spiritral

[spiritral]

Prologue

“Hey Dad?” “Yeah Wendy?” “Can you tell me another story?” John’s gaze drifted to their fireplace, the flames slowly dimming but not yet being embers yet. Scarlet had already gone to bed; she had an early day tomorrow and she couldn’t afford to miss that airship. Going back to Fotia after all these years… he really wished the two of them could join her, but caring for their daughter came first. 

Still, they had enough time for one last little adventure before bed.

“Alright, what kind of story do you want to hear?”

“I want one with-with magic, and adventure!” She excitedly insisted, still full of energy despite how late it was, “A-and can you bring out Howl again? I know it’s late but…”

John smiled, “Alright.”

“Once upon a time,” He began. It was a fairly generic beginning, but also Wendy’s favorite. Her eyes always lit up when she heard it, and now was no different, “There was a hero. He wandered Spiritral, looking for people to help, adventures to go on, even monsters to fight.” 

John could see his daughter smiling already. She always loved this one.

“Now, he loved what he did. He loved helping people and getting into the occasional good fight, but, eventually, even a hero can feel a bit… lonely,” He continued, “But then, one day, in what seemed like a normal day of traveling around, he encountered a new monster, one he’d never seen before.”

There was a growl from the dark corner of the room, a pair of yellow eyes peering out from the shadows. Slowly, a figure advanced forwards, metal plates forming out of thin air into the vague shape of a wolf, its back lined with sharp blades. Wendy gasped, holding her hands over her mouth.

“The hero had fought monsters like it in the past, but this one was different,” John recounted, the wolf slowly approaching the two of them, dying firelight gleaming from every metal plate that made up its body, “It was smart, cunning, and just as tough as he was.”

John smirked as the wolf drew ever closer, looking ready to jump. Wendy’s gaze went back and forth between them, “But the hero wasn’t one to back down from a fight…” He felt magic surge through his hand as metal flakes appeared from thin air, forming themselves into a solid steel sword in his hand, “..and so, they fought!”

The wolf lunged at him, John raising his sword and doing a small, light slash in its direction, the blade effectively bouncing off the metal plates of its body. He tried to keep things quiet though; the last thing they needed was Scarlet getting woken up early. The two of them kept clashing, though it was less of a battle and more just lightly tapping each other. It didn’t matter to Wendy though. She looked in awe at the whole display, quietly clapping in place like she was watching two warriors duel for her honor.

“They fought for a long time,” John kept going, lightly jabbing his sword at the wolf to fend it off, “And truth be told, the hero found himself enjoying it. He’d never had a challenge like this before, and really, the monster hadn’t either. They both gave their all, but couldn’t overcome each other. They were perfectly matched.”

“Oh, oh, and then?” Wendy inquired. John sighed bemusedly.

“Well, after a while… the hero realized, they weren’t really so different,” He said, lowering his sword as the wolf adopted a less hostile stance, the two of them staring at each other curiously, “The monster had basically been doing the same thing as he was. Traveling around, getting into trouble, going on adventures. And the monster even felt a bit lonely too.”

“So, the fight ended,” He put his sword on the ground, the wolf lowering its head as well, almost like it was trying to lay down its fangs, “But not because either of them won, but because they realized it’d be better for them to work together.”

John grabbed his sword off the ground, lightly tossing it up for Howl to catch, the wolf jumping up to grab the sword with its mouth like a dog catching a stick. 

“And so, the hero continued his wandering, but now, he wasn’t alone anymore,” He finished, Howl walking up to sit down beside him, sword still in his mouth, “He and the monster decided to wander together. They went on even better adventures, had even better fights. And best of all? Neither of them ever felt lonely again, because they always had each other’s backs,” He rubbed Howl on the back of his neck, the wolf closing his eyes happily, letting the sword in his mouth dissolve back into nothing, “And that, they say, was the first time a human and a spirit became partners.”

“So the hero was the first mage?” Wendy questioned, her eyes still gleaming with excitement, though she did seem to have finally settled down.

“In a way, yeah,” John confirmed, Howl dissolving into disappearing metal flakes beside him, “That’s enough for tonight though. Time for bed.”

Wendy yawned. Even a ball of energy like her had to run out sometime, “Aw, alright…” She didn’t resist as her father scooped her up into his arms to bring her to bed, “I always love it when you get Howl for these, Dad…”

“Well it’d be boring if I just told a story with no visuals,” John remarked as he brought her to her room, “Besides, he likes to perform for you too. He’s a big softie under all that armor.”

“Maybe,” He heard Howl mentally admit to him, “But how about next time you play the monster and I play the hero. After five years, it’s been getting a little repetitive.”

John just rolled his eyes.

“Is that story how you and Howl met?” Wendy asked as he put her down in her bed, tucking her in.

“Well, how I got my spirit was a bit simpler than that.” He kissed her on the forehead to wish her good night, “Not a lot of adventuring for me I’m afraid.”

“When can I get a spirit like you and Mom?” She asked once again, having just enough for one last barrage of questions before she could nod off. 

“When you’re older,” John answered, “Don’t worry, you’ll meet your own spirit one day… just not for a long while.”

“I can’t…” She yawned again, eyes fluttering as she finally seemed to fully tucker out, snuggling into her pillow as John quietly left her bedroom “...wait…”

John closed the door gingerly. Wendy had a lot of growing up to do before she could go to Magarx and get a spirit like he did, ten whole years of it to be precise. It almost worried him how fast that time could go by. It felt like just yesterday he and Scarlet had been teaching her how to take her first steps. Now that was about five years prior and he still couldn’t believe it’d been that long.

He stopped dwelling on it. Spirits, Magarx, Wendy growing up… All that was a matter for another time.

#Spiritral #Coming Soon... #ish #(probably) #(this is a teaser if you couldn't tell) #writing #original fiction