Chapter I

A tremendous battle happened seven years ago between Ren Raiju and Oran Verdell. From a young age, Oran had been stalked and attacked on multiple occasions including one when he was just a child of ten when the white and red masked deviant burned his home to the ground. Ren was after the power of the Verdell family from an age ago by going after their descendants with the mother being a direct line to power from the past warriors.

The battle to end this finally arrived when Oran finished his training with his master and was magically transported to the beach in his hometown. The waves brush against the sandy beach as the ocean spray hits cliffs nearby. The sun had set and the stars were out reflecting on the ocean's surface. The wind blows against their clothes and Ren's robe flows as Oran's dark brown hair brushes across his face slightly covering his green eyes. Their eyes locked onto one another as they stared each down.

Oran tosses his black jacket to the dock behind him and pulls his long sword from his back. His white wide tank top shows off his toned arms and his right shoulder with a golden and black Triquetra emblazoned on it. The Triquetra was a symbol he felt extremely connected to and now knowing that it was his family's symbol made it feel like destiny. His right hand holds the sword tightly by the hilt with a silver ring on his middle finger with etched triple-stacked triangles on it. A ring was given to him before he returned home by his master.

“Verdell,” Ren growls under his mask and places his left hand out to materialize his silver and red blade. “You've caused me enough problems in this lifetime and it's time for you to go. This will be the end of at least one of us.”

“We don't have to do this whole song and dance anymore, Ren. I've been tired of this for many years to the point of exhaustion. Your face remained in my mind and you've plagued my dreams, every step of the way.” Oran countered quickly as he gripped his blade tighter still. “You can turn back.”

“Your words have no sway on me...Oran.” Ren replied calmly and semi-politely for the first time since they met in an arena under hidden names. “The powers at be have forced me into continuing this life and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it. Ready yourself, Verdell.”

“Then so be it, Raiju.” Oran's aura explodes as green leaves of energy flow downward from around him. His eyes shine with his irises looking almost golden as he focuses on him.

Ren's silver blade shines with a dark red aura covering it and the energy makes the blade itself look white. Oran's blade shines in green energy as the two rush each other. A flash of light blasting from their clash made the area light up as if the sun was rising.

“Master Verdell.” A voice shouts. “Master!” A young man runs up the battle and puts his hand on Oran's shoulder as he looks at him. “Wake up. Oran. Hey.”

Verdell opened his eyes slowly and saw the young man in front of him. The young man was blonde with bright blue eyes and around fifteen years old. He was in black training garb and carried his family heirloom on his back; a large rectangular sword. “Hey, Isaac what's up?”

“Nothing too much, Master Verdell. You fell asleep and your power was fluctuating randomly. I've never felt you put so much energy out in the year I've been here already. Are you all right?” Isaac asked, worried for his young master and friend. “Can I do anything?”

“No worries, my friend. Did I ever tell you about my old enemy; Ren Raiju?” Oran stood up from the ground he was sitting on.

“I've heard the name and I've read it in a few of the books here but you haven't told me about him from your perspective.” He replied calmly. “Is there something specific you're going to tell me about?”

Oran laughed a bit and shrugged,” Not really. Just consider this a bit of rambling.”

Isaac chuckled along with him, ”Alright, give it to me.”

“Come on.” He added and placed his right arm around his shoulders to lead him towards a private library. “So, Ren. He was ageless; he seemed to have come and gone throughout the ages. His power influenced those who sought that dark power.”

“If I wanted to learn dark powers would it come with influence from him?” Isaac asked.

“Not likely. The darkness can be tapped into without his influence and with him being...gone, you've got nothing to worry about.”

“Oh, okay. I get it.” He replied.

“You're a smart kid. I don't see you falling down that hole and not coming back from it. There is a deep and strong light within you. You'll always find your way through the darkness. All you have to do is look within yourself.” Oran explained to him.

Isaac nodded his head,” I was always told I had a light within me but hearing you say that you can see it, means a lot. Anyway, what about Ren?”

“Right, I got off track. Many years ago, and I say many because not even I know, Ren fought against my ancestor and lost. In the process, his body was destroyed but his mind and spirit were not.”

“Question: how did he get a body?” Isaac asked in confusion as they continued walking to the building.

“Good question.” Oran pulled out keys to the library tower on campus and opened the door. “After you. Have a seat at the large desk.” He motioned Isaac inside.

Isaac entered and saw him point at the desk. “Yes sir.” He replied as he removed his sword from his back and sat down while Oran shut the door. “Is there an answer?”

