Tales of Mancia, Book One: Beyond the Frozen Grove Options

[redsrock]

Tales of Mancia

Book One: "Beyond the Frozen Grove"


CHAPTER ONE

"I thought you said you didn't believe in magic, Verick? What happened to all that talk about magic being a myth and nothing else? Now all of a sudden you've changed your mind?"

"I know what I said, Arvus, just shut up for a second, alright? Damn, you can be annoying sometimes!"

Verick and Arvus Junson were freelance adventures as well as brothers, working for no one in particular. They simply hunted for treasure and sold it to their favorite merchants in the many large towns the country of Haven had to offer. Haven, ruled by King Leonard Fervine, is the "power region" in the world of Mancia, sort of the capital of the world in a way. Haven hosts Mancia's largest largest army, largest population, and richest country as well.

The two had been searching through a small cave when Verick had mistakingly kicked a tiny stone box hidden within the many rocks on the cold hard floor. Upon opening the box he found one green heavy stone. The gem itself seemed to glow with importance, though neither of the men recognized it; that is until the more intelligent of the two, that being Arvus, had whipped out his massive book of gems and stones. The two searched for what seemed like hours until on exactly the five hundredth page they came across what looked dead-up like the stone Verick had discovered by sheer luck.

The book claimed the stone (which had no "official" name) to have magical powers that held the key to a whole other dimension. Obviously no one had yet to discover such a stone, and the authors of the book heavily suggested that the story of the stone of was a hoax and nothing more. Now it appeared as if all of that was about to change.

"I mean...just look at it, Arvus," Verick said with a tone of extreme awe and waving his exited and shaking hands through his medium length set of black hair, and then across thinly-trimmed beard. The two brothers were the same age of twenty-nine, though they were not twins. Throughout their many adventures they had come across plenty of mystifying artifacts, but nothing could match the stone Verick had discovered.

"Okay, fine. We found a rock that looks quite similar to what the book describes," Arvus said with his arms folded and rolling eyes. The book of stones had been put back into his large leather pack. "But that doesn't mean the story is real, or if this stone really is what the book says it is. If anything I think it is a simple coincidence."

Verick threw his hands up in the air in frustration and then yelled, "Wow, how ironic this is! You've always been the one reading books about magic and all that crap, and now that we're face to face with something that could really actually have magical properties you want to dismiss it!"

"I read the material because it is interesting and entertaining, Verick," Arvus replied, his tone rising defensively. "That does not mean I think it is all real. True, I think there is some kind of basic magic out there in the world, but do I think a mere stone holds the key to a whole new dimension? Certainly not! Think about for a second, Verick, and then maybe you'll see how ridiculous all of this is. The 'gem' you speak of is probably nothing more than a simple rocked painted green, and planted here to make a fool of someone like you."

Verick was really getting angry now and at that moment he wanted nothing more than to strike his brother in his hairless chin with his fist. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time the two had fought. But when Verick eyed a tiny pond of water in the far corner of the cave he ran straight to it, motioning for Arvus to follow and forgetting about pounding his face in for a moment.

"Alright, Arvus, we'll have it your way." Verick then pulled a dirty piece of cloth from his pocket and raised it in the air for Arvus to see. "I will dip the stone into this puddle of water and scrub with the cloth. If the paint comes off and it really is only a stone, I will wash your boots with my tongue."

Arvus began laughing histarically, his long blonde hair moving irratically, but when he saw that his brother was actually telling the truth he tried his best to calm down, even if it was fairly difficult to do so. "But if I am right about this stone, and it does have magical powers, then you are going to tear that particular page out of your book and eat it right in front of me."

Arvus was no longer laughing, and was now looking rather offended but at the same time extremely confused. What in the world is he thinking? Does he really actually believe that rock holds the power to another world? He must be out of his mind... "Fine, I agree, Verick. However, I think you are making a big mistake," he replied towards Verick, again starting to laugh a bit from the silliness of the situation.

"We'll see," Verick whispered, just before sinking the stone entirely into the puddle of water. He began scrubbing it vigorously with the cloth, back and forth, back and forth. This went on for some five minutes until at last he brought the stone back up. What he said at first made him cringe, and Arvus laugh with amused joy.

"Look, you idiot, I told you it was paint! You sure hope you like the taste of-"

But then it was Verick who was jumping with joy and happiness, for he saw something that Arvus couldn't because of the fact that he was standing about ten feet away. It was true that the green-ness of the rock was something like paint and beyond the paint was regular stone, but carved into the stone was lines spelling out numerous words and phrases of a language Verick could not understand.

