P
alace grounds…
A young boy could be seen swinging a sword skillfully. His blonde ponytail swayed gracefully, following
the rhythm of his arms. Although his shirt was heavily soaked with sweat, he showed no sign of stopping
his practice.
Thirteen years had gone by, and Cross had grown into a handsome Prince, beloved by his father. He had
taken most of his father's features, and was just like a little version of Halladin.
"The sword is simply an extension of one's arm. The wind blows from all sides, bringing good music. Those who
can dance to the tune will achieve perfection."
A young man with plain white robes was supervising Cross' training. The crest of the royal family could be
seen faintly on the top part of his robe. He had silver hair, and a bored on his face, like someone who
wasn't serious with his life.
"Easy for you to spout off gibberish there." Cross muttered to himself.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing." Cross focused on his practice.
"I asked what you said Cross." The man frowned.
"Nothing! I've been practicing the sword long enough master Albar, I want to become a true warrior like
my brothers! I want father to send me out on important missions like he does to them. Not things like,
'chasing the mischievous cats of Horathium', 'emergency trimming of grasses', 'project 1 2 3, A.K.A,
obtaining and delivering veggies to old people'. What do I look like, a little kid?"
"Funny, cause matter of fact, you are a kid."
"Oh… right. But you get my point?"
"I do not."
Silence…
"I don't care what you think! I want real powers, and I'll get them."
Albar scoffed, "Your arrogant squabbles will get you nowhere Cross. You know absolute nothing, you'd
best be humble and learn so you can become a significant prince useful to the people."
"I don't have to listen to you." Cross said.
"You'd better, I'm the teacher here. You, are not ready. Your sword skills are nowhere near perfect, and you have a rash
temperament. Consider working on those first."
"I think I might have to teach you off my significance then." Cross sneered and pointed his sword to Albar.
"And what does this mean?" Albar raised an eyebrow.
"I challenge you to a duel Albar."
"It's Master Albar" Albar frowned.
Albar or storm master as he was well known, was one of the students of Norvawich, and one of the five
most skilled swordsmen in Horathium. The fancy five. He was a wind Jinda and was really famous across
and beyond Horathium because of his killer move, 'Once view'.
"And for the record, I'm not known for bullying the weak."
Cross couldn't accept being called weak.
"I won't have you or anyone looking down on me! Haaaaahhh!!" Cross charged towards Albertos.
"Foolishness." Albar sighed. "Losing the fight before the battle even begins. He's lost his cool already." He moved
effortlessly to the side avoiding Cross' slash, before casually sending a kick.
The kick caught Cross on the chest and sent him flying a few distances away, before landing heavily on the ground.
Cross stood up and dusted himself. Looking up at Albar, he snorted.
"I go again!" Cross charged again, but with different approach. He jumped high into the air and slashed down at
Albar.
Albar, not wanting to use his sword just to show superiority smiled and simply shifted to the side. But
Cross had other plans. He did a swift 270 degree turn in the air and aimed a kick at Albar's legs, seeking to
sweep him off the ground. Albar summersaulted backwards and avoided the attack easily. But barely
landing, Cross who was now on his feet thrust his sword towards his chest.
Having no choice, Albar gritted his teeth, before reaching to the sword on his waist and parrying the attack
with it. Steadying himself, he looked up and took a stance.
Cross attacked again but Albar was a little faster. He kicked the handle of Cross' sword and sent it flying away.
Then, using the same leg, he sent a swift kick towards Cross' face.
Cross despaired immediately, the kick was coming really fast and he didn't have time to dodge or block
it. He shut his eyes and squeezed his face, waiting for the finishing blow to land. He was already regretting
challenging Albar.
And so he waited… and waited… and wait…. Hold on, this was taking too long. Wasn't he supposed to feel
pain at least? Instead of a stinging pain, he felt cool breeze brush his face.
Surprised, he opened his eyes slowly, and was stunned at the sight. Norvawich was standing calmly
between them, and holding Albar leg with his fingertips. He had a bored look on his face, and seemed as
though he was forced to intervene.
