The Cerulean Today

[Eleazar]

((SOLO))

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 1

Eleazar pushed the two oaken wood doors of the Les Paves Ronds as the chubby innkeeper heartily hollered a goodbye to the striking young noble. The twenty-one year old waved and bade him a last remark. “I’ll tell my fiancée about you! I’m sure she’ll be very happy!” Eleazar flashed his remarkable smile, underlying his untruthfulness. He walked unhurriedly out into the bright morning of the young journeyman’s capital, Scara Brae.

The wild sun in the blue sky shone extravagantly, its heat complementing the cool sea breeze that blew from the south. Fluffy clouds were in the sky and the sun’s rays showered over the city; it was a beautiful, beautiful day. Women were briskly walking along, minding their own business of rushing to buy fresh catch from the market. There were novice adventurers everywhere, and from the looks of it, they seemed to be looking for businesses of their own. And although Scara Brae was quite the big city, the noise it made was bigger. Salespeople hollered at the top of their lungs, trying to sell the goods that they had. It seemed that none of the customers knew anything about shopping etiquette either, because they screamed right back at the merchants, trying to get a discount. Eleazar had gotten used to the deafening noise but the combined stench of rotting seafood, sweat and manly stink still overwhelmed him. He covered his nose disgustedly, cutting of the odour from his sense of smell because of the foulness.

He scrunched up his face in dislike as he held up his gloved hand over his nose. “Oh man… it stinks,” he said aloud, half-hoping that a sweaty fisherman would hear him and think twice about missing that refreshing morning shower. He shook his head, as if to ward away the smell. “Phew… wow.”

It does stink, doesn’t it?

“Yeah… the officials have to do some – “ Eleazar turned around to see who he was talking to. Surprised, nobody was there, except on the dirt ground was a hairy menacing looking spider the size of his hand. It seemed to look up to him in queer arachnid innocence. The young noble lifted an eyebrow in confusion; had he finally gone crazy, or did a spider just speak to him?

Stupid. It’s not the spider. That comes later.

“Eh?” Eleazar tried to register the voice that he was hearing, and for some reason, he seemed to be hearing the words in his head, rather than from his ears. “W-what’s going on?” he asked uncertainly.

I’ve heard you say that one too many times.

“Where… who are you?” Eleazar scratched his head, forgetting all about the abhorrent stink of Scara Brae.

The voice in his head sighed in annoyance. It was so familiar to Eleazar, but he could not put his finger on it. It was as he had heard the voice before, in a distant dream.

Stupid. You HAVE heard me in a dream. Remember last night? Appearing in your room… bringing you to your past… the non-existence… all that jazz.

“Oooh.” Eleazar said aloud, passers-by looking at him as if he was another one of the crazy nobles in town. He blushed in shame and tried to save himself from humiliation. “Ooo-kay. I gotta go over there.” The random passers-by paid him no more attention as he started to walk away in embarrassment.

Smooth.

“What do you want?” Eleazar snapped back in his head at the voice of the pink-haired spirit girl. “You’ve already changed my life once, totally breaking and remaking who I am.”

I did that? Oh right. Well, I’ve gotta do it again.

“What are you going to show me now?” Eleazar asked expectantly. He prepared himself for another trip to the cerulean blue of non-existence.

I’m not showing you anything. Not anytime soon. Rather, I have to tell you something.

“What… that you use lotion or something?” he joked, remembering the first time he gripped the spirit girl’s hand.

No. And while we’re on the subject, I don’t use lotion. I’m a spirit. Anyway, He told me to give you directions to Fortino.

“Who is this He? And who’s Fortino?”

You’ll see. Just go where I tell you to.

