard, these flowers symbolizes new beginning and good fortune. Their fragrance is a great remedy for a tensed mood."

Vadiraj closed his eyes as he inhaled the air. When he opened them again, all of his tension was gone. "Hmm, indeed." A three-inch long black serpent slithered from his neck to his palm. From the look of its expression, Vadiraj knew that it felt revitalized too.

Smiling, Vadiraj tickled the serpent and it rolled over playfully. 

Every mage in Tangle Town was born with a serpent mark, though in different shades of colours. Vadiraj wished he could know more about the concept of these birth marks, but he didn't live long enough with his parents to find out.

"You should get dressed." His sister took out a pile of clothes from the first deck of a wooden rack which Vadiraj had crafted. All of their clothes were also filtered through recycle bins from the town. "I've washed them and scented them with juniper leaves." 

As Vadiraj changed over the clothes, his sister went to tidy their beds. The cave, at least, was spacious. They had placed their beds at the right wing of the cave, and piled up a wall of logs as a partition to create some privacy for their chamber. At the cave's central section, two racks flanked the sides of a full-length mirror. Each of the racks had six decks, but only the top halves were filled with clothes. The rack that belonged to Vadiraj's sister looked lively, with heart-shaped stickers pasting along the rims. Vadiraj's rack was plain but the goods decked up on the bottom shelf appeared to be more practical. There were nails, hammers, chainsaws, et cetera. 

Once Vadiraj had rounded a grey scarf over his neck, he straightened his cloak. "How do I look?" 

His sister dipped a comb in a pot of water before combing his black hair. "You look bewitching."

Vadiraj winked at her. They had spent at least half an hour pressing the fabric with their palms until not a single crumple was seen. Vadiraj needed to make a good impression so that the owner of the crockery shop would purchase his first creation. The owner was his parents' best pal and Vadiraj was sure that he would be able to make a great deal. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, Vadiraj tidied the collar of his cloak. Then, he walked to his rack. 

From the second shelf, he took out a palm-sized teapot. 

"I'm sure they will like it." His sister patted his back amidst admiring the teapot.

A glint of gold rode across the polished porcelain's surface with leafy patterns. This enchanted teapot could keep the liquid in it warm forever without the need of fire, and Vadiraj was proud of it. After storing his wand into his cloak, he kissed his sister on the cheek and dived off the cave.

It was a fine morning he woke up to. The dew on the leaves winked at him; the wind blew behind him, spurring him forward. The sycamores grew high to the sky, like sentinels flanking his route. The birds chanted a merry chorale which sounded like "Good luck, Vaj! Good luck, Vaj!" Even the sun had come out from behind the clouds and peeked at him, curious of his progression. Surely, nothing could go wrong, despite the conservative mindset of the town people.

Not long after, his mood plummeted at the sudden thought of what the town people would say to him. No, they won't dare cross the border line, because they believe the prophecy. Vadiraj continued to trudge past brambles and bushes until he reached the edge of Tangle Wood.

Two guard houses were built at both sides of a wooden arch, with two sorcerers standing in each of it. The sorcerers, clad in thick chain-mails atop sangria red robes, cast him a despicable glare. Ignoring them, Vadiraj pretended to study the wood plank hanging down from the arch. Scribbled on the surface in a gold fancy script were the words Tangle Town. Underneath the wood plank, a curtain of rainbow-hued mirage danced in the air.

Vadiraj took a deep breath before walking through The Mirage of Agatium. 

This mirage set as a border between Tangle Town and Tangle Wood. If one had the guts to trudge past the thousand-hectare Tangle Wood, he would reach the Demon Realm of Kalkaris. As Tangle Town was located at the western-most part of the Realm of Reminis, it had also become the most fragile land to be attacked by the Demons. However, the Demons couldn't attack them, unless someone from Tangle Town released the spell of the mirage.

Any land further from the town, which also included Tangle Wood, lay unprotected. Nevertheless, as every mage born in Tangle Town bore distinctive mark on his skin, he was able to roam in between the town and the woods without getting harmed.

For some reasons which Vadiraj knew not of, the Demons had never attacked them. Having lived in the woods for eight years, Vadiraj was surprised that he had never heard of a single howling of a Demon. He guessed the Chief Sorcerer of Tangle Town must've signed some Peace Treaty with the Demon Lord. Vadiraj shrugged his shoulders. Peaceful or not, it was not of his concern. He had a more important errand to attend to. 

Heaving up his chest, he ventured into the town.