"Come here, look at this! There's some kind of scripture carved into the stone!"

Arvus quickly arrived at his brother's side and the two of them studied the stone closely, trying to figure out what kind of language it could be. Of course with Arvus being the intelligent one, Verick asked him if he recognized the carvings.

"No, none of this looks familiar to me at all," was his immediate response. "For a second it almost looks of the Tijion...or maybe even the Pantor...but no, that's not it. I..I don't have a clue what it says," he said perplexed and scratching his head in confusion.

With the stone in hand, Verick pumped his right fist high into the air and began to mock Arvus for not believing him. But Arvus quickly silence his brother with a raise of his hand and said, "But that doesn't mean the stone is magical, Verick. The book said nothing about a scripture of any kind."

"Did it speak of how to open the dimension?" Verick asked eagerly.

Arvus just rolled his eyes. "No, Verick, it said it was a hoax.....remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I think the book is wrong and I am right!"

"No, you are wrong, Verick," Arvus said, starting to get agitated once more. "Either way, at least we've found something of value. Let's go ahead and head back to Crestwood so we can ask the jeweler how much he thinks it's worth."

"ARE YOU NUTS?" Verick yelled at the top of his lungs, scaring the daylights out of Arvus. "We are NOT selling this thing, you idiot! This is our key to another world, brother! Can't you see? We will be famous!"

Arvus was now beyond agitation and instead almost to the point where he could no longer take his brother's ignorant immaturity. "Give me that!" He said to Verick while snatching the stone away and picking up its stone container from the floor, and placing the stone in the box. "We will-"

Suddenly his two hands began to shake violently and both he and Verick immediately noticed that the box was glowing with a bright green haze, almost of a bubble of sorts. Arvus dropped the box to the ground in fear, and the top broke off. Inside the stone was in the middle of the container, and it too was glowing a green haze. But now four rods from all four sides of the square container had somehow been stabbed into the stone, holding it in place.

"What in the name of-"

Before any of them could do anything the bright light first engulfed them, and then the entire room of the cave they were standing in. For a moment they were blinded by the light, until finally the brightness began to calm down. But something strange was happening. Arvus suddenly found himself suspended in mid air above the box, along with his brother right beside him. The strangest part was that when he looked down he could see his own body still standing next to the box with his hands shielding his eyes. His body looked like a frozen statue, and then he noticed that Verick's own body was doing the exact same thing. The 'suspended' Arvus looked at the 'suspended' Verick and the two of them were simply at a loss for words. The glowing of the stone again picked up and then the two found themselves swirling in a fast circle in the air, with green bubble also circling around them. The spun faster and faster, lower and lower, until the two of them were just inches away from smacking into one another mid-air.

But right before they could make contact everything went black, and neither of them felt anything but a rush of cold air.

[redsrock]

CHAPTER SIX


"What's that supposed to mean? I understand that you all seem to think that my brother and I are saviors, but what exactly are you getting at? Do you expect us to save you from an evil force across the mountains or something?" Arvus asked, taunting the Ibisarions’ beliefs.

The Ibis simply looked at him, her smiling-stare still present and just as strong. "That's not exactly what we have in mind, but a good guess I would say. However, it is much more than that mind you. It's difficult to explain, especially to someone who is as unconvinced as you seem to be." She said the last sentence with a great deal of mockery, something Arvus didn't take kindly to.

"Oh yeah, well you try and go through what my brother and I have and see how you feel about all of this! Really, Saviors of Mancia! Phh, I don't even know a thing about this place other than what I've already heard, and that hasn't even been much because it seems you and that boatmaster Vaalvier don't want to say a damn thing, like it's some sort of conspiracy or something!"

Arvus' temper was rising, something Verick wasn't used to. "Brother, calm down. I've never seen you so angry before. You were never this way back in Haven you know."

"In Haven I was never chased by a ten foot monster that wanted to eat me alive!" Arvus screamed, both of his arms flailing in an angry state.

He was now livid with anger and was even starting to cause some of the other Ibisarion soldiers were walking around to stop and stare; that is of course until Arvus gave them a indignant glare, causing them to swiftly go back to their duties.

"How about this: stay here while your brother and I discuss matters in my chambers. Take a walk through my garden outside the entrance we came to, look at the many paintings and portraits we have displayed here in the lobby, just something to settle your mind. This is a troubling time for you, and I can understand that," the Ibis said affectionately. "After I speak with your brother I will come to you, provided you feel calmer. I assure you there is a reasonable and understandable explanation for everything."

