Bladewarriors Book 1: Refresh

Myst stared up at the clouds, concerned about the way they were still retaining their water. No rain had fallen on their group for an entire day now – not since Frost had polluted the sky with his hail the morning before. Now, with the sun back near its highest position above the clouds, the sky still refused to open the reservoir of water held in those fluffy gray mounds that hung overhead.

"I think you really broke it, Frost." The nymph commented, frowning as – oddly – she wished it would rain.

"It's fine." The fool replied, waving away the concern. "It's better this way."

"I have to agree." Ivy commented, relaxing – sprawled out on the deck. The girl's arms were crossed comfortably behind her head as she held her face toward the clouds, eyes closed – peaceful.

"And you know how rare it is that veggie over there thinks I'm right." Frost stated with an emphatic nod. "So it must be so."

Myst frowned, a little less confident in the truth of that statement than the Arctican seemed to be. But she also didn't see the point in trying to argue further. Bickering with the fool was about as senseless as thinking he actually had damaged the sky somehow. Still, the lack of rain was an ill omen in the Water Realm – especially in stretches lasting as long as this one had. Mingled with the odd vision of the night before, it unnerved the nymph to an uncomfortable level.

"So how much longer do you think we've got?" Flare stated, changing the subject, standing at the bow of the ship as he stared into the distance. During the night the boat had traveled far enough out that the shore they had departed from was no longer visible. In fact, there wasn't any sign of land anywhere around them. There was only an endless pool of drab, gray water, mirroring the grumpy colorless sky.

It was amazing.

In all his years, he had never imagined so much water existed. Even after he had seen it from the beach in Sentinel Bay, he had never imagined it was quite so gigantic. The idea that he could look in any direction and see nothing but water was…mind-boggling. The flame haired youth grinned – the only thing that could make the sight any better would have been knowing the water was drinkable.

"I really don't know." The nymph replied, staring out at the vastness of the sea as well. "Like I said, I'm not really sure where The Serpent's Lair is, so it's hard to say."

"Yeah, well… I hope we get their soon." Frost moaned, slinging his arms over the edge of the ship's railing, peering down into the water. "This is getting rather monotonous."

"I'm surprised you know what a big word like that means." Ivy commented offhandedly, stretching out where she was on the deck.

"Funny, I could say the same thing." The fool replied, not bothering to turn to the girl. "Good to know you can still retain information even when you're head is full of mold."

The tomboy sat up a moment, spinning a glare toward the distant fool as she opened her mouth. However, no retort left the girl's lips as she stared blankly, unable to develop a proper comeback. Grunting, Ivy allowed herself to collapse back to the deck, opting to instead simply ignore the comment rather than further provoke the pest.

"Whoa…" Flare let out the subdued exclamation, staring off into the distance as a dull and distant magenta began to consume the horizon. "Guys, look at that!"

Ivy slowly lifted herself from the deck as Frost tilted his head toward the front of the vessel. Myst stepped forward, walking to join Flare at the bow as she stared at the distant, reddish-purple that was consuming the edge of their vision.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ivy picked herself up from the deck, moving to join Myst and Flare as she stared wide-eyed at the distant discoloration.

"I think so." Flare nodded, stunned by the sight.

"It's the realm's barrier…"

The three of them stood, awe-struck by the sight. They all knew, on some level, that there was an edge to all the realms – a gigantic magical wall that divided the world into the separate domains of each element. But few people had ever seen these mystical structures. Certainly, in many cases, one could simply choose a direction in their realm and continue moving that way and they would eventually reach one of these barriers, but few people did so. This was mostly due to the fact that few were entirely sure what would happen if you touched one of these magical, shimmering obstructions.

"Big deal." Frost stated sarcastically, returning to stare at the ocean as a yawn escaped his throat.

"Big deal!" Ivy spun toward the fool and his incredulous attitude.

"Yeah." Frost replied, nodding his head succinctly. "Big deal."

