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Episode 1: The Minstrel's Proposal
In the world of Arcion, tales tell of mystical artifacts large and small. The rarest of these are those dating from the Sealing, when the demon overseer Jouzro imprisoned Thiana, goddess of light, inside a large crystal. She will only be freed by those daring enough to find the elemental medallions that awaken her envoy, the god Pokemon Arceus.
Many travel across the land, hoping to discover one of the medallions or something dating from the Sealing, but there are a few bands of treasure hunters that are not focused on the riches and glory.
One of the more renowned are the Rainbow Wings, a group of three friends who live for helping those in need as much as they do looking for treasure. Consisting of Ash, the gung-ho warrior with a song in his heart; Dawn, the intelligent and methodical ranger; and Brock, a wise and carefree mage, they spend their days exploring Arcion and lending a helping hand to all who ask.
Little do they know, what starts as a routine retrieval mission is only the starting point for the quest of a lifetime...
A brown haired boy set his lantern on a stand, illuminating the simple storeroom that served as his magical forge. While the many items strewn about the floor and spilling out of the numerous wooden cabinets lining the walls didn't look any different from the wares found in the marketplace, he was proud at the fact that he had forged them all, from the smallest ring to the magnificent rainbow banner that hung over the entryway--not by fire and hammer, but by the magical energies of the goddess Shirista.
He carefully stepped over some clay pots and a few shreds of fabric to reach a table that stood in the center of the room, paying no mind to the slight breeze that rippled his white and blue robes. Next, he held a finger skyward and whispered a few words in an unknown language, creating the illusion that his fingertip had been engulfed in a bluish-purple flame. "Thy power flows purely, never unwavering." he chanted as he drew a glyph that resembled a sword on the table. "I call upon the rainbow of elemental blades! Harmony Blade!" With that, a sword appeared on the table in a flash of rainbow light.
"Brock? What are you doing up so early?" a male voice asked, startling the mage from his work. He turned and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw a black haired boy framed in the doorway, the raw magic on the table giving his royal blue tunic and red cape an otherworldly glow.
"I'm making Dawn a shortsword, Ash." Brock replied as he used his still glowing finger to trim a few inches of mithril off the sword's blade. "So she can cut through brush and have another weapon in close combat."
"How do you do that burning finger thing?" Ash wondered, piqued in how his friend's finger appeared to be burning, yet he not be in pain. Granted, he had known mages had mysterious powers since he had first met Brock three years before, but the burning finger vexed him most.
"To start, this is not fire on my finger, but the energy of creation granted to me by Shirista." Brock explained as he shaped the sword's guard into a pair of wings. "You would have to be awakened as a mage to understand how it works." Ash nodded as Brock colored the guard silver and added some gold arcs to the blue leather grip. A sphere of emeralds and pearls in the pommel completed the blade.
"Well, if you need to find Dawn, she's watching for Taiva under the Great Tree." Ash assured Brock as he departed. Brock nodded, dispeled his spell, tidied his work area, and snapped, conjuring a case to carry the new sword. After retrieving his lantern, he came back upstairs into an old guest room, passed by his own room and the dining area before exiting through the foyer to the path outside.
A whistle's familiar melody led him off the path and up the hill where the giant willow tree that they affectionately called "The Great Tree" stood. Ash was already present, playing a reel on a silver whistle decorated with an ivy inlay. A black haired girl in a dull red tunic with white feathers on the sleeves was also present, calmly looking out on the puffy clouds in the sky and the wood and stone buildings of the town in the distance.
"I come bearing a gift, Dawn." Brock began as he opened the case, allowing the girl to admire the blade inside. "I forged it just a while ago..."
"That explains what you were doing in the forge before the sun was up." Dawn mused as she gently took the small sheath and drew the small blade. "It's beautiful...what enchantments did you put in it?"
"I call it the Winged Shortsword of the Mystic." Brock smiled. "It will protect the wielder from curses, hexes, and other demonic spells."
"Perfect for going through tombs and crypts!" Dawn agreed as she made a few swipes at the air with the small sword.
"I'll be happy to spar with you later." Ash offered before a black, grey, and white bird landed at his feet clutching a scroll in its beak. "Oh, Taiva!" he gasped, surprised that the Starly had come to him and not Dawn.
"Is that a new mission for us?" Dawn asked as she took the scroll and read it over as Taiva fluttered away into one of the Great Tree's branches. "Some time ago, the Safeda branch of the Enclave of Singers commenced a grand project for a museum of magical and enchanted instruments, so that the ancient songs and instruments are not lost due to careless treasure hunters. One instrument that has yet to find its way into the collection is the Dancing Flute of the Goddess, said to have been owned by a great mage. Meet the Enclave's envoy at the Rising Moltres for more information."
"Not the tavern..." Brock groaned--the endless fights and drunken songs usually meant that he would leave with a few scratches and bruises--if he was lucky.
"I have no control over where a client chooses to meet us." Dawn assured the jittery mage as she got up from the grass and started back towards the simple stone house. "So gather your supplies and come on!"
"I'll take the whistle just in case some barmaid tries to flirt with you too." Ash added, making Brock blush with embarrassment. He just sighed and snapped three times, summoning his supply bag, a wand made of seasoned spruce, and a silver crescent moon shaped harp inlaid with sapphires.
"If you do have to sing a song, please don't sing about fiddles made from dead girl's bones." Ash sighed when he saw the harp--the tragic ballad in question lost its tear jerking power when he heard it hundreds of times a day.
"So? The tune is sweet sounding and simple to play!" Brock protested as Ash returned with his sword and supply bag.
"That may be true, but we lose all pity for the poor girl after the fiftieth time you sing it." Dawn muttered as she slung her rowan bow and a quiver of arrows on her back, then led the others down the dirt path into town. "Besides, this is a minstrel we're meeting--maybe he or she will teach you some other song."
To Be Continued...
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