For several seconds Arvus looked her in the eye, not really wanting to believe or listen to what she was saying. But as Verick had just mentioned about Arvus being a rational person, he finally settled down his anger and approved of the Ibis's suggestion. "Yeah, maybe that'll work. I guess I'll go look at that garden you mentioned. How long should your meeting take?" He asked.

"As long as your brother has questions. I will tell him the entire story and why you and he have been summoned to Mancia. Next I will allow him to ask as many questions as he sees fit. There's really no telling how long the discussion will take to the exact minute."

Arvus nodded his head, "Fine." Then he turned around and stomped angrily toward the entrance.

Verick was about to go after him just to make sure everything was all right, because he had never seen his brother in such a state.I can't believe he's acting this childish, Verick thought to himself. Then again, this situation isn't anything we've been through before. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm more surprised that I myself am not as angry as Arvus, and rather I am more than anything I'm actually a bit excited about this.

It was true that Verick was excited about the adventure that he could envision in the near future, but of course there was no way of determining any of the specifics, at least not until he had his meeting with the Ibis. "Alright," Verick said to her after turning back around to meet her eye to eye, "Let's talk."

**************************************************

The beautiful Ibisarion that Verick was so attracted to had left the premises, taking a back route outside a side exit and to her own set of chambers, located elsewhere in the castle, or so the Ibis explained. She also explained, while she and Verick were settling in inside her chambers, that Verick had been right and the young-looking Ibisarion was indeed the Ibis-in-waiting.

"Yes, she is my only daughter, and only child in fact. One hundred and twenty years of age and only just beginning on her path to preparing herself to take the throne when the time comes," she said proudly after she had nestled into the comfortable and lavish chair, behind a gorgeously crafted desk made from the same stone as the other buildings and the castle. To Verick it seemed as if the Ibisarions took great pride in the stone, or bavlin as Vaalvier called it.

"And when will that time come? If I may ask of course," Verick asked the Ibis after taking a seat in an almost just as comfortable and beautiful chair in front of the Ibis' desk.

"Ah, but that is the question, is it not?" she replied with a hearty laugh that shook her flabby arms and neck. "There is no telling I am afraid. However, there are several scenarios that have the greatest chance of happening. Would you like to hear them over a glass of Sharde?"

"I'm not really sure what Sharde is," Verick said confusingly. "Is it some kind of food?"

"Close, but not quite. It is a sweet and expensive drink, and is actually a mixture of regular water and a sweet substance called Shardevagei. The name comes from an infamous cave, just a few miles south of northern mountains. That is an extremely dangerous area, and we don't go there quite often. Only to gather Shardevagei, really."

"If it's so dangerous then why do you go there?"

"Because the drink is simply marvelous," she replied comically, as if Verick should have already known. "But we straying off the course now. Shall we get back to what I was talking about, the scenarios of my daughter, Brina?"

"Yes, let's talk about Brina," Verick said quickly, wanting to know more about the beautiful girl.

"Well, I am not sure if you are already aware of this, but my life in forever existent in terms of age. I may receive more wrinkles and I may get more feeble as the years pass, but unless I am harmed physically, I will never perish. Such is the life of an Ibis, and whether than fortunate or unfortunate is for you to decide. I don't think about it myself, I only think about how wonderful it will be to see the Zervigei crushed once and for all. But I myself am getting off course this time. Where was I? Oh yes, Brina.
"Like I've already explained, she will either have to wait until I am killed, or until I step down and give her the throne, but mind you the latter has never happened. In fact, Tagroth has only had a mere two leaders in its vast history, aside from me."

"How were the past Ibis's killed? In battle?"

"You could say that, but there's much more to it than that. Either way it doesn't really matter, and it definitely has no relevance to you, my dear. What I can tell you is either Brina will be the next Ibis, soon, or she will never be, and that all depends on you and your brother."

"Really?" Verick asked, both excitingly and warily, almost in a way not wanting to know why.

"Oh yes, that is certain. But before we actually begin to discuss these very important matters, what is your name? I'm afraid I haven't been given that information just yet."

"Verick, Verick Junson of Vagon. That is what my world is called. What is your name? Other than Ibis I mean."

"There is no other name, at least that I can recall. You have to remember that I have been the Ibis for a great part of my life, and was I was put to the throne my given name had been thrown out the window and I truly do not remember what it had been. And again, that doesn't matter either."
Now, what has Vaalvier told you about what is happening?"