"He's just a kid Albar, you shouldn't attack in this manner." Norvawich said tiredly.
Albar aged a lot immediately, "Grand Master Norvawich… I was only..."
Norvawich gave a light and effortless push that sent Albar flying a long distance away, and crashing into an
unknown location.
Then turning to look at Cross, he picked him up by the ear.
"What act of petulance is this?"
"Aww! Put me down old man." Cross yelped painfully.
"Will you attack me if I don't?" Cross
sighed, he had no other choice.
"I'm sorry." He said slowly.
"Sorry for what?"
"For being rude to master Albar."
"You know Aroldin, insubordination is a serious crime in this Kingdom. Even you, could be punished severely for
it." Norvawich said as he put him down.
Norvawich was the only one who called him by his first name. Everyone else including his father called him
Cross.
"You have quite the technique though. It would seem Albertos is doing a good job. I shouldn't expect less from
one of the finest swordsmen in Horathium.
Cross said nothing, just staring at Norvawich like he was an art on display.
Norvawich turned and walked in a direction.
"Walk with me Aroldin." He said softly.
Cross sighed and followed slowly. "Where are we going?"
"Well… I figured we could just spend the afternoon together." Norvawich said with a smile.
Cross frowned and clicked his tongue. He'd rather be doing something else. They walked for a while without saying
anything to each other.
Cross noticed that the workers or guards they walked by all bowed and greeted Norvawich respectfully. While
they merely smiled or waved at him. Some of the older women even patted him on the head. This did not sit so
well with Cross, he felt he should be given more respect, and was a bit envious of Norvawich's status.
"Do you know what it means to be a Jinda, Aroldin?" Norvawich asked suddenly, catching Cross by surprise.
"Well… I think it means being a lot stronger than the average human being, having powers akin to that of god."
Norvawich chuckled. "Not far from it though." He cleared his throat and continued. "Listen carefully my
boy, as I tell you the mysteries of a Jinda."
"Mysteries of a Jinda?" Cross asked.
"Yes. You'll need this knowledge if you're going to become one."
Cross felt joyful immediately, this afternoon might not be so bad after all.
Norvawich cleared his throat and began…
"In an era so ancient that the histories have been lost in the shadows of time…"
"If the histories had already been lost, how come you know about it?" Cross asked innocently.
"I…err... Don't interrupt me boy!" Norvawich frowned.
"Sorry… go on please."
"In an era so ancient that histories have been lost in the mode of time…"
"You said shadows..."
"Yes, shadows of time. An era where gods walked among humans, an era where magical beasts roamed the
earth…"
"Like the ones in Night valley…"
"Quiet!" Norvawich opened his palm and a cane appeared on it. Turning to Cross, he hit him on the head
with it.
*Boink!*
"Stop interrupting me! You haven't even been to the Night valley so don't make unnecessary assumptions."
"Sorry, I won't say another word." Cross said, rubbing his head.
"Good, so where was I? Oh yes, magical beasts roamed the earth. These beasts were colossal in sizes and
were the pets and companions of the old gods. It was also said that these beasts possessed a portion of
their god's power. These mysterious creatures, Aroldin, were called Jindaros."
Norvawich paused and glanced at Cross. On seeing the dreamy look on his face, he nodded satisfactory
and continued.
"They were eleven Jindaros initially, each belonging to one of the eleven gods. Overtime, the Jindaros
began mixing with other animals and reproducing, multiplying their numbers on earth with even more
Jindaros."
Norvawich took out a pipe from his robe pocket. Flicking his fingers, the pipe lit up, and he put it into his mouth,
taking a puff.
"The Jindaros were powerful and their offspring took after them in strength. This made some brave
humans to develop curiosity about them, and with time, humans began to capture and study them."
"Study them? I thought you said the Jindaros were so powerful, how were they getting captured?" Cross
was confused.
Norvawich smiled, he was waiting for this question.