Eleazar followed the pink-haired spirit girl’s directions in obedient aggravation. He did not know where he was going and he did not know how long it would take to get there; he had only arrived at Scara Brae a day ago. He had no idea where she was leading him to and there were no explanations as to where, or why, but he followed her instructions anyway. All he knew that his life would be changed yet again. He seemed to having a lot of those life-changing events lately.
__________________________________________________ ____________

Back on the dusty ground, on the streets of Scara Brae, was the hairy spider, crawling bravely towards a wall, hoping that it will reach a safe, dark corner where it can secrete itself in. As it travelled ambitiously on the wall, it caught sight of a wandering fly with its eight keen eyes. Instinctively, its stinky spider webs shot out from its body, preventing the poor fly to escape its impending doom. The spider wrapped its prey securely into a sac, preparing it for its next meal.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 2

“You realize that I’m in Brokenthorn Forest, right?” Eleazar said in irritation as he brushed aside a stray branch from a gnarly old tree. He spoke aloud, partly because it was impossible for anyone to hear him this far into the dark forest, and partly because he was alone and hearing his own quivering voice made him feel a little less uneasy.

Yes. You’re almost there so stop complaining.

Eleazar sighed. He had been following the pink-haired spirit girl’s directions for the past three hours. It was a wonder he still had the patience to even bear the sound of her girly voice in his head.

Looking from the outskirts of Scara Brae City, Brokenthorn Forest looked quite menacing. The trees waved malevolently from afar, and even though the setting was mirrored to be dangerous, watching from a window was still safe. Being IN the forest was an entirely different matter, though. Eleazar searched through the boughs of the high trees, only to find fragments of the bright sunlight breaching through small leafy openings. The air was heavier and sadder in the forest, for whenever the twenty-one year old breathed in, his burdens seemed to become heavier and heavier. As if to coincide with the unnatural air, there was no noise in the wood. No birds could be heard chirping or singing gleefully in their nests. No animals could be heard rustling through the bushes, looking for their next meal. The only sound that could be heard was the eerie shivering of the trees’ leaves in the wind. And then there was the occasional insect screech that echoed through the forest like a lonely banshee.

“I can’t believe you talked me into coming here,” Eleazar complained, his hands making their way to warm his elbows.

Didn’t I tell you to stop complaining?

“No.” the young noble said in quiet defiance.

Suddenly, a repulsive unearthly cry reverberated thunderously from deep within the forest. It seemed to threaten the scared leaves to detach themselves from their branches. The trees trembled in fear and seemed to want to uproot themselves and run away in fear. Eleazar’s eyes scanned the area in panic, praying to God that the creature would not attack him.

Calm down. Just move fast. Fortino’s hut isn’t far.

A few hurried twists and turns later, Eleazar came upon a wide clearing. At the far side of the glade was a flowing stream that surged into a long river that runs through Brokenthorn Forest. The sunlight here shone freely from the sky. Eleazar judged that it was probably around 10 o’clock in the morning. The atmosphere was quite inviting and optimistic, aside from the fact that the inhuman insect cry was still echoing through the forest. The centerpiece of the clearing was a small hut; sturdy and reliable and for the time being, safe.

This is Fortino’s hut. And I leave you here.

“What? But…” Eleazar seemed to have a part of his mind cut off from him, as if a pair of sharp scissors severed his thread of connection to the pink-haired spirit girl. He sighed in mild disappointment and abandonment. “Spirit guides… so unreliable these days.”

For some reason, the young noble knew that he was supposed to go inside the hut. And for some reason, he knew that Fortino was going to be there, waiting for him. And for some reason, he felt that meeting this Fortino would only bring him more trouble.

And it was so.

Pushing open the straw door of the little house fit for two people, he saw a weary old man standing near a boiling cauldron filled with a strange-smelling chunky gray soup. The hermit was stirring it calmly with a wooden spoon, as if he did not notice Eleazar come in through the door. The young noble just stood in the doorway, waiting for the old man to admit him in, because he knew it was bad manners to sit himself down in somebody else’s house. And yet, the old man ignored him, filling up two wooden bowls of the odd soup and bringing out unusual-looking brown bread. A few moments later, he looked up with cheerfully surprised eyes to see Eleazar smirking in the doorway.

“Oho! The oceanic nobleman is finally here!” He walked up to the young noble and gave him a strong hug, astonishing for a feeble old man living in the middle of the forest.

“Ummm… yeah…?”