"Not much, other than something about two fires lighting once we had been teleported here from our world. Sorry, but just one more question before we continue. Have you heard of my world, Vagon? If so, are we years ahead or years behind here in Mancia?"

The Ibis beamed with joy and replied, "You are certainly starting to catch on, Verick. Vagon is actually the centerpiece to all of this. Your world is somewhat directly involved, thought not entirely. Sorry, I know that sounds confusing, so just let me finish what I have to say, and then maybe this will all make sense to you. As for your question, our time in years is exactly the same."

Verick nodded and then the Ibis continued. "We Ibisarions are a simple people with one goal in life, and that is to soundly and completely defeat the leader of the Zervigei, Shando, and his Black Minions, the name we have given to his monstrous army. Our God, Zer, is the creator of Mancia and everything located within, including us, Tagroth, even the beast that you met back in the cave. He put us in this world to do something he could not."

"And what's that?" Verick asked.

"To eliminate the Zervigei and destroy the Frozen Grove. The Grove is an ancient and holy place to the Zervigei, but to us it a prison. The Grove holds hostage every Ibisarion that has died, whether it be from old age or from battle."

"So not every Ibisarion's life is everlasting as yours?"

"No, regular Ibisarions have a lifetime of roughly two hundred or so years. Now, as I was saying, the Grove contains every fallen Ibisarion, so you can imagine how crowded it is. The Grove is a desolate wasteland of rock and mountainous terrain, or at least according to the tales. Nobody has actually been inside the Grove. And this is where you and your brother come in. You see, in the early days of Mancia, and I am speaking of more than five thousand years ago, there was no Ibis. It was the powerful warrior Zer and his fellow soldiers. Back then there was another city to the northwest called Shandelore. This city was made up of the foul Zervigei, and of course their leader in Shando.
"After years of bitter fighting finally Zer was able to penetrate the Zervigei defenses and he killed Shando, along with many, many other Zervigei minions. But there is a catch to Zer's success. While he rid our lands of the Zervigei by forcing them retreat to the other side of the mountains and to a vast and once barren desert, he also sacrificed his own life as well because he was soon overwhelmed by Shando's powerful soul. Weeks before being killed, Shando somehow was able to magically enhance his soul, making it so that whoever killed him would also perish, and into the Frozen Grove. Shando knew the only person powerful enough to eliminate him was Zer, so it was truly an intelligent and scheming move. Zer himself knew this, but he also knew the sacrifice was well worth the consequences.

"So, let me get this straight," Verick said, thinking hard about what the Ibis jus laid out before him. "Your god, Zer, says that you and your people were put on this world solely to defeat the Zervigei? And the Zervigei's god, Shando-"

This Ibis then put up a hand and interrupted Verick. "No, Shando is was not a god then. Only when he was killed was he made a god, but how that happened we still do not know for sure. All that we know is that the core of his army lies in the Frozen Grove, waiting for the Savior of Mancia to do battle with him. Or in this special case, Saviors, as in two. It's unique really, to have both of you here."

"Wait, this is all getting confusing again. If Shando was killed by Zer, wouldn't that put an end to the war, since they were all seemingly banished to either the Frozen Grove or to the desert you mentioned?"

She smiled. "No, no, no. It is more than that, Verick. It is beyond the Frozen Grove, something must be saved. Right now Zer's soul is locked up someplace in the Frozen Grove. Where we do not know, but the first Ibis recorded that in a dream Zer had visited her, and he told her of what had happened. You see, days before Zer was killed he announced a new title and leader to lead Tagroth, calling that leader an Ibis. Ever since then that is how it's been, the Ibis leading the Ibisarions. Now, in this dream I spoke of Zer told the first Ibis that his soul was being held prisoner in the Frozen Grove, and until it was freed and the ghost of Shando was destroyed there will always be a threat of a takeover."

"A takeover? By whom?"

"Well, I will explain. After the dream the first Ibis sent out an elite group of warriors to the outskirts of Mancia, into the Forsaken Mountains of the north. There they found some sort portal, something that looked to be a mirror but rather than glass there was a blue haze-like smoke in between two large stone pillars. While they were hiding behind rocks they heard some of the Zervigei talk about certain things, things that when the men came back they had a hard time explaining. What they did find out for sure is that there is indeed some kind of portal leading into the Frozen Grove . And apparently Zer's soul must be released before we Ibisarions can have true peace."

"And this is where Arvus and I come in, right?"