“Yes. I wasn't being sarcastic this time.” He cleared his throat and walked to the shelf and began looking for a book. “To answer your question though, his power remained in his spirit as his body was destroyed. He was returned to what I'll call the void for now because I don't know its name either.”

“That's two things you don't know today,” Isaac said with a laugh. “Uh-oh running out of knowledge it seems.”

“You got me,” Oran replied with a chuckle in his voice. “His body was recreated with help of his masters using their power and creating a new skeletal system for him out of base ingredients. His power filled the bones and his new skeleton began regenerating his body. Since his recreation, he had been trying to claim a power to bind his power and finish rebuilding himself.”

“Your lineage?” He asked.

“Yes. The bloodline in my family is strong and managed to last until me at the current time. I don't know how he missed out on us until my immediate family came into being. That's why he took my mother, killed my father, and hid my sister.” Oran had gone on to explain to him.

“What side of your family is the power passed down?” Isaac questioned.

“Maternal, in my case. Grandfather for my mother.” He stated, calmly. “After absorbing the power from their blood and spirits; he had most of his body back. The mask was used to hide his face which was still just a skull. My spirit, energy, and blood would have completed him but I was strong enough to hold him off and then defeat him.”

Isaac eagerly jumped at the desk with excitement forcing himself to his feet,” That red and white mask in your room!” He blurted out confidently then covered his mouth. “Sorry...I probably wasn’t allowed in your room without you being there.”

Oran chuckled to himself and shook his head, ”Isaac, I don’t care. It’s not a big deal to me since there is no door...no one has a door here. It’s knowing.”

“I’ve noticed that...what’s up with that?” Isaac asks.

“No idea but I’m not the Guild Master here, I’m only a teacher.” He said humbly knowing good and well that while he wasn’t the Master, he was second in command. He also knew he wasn’t in charge because he wasn’t around enough and this was the most time he spent here since his childhood. “Anyway, we can bring it up with the Guild Master in the future. A lot of the students here are teenagers and hormones are raging around this age.”

Nervous chuckles come from Isaac as he sits down at the desk again and his cheeks turn pink while looking away. “Yeah...hormones are just...wild...”

“It happens, kid. Don’t worry about it.” He points to a book that says: Heroes of History. “Ah, there it is.” He pulls it out and flips through the index before landing on the Verdell page for his ancestor. “Here he is.”

Isaac looks closely and then up at Oran, back to the book, and back at Oran again. “You look just like him.”

“I get that a lot.” He replied quickly. It was more than a passing resemblance with commonalities such as their black hair and green eyes. They had the same hair and eyes but also the same facial features, body type, height, and general build. Oran looked just like his ancestor as if he was the reincarnation brought into the modern world.

“You look exactly like him. It’s like you were pulled right out of this book.” Isaac stated with surprise in his voice still. “Verdell was a warrior with the ability to use powers that were both light and dark. He used his abilities creatively to ensnare and outsmart his opponents. Wielding a sword that was seemingly blessed by the universe, he decimated his enemies and freed the world from Raiju of the Mask.” He stopped reading the book for a moment and looked up at Oran. “I wonder where that sword is.”

“I don’t know where the rest of the thing is either.” Oran reached into his shirt and pulled his Triquetra necklace out. “I just know this is part of it.” He took it off and tossed it to Isaac who caught it. “Close your eyes and focus.”

“Yes Master.” Isaac closed his eyes with the emblem in his hand. He wasn’t feeling anything for a few moments. “I’m not getting anything.”

With a chuckle, Oran sits down in the chair next to the desk. “Focus on it. Feel it in your hand. Block out everything else and that includes me.”

Isaac nods his head and as he moves his fingers over the symbol, he can feel the power slowly rising from it. The image appears in his mind of Oran and his ancestor battling Ren Raiju. They fought the same and looked exactly the same, minus Oran’s tattoo. The battle was bouncing back and forth between the past and more recent times. It, too, was also identical. Confusion set onto his face as he held his focus on it.

“Merrix and Verdell, together again.” A voice says in his mind. The voice was calm, soothing, and filled with passion and joy.

He opens his eyes,” What was that...who was...” He exhaled and caught his breath from the surprise. “Master, what just happened?”

“You saw two battles that were happening at the same time. Verdell versus Ren and myself versus Ren. We managed to do the exact same movements and the same abilities. The only difference was the weapon used.” Oran explained to him easily since he also had the same vision in his mind when he focused on it as well.

“Yeah, that was weird but not what I meant. There was a woman's voice and then she appeared with bright blonde hair and golden eyes. Who is that?” He asked quickly. “What happened?”