"It actually is a pretty big deal." Flare stated, not taking his eyes from the distant mythical divider.

"Not so much." The Arctican argued, shaking his head. "Not like it's the first one I've seen."

"You've actually seen one of the magical barriers that separate the realms?" The nymph asked skeptically.

"Sure." Frost nodded. "Almost every day of my life, actually."

The Arctican lifted himself from the rail, stretching a moment as another yawn escaped his throat.

"My village is built right next to one."

"What?" Ivy replied, shocked.

"Isn't that dangerous!" Myst questioned, equally as alarmed.

"Not really." The white-haired boy shook his head, giving them both an unenthused stare. "As long as you don't try and climb it, you're fine."

Flare laughed, turning his head to glance back at the fool.

"Why do I get the feeling you know that from personal experience?" The flame-haired boy asked jovially.

"I wanted to know how high it went." Frost shrugged. "Turns out it wasn't the same as climbing an ice wall, though."

"You actually live right next to one?" Ivy exclaimed, amazed at the revelation, and also curious if that – somehow – might explain why the fool was such a pest.

"Yeah." Frost shrugged again, honestly not understanding his companions' excitement over the idea. "In the Ice Realm, it's the only decently safe place. Wander too far away from it and you're likely to run into Yeti, or Yuugikou. For whatever reason, the beasts tend to avoid the barriers – they're scared of them, or something."

"Well I'm going to guess the monsters here are a little less scared of them." Flare stated, turning to look at the distant wall. "Because that seems to be where we're headed."

The group turned, staring at the distant landmark, watching as it slowly became more and more vivid as it drew closer and closer. From the looks of it, they would reach the wall – and most likely, The Serpent – within a few hours tops.

Or they might have, if at the very moment, the ship hadn't jolted to a stop. Ivy let out a startled shout as she stumbled forward, crashing to the deck. Flare and Myst had to quickly grab the railing of the ship to avoid plummeting over the edge of it and into the briny waters below as Frost struggled to maintain his footing before falling backward into the stern's cabin wall.

"The hell was that!" The fair-haired teen shouted, angry as he slowly pulled himself back to his feet.

Myst lifted her head, glancing around, peering into the sea surrounding their ship, trying to find some reason that it had suddenly halted its progress. There was nothing there, though, other than clear water. Whatever had stopped the vessel had been as unnatural as the vessel's movement itself.

The nymph frowned, growing increasingly nervous as she remembered her vision from the night before. The girl quickly lifted her head toward the sky, watching the ominous clouds hanging overhead, still holding back their precipitation. The mounds of water vapor didn't look like they were at all ready to part and grace her group with the light of the sun.

"Why'd the ship stop?" Ivy questioned, gingerly rubbing at her cheek where her face had struck the deck.

"Don't know." Flare answered both his companion's questions as he turned to look around, trying to find a reasonable explanation.

Barely a second passed before the group received an alarming response, though. A cracking sound reverberated through the area as a powerful geyser suddenly burst through the center of the deck, spraying water at least twenty feet into the air.

"The hell!" Frost screamed, alarmed at the sudden surge of the sea.

Myst gasped as the boat rocked, taking on the excess water. The nymph wasted no time, rushing forward as she stretched out a hand to the fountain. She summoned up her own magical strength, willing the water to retreat back into the waves below. As she grew near, she stopped, struggling to pull the water under her control. It fought back against her, denying her commands as she willed it lower. Something was powering it.

"Frost!" Myst yelled out, raising her other hand as she fought to control the gushing leak. "Help me!"

The fool gasped, eyeing the strained expression coating the girl's face. He quickly pushed off the cabin wall, reaching back to unsheathe the Arctic Blade held to his back. Skidding to a stop near the fountain, the arctic warrior grunted as she swung the weapon through the offending geyser. A wave of ice shot down the fountain's length in both directions, instantly freezing it into a giant protruding pillar.