“Oho! I am terribly sorry, my lad!” The hermit noticed Eleazar’s confused and violated look, his jaw dropping at the eccentric show of affection from a complete stranger. “It is a custom in my family to greet people with a hug.” He smiled gaily, as if everything was all right.

The hermit was quite unconventional for an old man. First of all, he hugged people tightly when he first met them, as if he knew them all his long, long life. He was not depressed, but rather, he seemed happier than most people Eleazar encountered. Also, rather than leafy worn-out clothing, he wore priestly ebony robes embroidered with shimmering white designs reminiscent of spiders. The aura he gave off was one of utter joy, and whenever he smiled, his white moustache furrowed adoringly.

“Oho, come in, come in!” The old man gestured for him to come inside the comfortable little home. They both sat down at the two-person dining table, where the outlandish soup was served with slices of the brown bread. He gave Eleazar a look, telling him that he can eat whenever he pleased. “I’m sure you already knew, but nevertheless, my name is Fortino,” he began, tearing off a piece of the bread and dipping it into the soup. “I believe your spirit guide has brought you here, yes?”

“Yeah… I’m not sure why, though.” Eleazar looked curiously at the soup and the bread, and he saw very fine pieces of spider hairs in the soup and the bread. He was sure that his eyes were betraying him, though.

“Oho, well, we have to get right down to business, then.” Fortino took in a deep breath and politely ate the soup-soaked bread. He chewed heartily for a moment, enjoying his meal. He then continued on. “You will have to go into the Brokenthorn Forest to help a poor lady in need.”

“Ummm… okay… why?”

“Oho, because your cerulean destiny requires you to do so.”

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 3

Eleazar wandered aimlessly through the gloom of Brokenthorn Forest. After being merrily kicked out of old Fortino’s humble hut, the young noble was forced to roam around, looking for, in the elegantly dressed hermit’s words, “a poor lady in need.” He sighed, dispelling his fear and exhaustion with every exhale, as he stepped over yet another overgrown tree root, gnarly and hideous in its existence. His royal imperial coat got caught on a stray but strong branch, ripping part of the delicate blue-white cloth. An ugly tearing sound exploded in the silence as Eleazar stepped back and stared at the piece of expensive fabric hanging from the branch, aggravated.

“Man…” Eleazar grumbled in annoyance, grabbing the end of his long coat and checking to see how much damage was done. A small rip could be blatantly seen on the otherwise flawless coat. And then he heard an ear-piercing sound, disrupting the quiet and his train of thought.

He did not believe his ears at first, because he thought it was the cool ocean zephyr blowing again, making the leaves rustle uncomfortably. Eleazar then heard it again. It sounded like an animal, not a large one, sniffing around for food to scavenge upon. The young noble lifted his head slowly, cautiously squinting to see what was making the sound. But then he recognized it for what it really was, so he made his way quietly to a bright clearing far up ahead, where the balmy rays of the noontime sunlight danced upon calm waters. The source of the sound was to be found in the corner of a rich green gully, picturesque in every way, for the trees bowed deeply, as if reaching for the ground and the colourful shrubbery decorated the ground.

An older woman, looking to be in her late thirty’s or early forty’s, was sobbing pitifully under a dropping tree near the bank of a peaceful fresh water stream. She had her hands buried in her teary face, snivelling in worry and regret. “I shouldn’t have let them play there…” she repeated, numerous times, in between whimpers.

Uncertainly but concernedly, Eleazar approached the weeping lady. He gently made his presence with a light acknowledgement. “Hey…,” he began tenderly, trying to ease her palpable pain. “It’s alright… shhhhh… it’s gonna be okay…” He awkwardly put his gloved hand on her quivering shoulder in compassion.

“I…,” she blubbered. “I shouldn’t have… l-let them play there…” She fell back into another pitiful series of tears. It took a few moments for her to calm down. “N-now… they’re lost… and he’s lost, too…”

“Who’s he? Who’s lost?” Eleazar queried, slowly coming to realization that this was the “poor lady in need” Fortino was referring to.

“My children… and my husband… they’re lost!” She began wailing once again, this time louder than ever for admitting her dilemma out loud. The young noble was afraid that she would attract the mysteriously frightening creatures that live in the depths Brokenthorn Forest because she was so damn noisy.