“You saw her too. What did she say to you?” Oran questioned becoming more serious. That wasn’t what he expected him to see. “I’ll explain after you tell me.”

“She said; Merrix and Verdell, together again,” Isaac replied.

“That’s not too bad.” He said with a chuckle. “Her name is Celeste, she’s a goddess.”

“Oh, blonde women are your type. That’s cool.” Isaac said jokingly.

“Brunettes actually but I meant that literally, she’s a literal goddess. I have a much higher focus than you do but wherever she is; I can’t reach her for long periods either. Your ability to focus is growing strong, congrats, Isaac.”

“Thank you.” He said with a head bow. He lifted his head back up and looked to his teacher. “What did she mean by together again?”

“Read the next part in the book.” Oran chuckled. “Your questions will be answered.”

He nodded his head and looked back at the book. “Verdell was normally accompanied by his closest friend and rival, Scion Merrix. To show their friendship and respect for one another, Verdell and Merrix created a joint symbol. Both Merrix and Verdell, wore this symbol. When he passed on, Verdell passed it down to his children but it has been lost to time.”

“Our ancestors were the closest of friends. This was one of the reasons I decided to train and look after you but the main one was because I knew you’d be coming into power just like I did and have no idea how to control them.” Oran explained to him before moving on. “Your father contacted me through my master using an old mind link type of spell. It should have come directly to me since it was Verdell he was looking for but due to my own Master protecting my whereabouts, he relayed it to me.”

“Will I ever meet your Master?” Isaac questioned.

“I don’t know, maybe someday,” Oran replied calmly and put his left hand on Isaac’s shoulder. “If he happens to be around one day, I’ll introduce you to each other.” He picks the necklace up off the table and puts it back on. He stands back up and grabs Isaac’s large sword then sets it on the desk. “This variant Triquetra is the symbol the author was talking about in the book I’ve sent someone out to try to find the other one but no luck so far.”

“I’m sure it’ll turn up one of these days, Oran.” Isaac’s eyes widened calling him by his first name instead of Master. “Sorry, Master.”

“No worries, Isaac. Truth be told, it’s a formality for the Guild not for me. I just don’t want you getting reprimanded for calling your teacher by his first name around anyone else. If we’re alone you can just call me by my first name.”

“Yes sir.” He knew his teacher was laid back but he didn’t realize it was this laid back. He smiled to himself while looking down at the desk that was polished so well it had a reflection. Isaac looked to Oran with a confused look,” Whose private library is this?”

With a soft laugh, Oran raised his hand. “It’s mine. Students are only allowed in here with an accompanying teacher because of the history and rarity of these books. I technically have two rooms on campus with one being upstairs. It also doesn’t have a door but with every teacher having keys to the front door, I just elected to make it a library until we add to the grounds.”

“I see.” He paused for a moment. “Why wouldn’t you just stay here then? At least it has a front door.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I'm a teacher who isn’t ever around. You can ask the Guild Master. I sometimes set out for days and weeks while scouring the world for answers or trinkets such as the other variant.” He lifted the emblem on the sword. “I’m a busy body and I look for anything else to do other than teach.”

“Have you had any other students?” Isaac asked with a questioning tone.

“Just one other,” Oran replied with a sigh and stood up again. “That’s a story for another time. We need to continue your training for the day.”

“Maybe we can continue talking about it at dinner.” He said curiously wanting to know more about what happened. Why his master was so hesitant to train someone else seeing now that he only had two students.

“Sure.” He said quietly and walked towards the door to open but jumped back immediately seeing it open wide and quickly. “Geez.” He exhaled and stood his ground.

“Sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here.” A young woman around twenty-two with short cut brown hair wearing a jacket that shows off her lower back and abs as well as black leather pants comes through the door. She turns around showing her fitted black tank top and her brown eyes are outlined by black glasses. The light freckles on her face raise with her cheeks as she smiles seeing Oran in the library. “Now that I know it’s you, I’m not sorry.” She said jokingly.

“I wouldn’t be sorry either, Thorne.” He replied with a smug smirk on his face. “Isaac Merrix, this is Thorne.”

“How many times do I have to ask you to stop calling me that, Verdell?” She said, emphasizing his name. “Pleasure to meet you, Isaac. Are you a new trainee at the guild or a personal one for Oran?”

“Oh...uh...um...” Isaac replied nervously. “PERSONAL!” He shouted, unable to control his loudness at that moment.

She smiled and laughed for a second before turning back to Oran,” Are you going to answer my question, Verdell?”