"The warriors of old were not weaklings Aroldin, the combined might of a few powerful warriors were
enough to take down one Jindaro. With huge casualties though, but it was always worth it." "Truly
fascinating…" Cross said
Indeed. As time passed, humans made good progress in their research, and some extraordinary warriors were
actually able to harness and control the powers of the Jindaros. These warriors were called 'Jindas'-
"Welders of godly powers."
"Wait... for humans to humans to harness the powers of the Jindaros, wouldn't advance technology be needed
for the process? I thought it was in ancient times?" Cross asked.
Norvawich nodded, it seems the boy didn't grow as dumb as he feared. That was a good thing.
"Listen Aroldin, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise. There was never anything ordinary about the ancient
times, for it was the genesis of the supernatural. The age of science is just as old as the beginning of humanity,
its application had only been different." Norvawich said.
Cross wasn't sure he understood, but he said nothing. Norvawich continued on;
"Things started to go bad when humans became power hungry, more and more Jindaros were getting
killed, greatly alarming the original Jindaros themselves."
"What did the gods do? The Jindaros were their pets after all."
"The gods were always too proud to get involved in matters concerning humans, and allowed the Jindaros
to settle the issue by themselves. A decision they would come to regret."
"Why do bad things always happen due to the negligence of the gods? It's always that way." Cross frowned.
Norvawich chuckled, "Well boy, this is something I do not know."
"What happened next?"
Norvawich smirked, "Then it happened…"
"What happened?" Cross asked eagerly.
"The Chaotic Jinda war. The humans, versus the Jindaros."
"A war…"
"Yes, and the beginning of the human-Jinda evolution. The humans united together, and using borrowed powers,
defeated the Jindaros."
"Unbelievable…"
"True, but victory was achieved at the cost of countless lives."
"Oh…" Cross felt sympathetic, but he wasn't sure if it was to the humans or the Jindaros.
"And finally, the humans joined forces once again and banished them into an ethereal world. Where they
would never get involved in the activities of the human world anymore, safe for when summoned."
"The… Jinda world."
"Correct, and there are still being held there till this day."
"But why would they need to be summoned….. Oh, I see."
"Yes, that's how humans become Jindas. You'll understand all these later on."
"So the gods just let their pets get sealed away?" Cross didn't think it made sense.
Norvawich smiled. "No, they stepped in as soon as the Jindaros were sealed, but it was too late. The
humans had grown too powerful for even the gods too control, and thus, heeded them no respect. A big
clash was inevitable."
"Humans vs. the gods???" Cross was amazed.
"Indeed, But the fight was just for a little while. The gods foresaw that the fight would lead to the
destruction of humanity, and likely themselves. The human population overshadowed the gods a million
times over, they were enough to pose a threat to them. And not being able to leave peacefully on earth
with the humans any longer, the gods left the earth. Legend say that they ascended into the very high
heavens, some claim they moved to cosmic space. But the whereabouts of the gods are still unknown.
Others also claim the gods are gathering somewhere, gaining more strength and power so that they can return to wipe out humanity, and free their companions. How true this is, I do not know. But we must get
stronger nevertheless."
"The Jindaros didn't deserve such fate…" Cross said slowly.
Maybe, maybe not. None of those matter now Aroldin, there wouldn't be us with the ancient people
making the bold move. I agree that humans are selfish and would do crazy things for evolution, but we
really did gain a lot, and it was for the betterment of humanity." Norvawich said.
"I guess…"
"And now child, I must attend to some duties. You should go rest in your room, we'll continue this conversation later."
Norvawich said, and he vanished immediately, even before Cross could say a word.
Cross sighed, he didn't really want the conversation to end as he still had lots of questions to ask. He couldn't
help but feel a little guilty and sympathetic. Sealing the Jindaros, driving away the gods… did humans really do
all that? Power in numbers was something never to be underestimated.
Well… Norvawich was gone, and it was getting late. He figured he could use a little rest and wake up in time for
supper.
Turning around, Cross walked slowly to his room, his mind filled with unanswered questions.