Myst let out her bated breath, her arms quickly falling as the strain was taken off her magic. She spun, searching the sea, trying to find the source of the power. She found nothing, but an instant later, two more geysers burst through the deck around them, surging with water.

"Myst!" Flare shouted her name inquisitively, as if to ask what was happening.

The nymph honestly didn't know, but she had a fairly good guess. Ripping her own saber from where it hung at her side, the blue-haired girl rushed forward, heading toward one of the geysers.

"Frost, take care of that one!" She ordered as she leapt at the piercing fountain, swinging her sword down into its watery jet. As she cut through the stream, the water fell, compelled by the magic of her sword, pressing the burst back into the ocean below. The nymph peered down the hole, pointing her tip down its length to keep the liquid at bay. As she peered through the gaping maw of the ship's wound, she finally spotted what she had hoped she wouldn't find; The Sentry.

The squid-like face of the beast stared up at her from beneath the waves, meeting her gaze as he grinned. In a blur of movement, the beast shot out of the view of her narrow portal, vanishing beneath the boat once more. Myst gritted her teeth, swinging her head to the sky above, looking for any sign of sunlight. There was none there. Growling to herself, the nymph swung her head back toward Frost.

"Frost, you need to make a layer of ice surrounding the ship! Completely cover the bottom of it!"

Frost turned his head from admiring his work toward the screaming nymph. He tensed his expression, seeing the girl's stern eyes, and didn't bother to argue. Whatever was going on, Myst seemed to have some clue how to stop it. And he had no desire to be stuck out in the middle of the ocean, miles from land; especially since he didn't know how to swim.

"Right!" He shouted, rushing toward the girl, his mind already positing the best way of carrying out the nymph's request.

He leapt up, dropping down the hole the girl stood beside, falling into the depths of the vessel. He hit the hull of the ship with a resonating thud and turned his eyes to the chaotic shimmering water being held at bay by the Aqua Saber's might. The warrior lifted his sword, stabbing it into the surface of the water. Instantly, a wave of ice spread out across the liquid, working its way beneath the ship and along the hull as it spread.

"What's going on, Myst!" Flare yelled rushing up beside her with his sword already drawn. The nymph turned toward him, her expression tense as her eyes seemed to tell the whole story. The look of fear and panic mingled with reluctant determination; he felt like he already knew what she was going to say.

"It's The Sentry."

"What!" Ivy shouted, alarmed as she spun around, searching the waters. "Are you serious! Out here!"

"This is bad." Flare added, twisting his head to study the sea as well.

"We're sitting ducks out here!" Ivy shouted, moving as far from the edge of the ship as she could get.

"What do we do?" Frost yelled up from below, still working on their icy shield.

"We…" Myst trailed off, turning her eyes to the sky. Her sword – it had told her to make sure they stay in the light of the sun, but she didn't see any crack in the clouds. What did it mean? The nymph shook her head, wishing her premonitions were more straight-forward. She wished her sword would just tell her what it wanted her to know.

"We fight." Flare spoke up for her, turning his blade toward the ocean.

"Fight!" Ivy replied, her panic apparent in her quivering voice. "Do we really stand a chance out here? That thing can control the water at will – and we're surrounded by water right now!"

"We don't really have a choice." Flare answered, gritting his teeth as he narrowed his eyes. "It's not like we have the option of running."

The redhead didn't like the idea of battling in the middle of that giant pool either, but they didn't have any other alternative. They had no control over the ship they were on, and no way to get off of it other than to leap into the deep that surrounded them – which would likely be a worse alternative. Whether they wanted to or not, fighting was the only option they had.

Myst's fingers gripped tight to the blade in her hand as her eyes quickly scanned the surrounding sea. With Frost's ice shield protecting them from below, The Sentry would certainly begin to try something else. And sure enough, the nymph's blue eyes spotted it.