“The answer is many times you’ve asked but if you’re going to mess with me; I’m going to mess with you back.” She walks over and hugs him tightly, leaning her head on his chest. “How have you been Bridgette?”

“I feel like I’ve been gone a long time, Oran.” She pulled back from her hug. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find the emblem you’re looking for before returning. I did put some feelers out though to try to keep the search up.”

“It’s fine, Bridgette, I mean it. Isaac here has the identical one to it so maybe we can put out a picture with it, to help track it down.” He explained quickly. “Sorry, my manners are terrible.” He said jokingly. “Isaac, this is Bridgette Thorne.”

“Are you two dating?” Isaac said with a smirk on his face. “You mean to tell me someone wanted to be with you?”

“Nope,” Bridgette replied quickly. “I just want the name.” She says sarcastically while laughing. “I’ve known him since he got here and even knew more about his lineage than he did. I’m a bit of a historian in a sense of the word.”

Oran nods his head,” I set myself up for that one.” He sighed afterward. “Bridgette here is one of my closest friends and people I can rely on for anything. Too many people see my last name and automatically assume I’m like some royalty or something but I’m not. She’s the first person to not treat me in that manner and I’ve been thankful for her to be in my life since. As for dating...” He blushed a bit and turned his head towards her,” Kind of..”

“That’s accurate.” She says with a laugh. “Both of us are a bit too busy for an actual steady relationship but we do care about each other a lot and make time for each other when we’re in the same area. So in a way; kind of.”

“Enough about my love life,” Oran says, trying to change the subject. “We should be getting back to training after our history lesson.”

“Oh that’s not fair, I just got here. I should be teaching him history, not you. What do you know?” She puts her hands on her hips in a feisty manner. “Isaac, you should stay here and learn with me about the world's history.”

“I know enough.” He leans over and whispers in her ear,” I don’t know if you can tell but you might be a little too attractive for him to pay attention fully.” He kisses her cheek after he finishes his sentence.

She chuckles to herself and nods, ”Then you guys go do your training and I’ll prepare a lesson for you to teach after I get some food in this belly.” She pats her stomach and grabs her bag from outside the door. “Go on, get out of here so I can have some quiet for a bit before I eat.”

“Yes ma’am,” Isaac says quickly while grabbing his sword and rushing out the door. “Come on Master!” He begins making his way back towards the training ground without him.

“I’ll see you at dinner tonight, won’t I?” Oran asks quietly.

“Of course, you will. Meet me back here after dinner though and bring that mask with you for storage. I found some spells to bind it so no one besides us would be able to access it at all.”

“What would I do without you?” He says with a smile on his face.

“Figure things out on your own, just slower.” She smiled back at him and pressed her lips against his as she embraced him while doing so. “I missed that.” She pats his chest,” Your student is waiting.”

“Yes, he is,” Oran says, slightly flustered. “I'll see you in a bit. Feel free to come to watch our training.”

“I do have a plan, you know. I’m going to find the largest bath and emptiest women’s bathroom and just soak for a bit. We need to install doors in this place...” She added.

“On my to-do list, Bridgette.” He walked towards the door and waved her off. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” He shouts to her.

“You’d do a lot of things...” She shakes her head and sees his eyebrow raised at her. “I get it.” She laughs again.

With that Oran shut the door behind him to give Bridgette her own space to relax for a bit. As a historian, she was right at home among the library and found her place of comfort on the campus. Isaac had made it to the bridge crossing the stream before Oran caught back up with him. The training was getting ready to commence once again.

Picking up where they left off earlier, Oran accompanied Isaac into the ring with a singular training dummy. A dummy that they weren’t going to use at all. It was just there for basic combat but it wasn’t necessary to them currently. The lesson they were going over was barrier creation and a forceful push using it. A skill that was good for protection and an offensive surprise, if it caught an enemy off guard.

“Isaac, listen up!” Oran announced loudly and saw a head nod before continuing to speak. “We’ve gone over basics for the last year so now let’s delve into some Will Power.”

“Willpower? As in one word?” Isaac asked in confusion.

“Will Power as in two words. Powers that come from your ability to harness your will. Your will is the energy of your spirit physically. This will strengthen your body and your mind. The skills you learn and the power you can obtain is all within you already. It’s just up to you to tap into it.”

“I think...I understand.” He said with confusion still. How am I supposed to bring my spirit out of my body as a power? Isaac thought about trying to figure it out for himself.

Oran laughs seeing the confusion still on his face. He could already sense energy and feel it fluctuating. He was able to focus to reach Celeste. He knew that Isaac’s power had already manifested in a tangible form long before this. “Throw me your sword.”