"My, my, you really are catching on, aren't you," the Ibis said with a laugh. "Yes, according to something else that was mentioned in the first Ibis' dream, 'a Savior from Vagon must expel Shando and release Zer once and for all'. We do not know why it has to be someone from the outside world, but it must."

"Wait, so you know about my world?"

"Yes, we do, at least Vaalvier and I after Zer died that is. We learned this actually about fifty-five years ago. For the first time since the Zer's death, I went inside of his personal castle, which is located about twenty miles north of Tagroth. I rummaged through his belongings, trying to find something that would help me in figuring out how to defeat the Zervigei, because you see everything then had been so vague. But then I found his journals and other articles that he had written. That told of the Stone of Mancia, and of your world of Vagon. He described what your world was like and those writings he repeatedly wrote that it HAD to be someone from Vagon to release his soul and defeat Shando."

"So did you go and find the stone or something after that?" Verick asked.

"Oh no, I certainly did not, but I sent a group of my most trusted warriors, including Vaalvier. Zer's scriptures had mentioned the stone and its powers, but even he was unsure of where the location was. You see, even in life Zer had been a god, and during his reign on this world he created the stone, actually just weeks before he went into battle against Shando. Somehow Zer knew Shando would think of something awful to put a blockade in Zer's plan to rid the world of the Zervigei completely. That is why Zer created the stone, to ensure that there would always be a way. It is all written in his scriptures that I have hidden away."

"So Arvus and I are the Saviors who must finish what your god had started thousands of years ago?"

"Yes, but it is awfully odd that both of you have been summoned. Never in the scriptures did it say multiple Saviors, but here you are."

"Is it possible that perhaps who are not actually 'the chosen ones'?"

"No, that is in fact impossible. The stone only allows those fitting to be the Savior, or like I've already said, in this case Saviors. You are both here to fight and defeat the Zervigei. There is no other explanation."

Verick stood up from his chair and walked over to the other side of the room and to a large reddish plant looming up to the ceiling. Verick studied the large and almost fuzzy leaves as he thought about what the Ibis had told him.

So I am supposed to fight for a world I've never heard of, against some ghost that's real life body had killed a god? Oh man, this is just getting better and better. Verick thought to himself, growing more excited, but also growing fearful, as well. All of this talk of fighting a large army of monsters was beginning to eat at him.

He walked back over to his chair and took his seat once more. "So what if I were to deny all of this and walk out of here, and back to the stone?" he asked the Ibis, who only laughed.

"Oh, Verick you are going to have to do better than that to trick me. You and I both know the stone is no longer in existence. You must remember that I have the scriptures, not you. The writing specifically says that once the Savior is selected the stone will disappear forever. And as for you leaving, that is impossible as well. Your fate is with us now, whether you like it or not. And judging by the way you are acting I believe you have mixed feelings about this, correct?"

"I'll admit, this is all of sort of interesting, in its own twisted and insane way. Part of me wants to just leave, but another part wants to keep going and see where all of this leads me. Why can I not leave?"

"Because there is nowhere else to go I'm afraid. The portal between Mancia and Vagon has been destroyed for good. Now that you are here Shando knows this, and he will now be even more aggressive, sending armies and armies of Zervigei until you are killed. He himself cannot travel outside of the Frozen Grove, but you should consider that a good thing."

"So what you're saying is that I am stuck here?"

"Not exactly. There's a catch to this as well, just as there was when Zer killed Shando. If and when you destroy Shando's spirit and release Zer's soul, you will be named the new leader of Tagroth, under the title of 'Ibo'. And this is not a lie at all, it's in the scriptures, Verick. There is 'stuck', you see. You will be given something that no other male Ibisarion has been given before, and that is complete power and rule over Mancia."

"What will happen to you if that is to happen?"

"I am not rightly sure as of yet, I am still trying to decipher that through Zer's scriptures. I have a feeling that I will not just be killed, but something else will happen, maybe not even involving me directly. Who knows, Zer's scriptures are so in depth and it will take me forever to understand them. It's a good thing I have that long," she said with a laugh.

Verick laughed along, but it was an uneasy laugh. How in the world is this real, I just can't believe it. And what is Arvus going to think about all this when he hears it? I don't even want to think about that right now. "So, is that all I need to know?" he asked the Ibis.

"No, not at all. But is enough for one day. Go get your brother so that I may be able to speak with him. I have a feeling he isn't going to be as understanding as you've been. After I speak with Arvus alone I will then talk with the two of you at the same time. Until then you may browse about and do as you please. Just don't leave Tagroth of course."

Verick merely nodded and left the room, still wondering how all of this was really happening.