“Shhh… shhh…,” Eleazar said, mostly trying to quiet her down, rather than to ease her anxiety. “What happened?”

“My ch-children… they went to go play in the forest… then two hours…,” she sighed, trying extremely hard to tell her story. “Two hours passed… and they didn’t come back… so my husband went to go look for him…,” she paused, catching her breath. “It’s been eight… eight hours since he left. I’m t-too afraid to go into the f-forest. And I don’t know the way out.”

Eleazar brought her to stand up on her two wobbly legs, tired from sitting down. He tried to calm her down and rationalize the situation for her. “Well, I could bring you to a hut nearby. A friend of mine lives near here.”

“A-alright.” She sniffled and rubbed her eyes free of tears.

The twenty-one year old led the woman back to Fortino’s small clearing a ways away. Since she kept on switching between frantic lamentations and quiet sobbing, the supposedly short trip to the hermit’s home took longer than either of them expected. When at last they stepped upon the doorstop of the small structure, Fortino opened the straw door expectantly, his bushy white moustache furrowing gleefully.

“Oho! A guest!” He was so noxiously happy that the lady managed a smile, a beautiful facial expression upon her matured face.

“Do you mind taking care of her for awhile?”

“Oho! Why so? Are you going somewhere?” Fortino inconspicuously winked his right eye, too quick for the lady to notice.

“Yeah…,” I can’t believe I’m doing this. “I’m gonna go find her husband and her children.” The hermit smiled in fulfillment.

The lady’s eyes widened in joyful surprise. “Oh thank you, thank you! Praise be to God for a young man like yourself!” She her worry washed away like footsteps in the sand being washed away by the ocean.

Better get going, then. Eleazar turned around and headed back into the dreadful forest. Fortino invited the crying woman into the house for some soup and bread as he closed the door behind them. When the young noble was again deep into Brokenthorn Forest, he heard another stabbing sound, but this one he had heard horribly before. It was the inhumanly gruesome cry of a gargantuan insect, resonating throughout the profound forest, as if it was being projected on a megaphone.

It was noon. It was not cold.

Eleazar shivered.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 4

The woodland was extremely quiet when he slinked back into the gloom that was Brokenthorn Forest. The sun was shining bleakly in the noontime sky, almost invisible in the presence of the heavy boughs of plant life. The wind seemed to be in pause mode, because it abruptly stopped blowing. The trees sulked, their faces hidden from the rest of the wood. The leaves had their breath drawn, as if waiting for some impending incident to occur. The sinuous stream that Eleazar Lachrist followed gurgled in a hush. No birds or animals could be heard for miles off. Even the terrifying insect screeches stopped, which disconcerted the young noble even more than he was when the cries could be heard echoing through the forest.

Despite the cool breeze that the stream provided, something was wrong.

Eleazar was not a hunter. Nor was he an experienced fighter. He did not know from where or how the insect creatures would attack. He did not know how to properly defend himself, either. All he could do was continue on searching inaudibly for the lady’s family. He hoped and prayed to God for two things only: that he would find the family fast, and that he would get out of the forest alive. The young noble was wiping dripping sweat off his forehead, staining his pure white glove, when he heard a rustle in the tree branches above him.

Huh? He dared not speak aloud in fear of the creatures hearing him, unaware that insects cannot hear, but rather, these ones could sense the presence of fear. Another rustle came from the same spot, and Eleazar very slowly drew out Silver Beach, his steel sword, from its exquisite wooden sheath. He was breathing hard as he took his practiced battle stance, fully aware that something was watching him from above.

And then it struck.

The attack was so quick that Eleazar did not have any time to register what attacked him. All he did was parry the strike from above with Silver Beach as a loud clang resonated through the forest. He stepped back in shock, but then his fighter instincts kicked in dramatically. He assumed his battle stance, boldly this time, and braced himself for an insectoid assault.

It struck again. And again. And again. And again.