“Why?”

“So I can show you something you don’t realize.” He replied and held out his hand to await the sword. “Just toss it.”

“If you say so, Master.” Isaac said with an unsure voice but tossed it anyway to him as if it was a paperweight. “What does the sword have to do with anything?”

“Nothing really but the fact that you can toss this heavy weapon with one hand and at ease shows me that your will is already strengthening your body,” Oran explained to him and turned around. “Watch this.” He takes the sword and walks over to a trainee about Isaac’s age and build. “I need your help for just a second.”

“Yes sir, Master Verdell.” The trainee replied with a head nod. “What can I do?”

“It’s really simple. Hold this sword for as long as you can. You’re allowed to use both hands and whatever else you can find.” He explained quickly. “Isaac watch this.”

Isaac watched in confusion for this whole lesson trying to figure out what he was getting at. He stared as Oran handed the trainee his family heirloom with one hand and so far it all seemed normal until he took his handoff. The trainee began struggling to hold onto it with one hand then switched to two with sweat pouring down his face as he struggled to hold on. Another student came to help and with Oran’s permission joined in to help hold it up.

“See the difference, Isaac? Your power is innately in your body. You may not know to project it just yet but you will. You’re already many steps ahead of the other trainees because we know YOU can use these powers. We just have to teach them to you.” Oran reaches over to the now three students struggling to hold it up and grips the hilt of the large sword. Instantly the trainees are relieved from the weight. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“You’re welcome, Master Verdell. What is that sword made of?” One of them asked him.

“Very dense and hard to find metals. It’s resistant to the elements. It grows stronger with the wielder. It’s resistant to magic on the blade but can be infused with magic from the hilt. It’s a very special blade.” He explained to them. “It’s a perfect sword for the Merrix lineage in magic and will powers.”

Isaac walked over to the gate of the ring and propped himself upon it. He was just watching Oran as if he knew more about his lineage than he did. It seemed to be a running thing for them both now. “You’re saying that my will is already in my body actively because I can carry that sword around like it's a butter knife?”

“That’s exactly it.” Oran headed back to the ring. “I want to pull that out of you fully. I want to help you project it as a barrier for your defense. It already strengthens your muscles and body so let’s help it protect you.”

“I’m ready.”

“Glad to hear it.” Oran nodded. “Prepare your mind and focus on defensive and protective thoughts.” He hands the blade back. “You’re free to use the sword as a conduit if you think it’ll help.”

Isaac accepts the blade and puts it on his back. “How are you going to push me to pull it out exactly?”

“Lightning,” Oran said with a smirk on his face. “Something else you’ll learn here just later on.”

With a worried look on his face, Isaac steps back into the ring. He takes a deep breath and grips the hilt above his right shoulder. He remembers it being called magic resistant on the blade so he’ll imagine the sword is a barrier for the time being. Before they even started the smallest of hexagons can be seen patterned around his hand and hilt. Oran smirks to not give it away having felt the creation of small barriers. He knew that Isaac was going to be just as prodigious as he was in his training. Any master would be lucky to have a student like Isaac, in Oran’s opinion.

Oran clenches his fist and it sparks then unleashes a lower-powered stream of lightning created from his willpower. Surprised by the lightning coming at him Isaac fully draws his sword from his back and holds it in front of him with his right hand while bracing it with his left. The low form of the attack hits the blade and courses around it avoiding the small barriers around the hilt.

“Focus.”

Isaac increases his focus and more hexagonal patterns appear by his left hand’s placement. The lightning courses around the top of the blade and between his hand placement on the sword. Oran added more force against the barriers specifically which causes them to start cracking. The sweat comes down Isaac’s face as his eyes begin shining with a sky blue energy. Seeing the sheen in his eyes Oran elects to increase the voltage. The strike hits, with the raised power Isaac, begins feeling the shock in his hands as his teacher shows him just the slightest glimpse of the power within his body.

Oran watches as Isaac’s hair blows from side to side and an outline of blue appears around his hands. He nods as a barrier forms completely between Isaac’s hand placement. The barrier pushed back the lightning and deflected it. However, while still withstanding it the barrier was broken in places. He cancels the attack,” That’s enough for now. We’ll work on it.”

“Did I get it?” He said nervously. “I closed my eyes to focus.”

“For the most part, Isaac. Good work.”

Barrier training had commenced and more lessons were to come, but this was the start he needed. He had three more years to teach him what he knew. This was only a start. There was more training to come for young Isaac...much much more. He had so many more things to learn in his time here learning.