A sudden burst of water rose not far from the boat – a chaotic rush of water tearing its way across the sea as it careened toward their ship. Myst dashed to the edge of the vessel, channeling her power into the blade as he swung the weapon like a bat. An apparent shockwave rippled across the ocean before colliding with the approaching swell, shattering the burst of water into a turbulent deluge that pelted the sea's surface for dozens of feet.

"Myst!"

The nymph spun about as Ivy called out to her, eyes finding the tomboy pointing off toward the sea behind her. She turned further, eyeing another equally sized mound of chaotic sea rushing toward their vessel. Grunting, she rushed ahead once more, summoning up as much strength as she could muster, sending out another invisible burst of her power to knock the attack away.

Myst paused, taking in quick, labored breathes, already beginning to feel the strain of her expenditure as another warning from Ivy reached her eyes. She gritted her teeth, turning an aggravated gaze to yet another turbulent jet aimed at their transportation. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep doing this, but she rushed forward despite that.

"Another one!"

Myst stumbled to a stop, spinning as Ivy called out again, indicating a second approaching wave. The nymph spun her head back and forth between the two approaching forces, unsure what to do.

"I've got it!"

Flare yelled out as he rushed forward, tired of feeling useless as Myst alone defended them against the onslaught. The redhead dashed toward the newest of the waves, ripping his sword from its sheath. With Frost maintaining their sub-marine shield, and Ivy's panicked outlook, he was the only one who could step in and help, even if he wasn't sure how.

The redhead skidded to a stop at the edge of the deck, eyeing the turbulent swell that was rushing toward them. With little thought on the matter, he raised the blade in his hands, aiming its tip toward the center of the oncoming attack. With a shout, a tumbling sphere of fire shot from the end of the weapon, rocketing through the air. Just before the flames hit the wave, Flare shouted out again, swinging his blade down. The flaming sphere responded, exploding outward, creating a wave of expanding heat and air that blew the tumbling wave apart, though didn't completely negate its momentum. The boat rocked a moment as the weakened strike crashed against its hull, but the ship stood strong.

"To the right!" Ivy called out again, warning her friends of the imminent danger that was approaching. Once again, she felt useless as she watched Myst and Flare rush back and forth across the ship, fighting against the vicious assault being launched at them from beneath the water. But she wasn't sure what to do. She could create vines and thorns, but against the frothing tidal surges aimed at them, those wouldn't do much. She could summon up shields of wood, but the tomboy wasn't certain she could make anything large enough to be of use. All she could do was be the spotter – to shout out to her friends and let them know what was coming and from where.

Below deck, Frost stared up through the hole above, hearing shouts, hollers, and grunts of his allies, groaning at his uselessness as well. He turned his eyes downward, staring at the layer of ice his sword was plunged into. He was confident now that it had spread over most of the ship's hull, keeping them protected from the sub-aquatic bursts. However, he also knew that the ice's resilience would drop greatly the moment he pulled that blade out. If he wanted to do his part to help, the only thing he could do was sit there and power their shield.

This tumultuous scenario played out for another few minutes before, finally, the waves seemed to stop. Flare and Myst collapsed to the deck, struggling to gather much needed oxygen, as Ivy spun about, uneasy. She was definitely glad to see the waves had ceased, but it just made her believe that something else – something worse – was on the way.

"Are we all still alive?"

Frost yelled up from below deck, hearing the frantic sounds from above die out.

"Seems that way."

Ivy yelled back down to the arctic warrior, allowing him a moment of relief. But, just like the tomboy, he was made to wonder what would come next. And it seemed the Sentry didn't intend on making them wait long to find out.

As Frost let out a sigh – glad for the reprieve – he let his head hang down, eyes falling on the frozen portent to the underwater world beneath the ship. Instantly the boy's muscles tightened as he stared through that thin layer of ice at the squid-headed beast beyond. The Sentry hung in the water, maybe twenty feet below them, glare aimed up at the ship.

"Hey, guys!" Frost shouted up, trying to warn them as the monster snarled from the deep.