And every time it struck, Eleazar parried, confidently, but not powerfully enough to damage what he realized to be a stinger, dripping with congealing insect juices. Another closer and clearer cry echoed throughout the forest, an arresting khaaaah, emitting from the creature in the trees. The insect then swiftly dislodged itself from the high trees, shaking and breaking the branches violently. It was then revealed in all its sheer and horrifying glory.

Actually, it was not an insect at all, but rather, an arachnid. Its ghastly body was covered in thick bushy black hairs, with ugly scars carved around its muscular body. Coating its leathery body were blue and black jagged tiger stripes, compelling and impressing in their existence. It had eight long legs as tall as Eleazar, creeping and crawling, ready to strike at any time. Its huge stinger oozed of green-yellow poison, dragged along from the rear end of its bulging abdomen. Its mouth dribbled of hungry slimy saliva, and its mandibles opened and closed threateningly. Its seven eyes gleamed a menacing blood red, and its one other eyes was remarkable silver, blinded from previous encounters. It left out another reverberating war khaaaah and circled Eleazar, casting upon him its disturbing power and authority.

Oh my gosh.

The spider lunged at the young noble with evil grace, striking away with its two front legs, trying to have him drop Silver Beach on the green grassy ground. Eleazar was on the defensive, in fearful awe at the majestic creature in front of him, but at the same time, intent on surviving. He slashed his sword upwards towards the spider’s facial area, certain that it was going to die by his hands. The spider hopped back assertively, confused that the human attempted to kill it. It was cautious, for although it was a hunter spider, it was not used to humans wielding dangerous stingers of their own.

To divert it from him, Eleazar clenched and unclenched his fist, sending clear water from the stream to the spider’s eyes. It splashed painlessly but distractingly on its facial area, discombobulating it, making it back out in confusion. Eleazar took the advantage and aimed to pierce the spider’s mouth, to destroy it. He pulled in his sword, forcing all his strength in one single deathblow.

The spider lifted one of its front legs, and whacked the young noble right on the wrist, bruising it. Even though he had an extremely tight grip on the sword hilt, the force of the blow forced him to let go. Silver Beach tumbled to the left with a clank, into the free-flowing stream. Unprotected, Eleazar raised his hands to his face in an instinctive reaction to harm. The spider toppled over him and he fell on his back, thumping softly on the grass. It positioned its stinger right above the young noble’s stomach. And then it struck.

Eleazar’s mouth bubbled with saliva at the effect of the poison. It was as if he was stabbed by a sword of flame, heat radiating from the point of contact of the stinger to his belly, spreading agonizingly to his whole body. His body lay still on the ground. His eyes only revealed whiteness and his body shut down quite as easily as blowing out a lighted candle. The last he saw was the black and blue underbelly of the giant spider.

Someone sighed, annoyed. Can’t take care of yourself?

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 5

Eleazar woke up abruptly from a horrific nightmare. He dreamt that he was walking peacefully in Brokenthorn Forest looking for something he could not recall when a giant hairy spider attacked him from the shadowy trees. It was alarming and hissed evilly at him whenever he tried to attack it. He almost killed the demonic creature by stabbing it in the mouth, when it slapped away his sword before he could do anything and stung him painfully in his stomach with its stinger, dripping with terrible poison. He dreamt that it wrapped him in its sticky white webs and carried him away to its sinister lair for eating.

He realized that it was all too true.

Eleazar found himself wrapped in waxen spider webs, his whole body and head enveloped in the gluey substance. His arms were drawn excruciatingly close together, his legs were tightened in pain and he was looking down at his dirty rugged clothes – a very uncomfortable position in a very small space. Stuck immovably on the slimy walls of a mysterious cave, the young noble struggled and struggled, to no avail. He tried to fall in, to detach himself from the cavern, but the webs were too strong to loose their adhesiveness. Wiggling around did not do Eleazar much good, but then he appreciated that miracles do happen.

He worked his webby hands, which were surprisingly slightly movable, towards the gleaming Silver Beach, pressed neatly near his sheath, but not in it. Eleazar thanked God for the sword as he grabbed the hilt and began stabbing the tough spider web outward. And then he hacked, hacked, hacked away. After many tries, the twenty-one year old poked a hole through the harsh material; his face grinned widely but nervously in success. He grabbed the edges of the crack and ripped it open with sufficient strength. The spider web gave way cleanly and soon, he was back on his two wobbly feet.

