Several hours had passed by and Nodaku had slowly opened his eyes. Stretching and slowly getting to his feet, he yawned and began to crack his shoulders, back and neck. Leaving his sword, The Devil’s Sunrise, propped against the bench where his friend Ikizen had sat. Blinking several times and shaking his head, his eyes focused onto those whom congregated around him, acquaintances that he had met through his years of severe training. There was a Chief Bandit, a Hermit, a Knight, a Dragon Knight, two wizards possessing the powers of Fire, Poison, Ice and Lightening; A young Ranger and a young woman he had met long ago when he had first started off, she was once a cleric, but now, a Priestess.
In a deep, groggy voice, Nodaku spoke to them, “I thought that all of you were on a journey…” all at once they all turned and looked at Nodaku with a smile. The atmosphere warmed to their gentle smiles and before any could open their mouth, the young Priestess stood and walked in front of Nodaku and spoke in an angelic tone, “We all came to see you… And be there for the end of your journey…” Her smile, radiant and comforting, crept across her lips. Nodaku had nodded and smiled back, a smile that only his friends, those who stood here with him, had ever seen.
“I must take a moment to collect myself before I go warm up…” He nodded to them as he turned and grabbed the hilt of his sword and lifted it, letting the blade crash onto his shoulder, he made sure it didn’t hit anyone, even when he turned to face them once again. Looking at his friends, he said softly, “Take your time and rest, I will get you all when I am ready. And with that, he began to walk to the highest point of El Nath to sit.
It was a starry night, he wasn’t the least bit tired, but he felt empty within due to his inability to tell Annalys, the Priestess, how he felt about her. Groaning to himself, he came to the rope that would lead him to the top of the cliff that he was aiming to sit upon. Heaving his sword, he threw it a quarter of the way up the cliff where it had gotten lodged into it’s grated wall. Continuing this with one hand until he was at the top, he stabbed his sword into the ground and laid down next to it and stared at the stars.
He lay there for several minutes before he heard footsteps. Sitting up quickly and looking back, he say Annalys trying to creep her way over to him. Giving a soft giggle, Annalys shrugged and walked over to Nodaku, fixing her dress and sitting down next to him. Nodaku, removing his helmet from his head and placing it on the ground next to his sword, he looked over at her with a tender smile. He didn’t say anything at first, but just remained quiet, enjoying the moment he was actually getting to share with her.
“Nodaku..” Annalys’ angelic voice had called out. Nodaku, looking at her and tilting his head to the side slightly, asked in a rather quiet tone, “Yes..?” He didn’t take his eyes from her as he awaited to hear what she had said. Annalys was known for her random comments a lot of the time… Though this time she looked like she had something serious to say. Annalys closed her eyes and took a deep breath before sighing softly and taking a heaving gulp before she opened her eyes and looked at Nodaku. A soft rose colored blush crept over her cheeks as she whispered something to herself.
Nodaku looked a little confused before he closed his eyes and laid down once again next to his sword and Annalys. “I love you…” Nodaku had said as he tilted his head and looked at her, “That is what you had said, is it not?” His arms resting behind his head. Annalys blushed deeply as she shook her head a little. Her hands grasped her face, trying to hide the blush as she muttered into her hands. She wasn’t sure what he would have said to it if he had heard her words.
Sitting up once again, Nodaku gently wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. Leaning back a little, he slowly moved a hand under hers, slowly tilting her head towards his so that her eyes were level with his own. He stared deeply into her eyes before he said in a soft whisper that only she was able to hear, “I love you too Annalys.” He said nothing more to her for a while, but rather than having to express himself anymore in words, he expressed himself in a tender kiss to her lips.
Annalys’ eyes filled with tears at hearing Nodaku’s words. Her arms wrapping tightly around the man who was the single star in her pitch black night. He was her shooting star that drove her to become a Priestess, his kindness in an odd way, touched her, and apparently her kindness and love for him had touched him. Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks as she kissed him back dearly.
Slowly parting from the kiss, Nodaku gently took her hand, placing a small pair of earrings in it. “I know how much you have wanted these, so I got them for you.” He had said in a gentle voice. Slowly closing her hand over them, he smiled at her and gently laid himself back down on the ground to look at the stars. Annalys had laid with him, resting her small head on his chest. They rested there for an hour before they both got up and smiled to one another, both saying at the same time, “Let’s go.”
Stepping over Nodaku, Annalys reached down and grabbed Nodaku’s helmet and slowly lifted it up and gently set it upon his head. Making sure that it fit him comfortably, she smiled and poked him on the nose before laughing softly. She was a cheery individual, and yet, around her, Nodaku was different. Slowly standing up, Nodaku stretched once more and grabbed his sword, placing it once again on his shoulder. “Let us get the others, it’s almost sunrise.” And with that, Annalys teleported off to get the others. Sighing and giving a soft laugh, he ran to the edge of the cliff, kneeling down at the edge of it and dropping down, he gripped his sword in one hand and clenched his other into a fist. Hitting the ground and landing on a knee, his fist driving into the rock ground to help keep himself braced. Slowly standing up, he looked over his shoulder to the group of people whom had already been heading towards him and towards their destination… Nodaku’s Warm-up.
[To be Continued…]
*Next chapter – The Warm-up.
Hahahha another good one Nodaku, I look forward to your next one, though if I have one criticism about it, it’s fairly predictable so far, and follows the standard fantasy story. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but I hope to read some parts particularly unique to your writing style in one of the next parts to it.
Oh you will ^_^ Just give it some time. I tend to write a lot of detail when it comes to the parts that I wish to have define my writing. So give it some time, you’ll see tons of action. The “End of the Journey” for Nodaku is his solo’ing Zakum. Though, I might just make it different, More than likely though, I will keep it the same. But the Classic fantasy story that you read now, is just to numb you for what it to come ^^;
Hahhaha I’d be surprised if it didn’t have it’s own unique flare just knowing the personality you have. 😛 But anyway, I’m the kind of person that enjoys just about any fantasy out there since no matter how much it may be the same as other fantasy books out on the market, each author has their own way of writing, revealing things, twisting the plot, etc. that make each story unique and generally worth reading. ;D
Lol, true. This one has a sad part that happens in his warm-up, -.- Seeing that how my friends and I all played back then, if you died, you had to remain in town until the entire group was there. So if you die, well, it’s like you die, And seeing that Nodaku is one of those bloodlusting warriors who hungers for destruction, He flips out ^_^ Wait and read though, it will get interesting.