His words were too late, though, as the squid thrust his arms toward the vessel. The entire ship rocked violently as it suddenly began to spin, causing Frost to fall flat against the hull, hand still clutched to the hilt of his sword. He turned his head back to his frozen window, staring out as water surged against it, trying to break through. The ice child swung his other arm up, clasping it around the sword's handle as well, trying to will his arctic barrier to maintain itself. As the water continued to surge and the ship continued to spin, though, something became very obvious.

"He's lifting the ship!"

Flare groaned, gripping tight to the railing of the deck as the entire boat began to twirl about in the water. He glanced over the side of the vessel, risking the nausea-inducing sight, to find Frost was right – the ocean was pulling away from them. Or rather, it was pushing up toward them, in a way.

A massive surge of liquid swelled up beneath the ship, encompassing the vessel's bottom nearly entirely as the force slowly drove the boat into the air. The warriors on board clutched tight to the fastenings and railings as the vessel spun into the sky, lifting higher and higher as the swell surged more and more.

Myst groaned, becoming dizzy and sick as the ship spun faster and faster. She couldn't focus – couldn't concentrate. In her head, she knew exactly what the beast was trying to do, but her body wasn't able to muster up enough energy to attempt to halt it. Rushing back and forth had worn her out, and now – with the spinning – the thought of trying to stand simply made her want to vomit.

"Damn it!" she seethed, images from her vision flashing through her mind, recalling the debris and ice she had seen floating in the middle of a vast sea. She turned her head up, trying to find the sun – to see its light – but there were only clouds.

Frost groaned, fighting the urge to throw up as he continued to stare through his window. Of all the attacks he had taken from this beast – including the one that had left him half buried in the sand the last time they had meant – this was by far the worst. The ice child swallowed, trying to force the nausea back down as it welled up when, suddenly, the spinning began to slow.

"Oh, thank the gods…" Frost sighed, closing his eyes and laughing a little to himself as the ship slowed. As the boy reopened his eyes, though, he wasn't happy with the new predicament they were in.

"Son of a…" The fool began to curse, staring through the layer of ice as the water fell away from it, cascading back to the sea nearly fifty feet below them. He clenched his teeth, lifting his head to glance at the ship around him. This was not going to end well.

The arctic warrior tore his blade from the ice, waving it in the same motion back up to the hole he had originally jumped to, creating a jagged column of ice. Frantic, the boy dashed up the frozen surface as quickly as he could, but barely made it halfway before the ship began to fall back to the ocean.

Frost felt himself lift into the air as the vessel fell away from him, giving him a brief and fleeting moment where it almost seemed like he was flying, before he too began to plummet with the ship.

"We're falling!" Frost shouted, pushing up off the ice to try and scramble back onto the deck.

"Everybody, off the ship!" Myst hollered, the wind whipping her hair about wildly as she prepared to leap out, waiting for just the right moment.

"B-but!" Frost looked around nervously as Ivy pulled herself to the edge of the boat, ready to leap off as well.

"But I can't swim!" Frost shouted.

A hand slapped down on his shoulder, pulling him toward the edge. Frost twisted his head up, looking at the anxious expression painted across Flare's face.

"That's okay!" Flare yelled as he jumped off the edge of the vessel, forcing Frost off with him. "Neither can I!"

"What the hell do you mean you can't swim either!"

Frost screamed, staring down at the tumultuous sea quickly rushing towards him. What the hell was the hot head thinking, dragging him off the crashing boat when neither of them could swim! Was he planning on killing them both – drowning them in the angry sea! Well Frost had no intentions of dying that day – or any day, if he could help it.

Squeezing the handle of the blade in his hand, the arctic warrior let out a mighty yell as he slashed at the quickly nearing aquatic surface. A shimmering burst of frigid white energy erupted from the edge of the blade, spiraling toward the water even quicker than the ice child and his idiotic companion were. As the shimmering crescent of arctic magic crashed into the waves, the ocean froze, solidifying into a flat chunk of floating ice.

"Are you trying to kill us!" the flame head shouted, seeing the layer of thick ice form directly beneath them.

"Are you!" Frost shouted back, seconds before crashing into the frozen sheet with a crushing thud. The arctic warrior grunted, feeling the rigid surface of the ice reluctantly accept his form, the impact reverberating its way through his body. He coughed, suddenly realizing the flaw in his master plan: ice was hard.

The two of them had little time to consider the pain the impact had caused though, as less than a second later, the wave created from the ship shattering against the surface of the sea rammed into their makeshift lifeboat. The arctic raft was tossed into the air, flipping as the wave struck it, sending both of them careening into the ocean anyway – another flaw in his well-crafted scheme. Frost took those last seconds before he finally plunged into the deep to take one, last, deep breath.

With a disconcerting splashing sound, Frost's head dipped beneath the water, the force of the wave spinning him in the liquid a moment as it continued to push him from where the ship had crashed. The ice child struggled to make it back to the surface, kicking and flailing his arms and legs, attempting to create some sort of momentum to push him toward the elusive air that hung somewhere around him. As he flailed though, spinning through the frothy brine, the fool began to realize he wasn't actually sure which way was up.

Panic began to set in as Frost twisted his head back and forth, reeling in the power of the ocean, his air supply beginning to dwindle. After all that – fighting against the Sentry and whooping that old man's ass – he was simply going to drown. That wasn't how awesome people like him died!

Frost let out a startled gasp before quickly covering his mouth as a hand latched around him, pulling him to a halt in the water. His body recoiled, pulled back by the gripping force that held his collar. The fool turned a head up, seeing – of all people – Ivy pulling him back toward the surface – toward a bobbing piece of ice. He knew already, he was never going to hear the end of this – of her saving him. The ice child let his head fall as the girl tugged him toward the surface, attempting to conserve what precious air he had left.

As the boy's vision turned toward the deeper waters below, though, his eyes widened. Beneath the two of them, approaching with incredible speed, was the squid-headed beast. Frost turned up, trying to figure out how to warn Ivy the monster was approaching when he couldn't scream, but he couldn't think of anything. That being the case…

Frost flung his gaze back down, moving the blade in his hand through the water. He took careful aim as the beast approached, actually waiting for him to grow closer, as he pointed the tip of his sword at the squid. Squeezing the handle at the last possible second, the boy unleashed his sword's magic.

Frost's eyes widened as, instead of a nice, steady beam of chilling magic, ice began to explode into existence all around him, creeping every which way through the water – including up his sword and arms. The boy screamed, cutting off the burst of energy as he tried to break free of his own power. Through some force of sheer luck, though, the backfiring spell did manage to ward off the Sentry as he fled back to avoid being caught in the blast as well. Also, luckily for the dull-witted idiot, the buoyant nature of the ice began to quickly pull him up. Coupled with Ivy's tug, frost's head reached the surface of the water just in time to avoid drowning as he continued to scream.

"Get it off! Get it off!"

Frost kicked at the ice, attempting to pull his arms free as, behind him, Ivy pulled herself on to the icy platform he had made earlier.

"Frost… you control ice." Ivy stated, breathing hard as she gave the fool an exasperated look.

"Oh…" Frost paused, taking a moment to consider what it was that he was doing – realizing his own foolishness. "Right."

The arctic warrior forced his sword to pull the ice back into its blade, freeing his arms and body and allowing him to quickly scramble out of the water as well. Pulling himself up onto the ice sheet, Frost glanced to the opposite edge, watching as Myst hauled the redhead from the waves as well, the boy coughing as he turned to look at him.

"Frost… you could have waited…" Flare began, grunting as he took in deep breaths, "until after the water broke our fall."

"Details…" Frost waved away the obvious nature of the statement, taking in a long breath as well.

"Frost," Myst spoke, standing as she turned to eye the water below them, "Make the platform bigger, and stronger. This is only just beginning…"