Happy that he was back in terra firma, rather than trapped helplessly on a wall, Eleazar sighed in relief, only to breath in the putrid oxygen of the spider’s cavern. The air was sickening on the tongue. He spat a mixture of the remnants of the spider’s poison and webs on the ground, only to find that it was covered by corpses of so many different animals, all either rotting repulsively or already bones. The young noble stepped back involuntarily in shock, but thought better of panicking and deciding to find his way out of the hell hole. Cautiously, he surveyed the area, but all he saw was damp soil and huge cobwebs, randomly found throughout the small space, encompassing not only the walls, but climbing up the ceiling menacingly.

A faint glow of light caught Eleazar’s eyes, right in the very small crack of the corner. It was not very bright nor did reflect any signs of movement, but it was light nonetheless. The young noble made his way warily towards it, crunching and cracking the dead bodies scattered across the floor like a child’s playthings. When he reached the shine of the dim light, he gaped at the deep crisis he was in.

The illumination did not shine from any particular area, but rather, Eleazar realized how weak it was that it could not be even compared to the openings he beheld. All around him were oval-shaped pathways, showing him the way to another area of what he immediately recognized to be a colony. Like my ant science project… only its spiders this time. Eleazar gawked, his jaw dropped in awe and terror at his realization. Who ever heard of colonial spiders? And if they really are colonial… that means there must be at least… a hundred of them in here. The cavern cavities were not cavern cavities at all, but rather, they were spider-made hallways, leading to what could likely be residential grottos, nursing areas and the ever-present and highly guarded royalty room.

Crap.

Eleazar grabbed the hilt of Silver Beach, ever so tightly so as he would not loose it again, and travelled through one of the clearer pathways, scared out of his mind what lies at the end of the spider’s tunnel.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 6

The path led on endlessly as Eleazar dragged his feet on the earthy ground. The were no tips, no turns in the hallway that the young noble took, and luckily, none of the giant spiders came along the way, either. He still held Silver Beach firmly in his hand, just in case the need arose to use it, but he ended up dragging the weapon lazily on the damp soil as his aching feet. He was exhausted; it seemed that he had been walking for weeks, especially since the darkness ate up any light that could have illuminated the place. The young noble was unaware that he had only been walking for half an hour, but he convinced himself that it had been much more than that. All his fatigue was mental, but that did not change the fact that the spider-made cavity was long.

Yet again, Eleazar glimpsed another soft ray of light, enlightening a small area, revealing a circular chamber, covered by spider webs, with empty sacs. He did not want to find out what were in those sacs, and where they were now. Three of the ugly sacs were attached quite close to the ground, as if the spider that weaved them to the wall was too lazy to climb up to the higher web boughs. The young noble noticed that there were still remnants of things in them. As he went closer, he realized that the things were not remnants at all, but rather, were newly caught prey, still intact and untouched. Eleazar jumped in surprise, falling loudly onto a skeleton of an unidentifiable animal, as he saw one of the sacs wriggle uncontrollably.

What the!

“Help…” the sac said weakly, as the squirming ceased. “H-help me…” Immediately, the young noble set to work, slicing away the spider webs tangle by tangle to free the person, partly because he was a noble and nobles do noble things and partly because he was lonely and afraid and wanted anyone to be with him in the horrific spider colony. He made a hole in the person’s spider webbing and finally released him from his entrapment. The captive, an adult sandy blonde haired man, sprawled onto the floor, pushing away a decaying corpse of what seemed to be an oversized rabbit, gasping desperately for air, however putrid it may be.

“M-my kids…,” he gasped dreadfully, pointing to the two other occupied sacs beside the newly emptied one. Eleazar urgently sliced open the sacs, revealing two beaten children, dirtied and pungent. It seemed that they had been in those sacs for quite a while; it was a wonder that all three of them were still alive. One of the children, a little girl with stringy auburn hair, was unconscious on the earth, but fortunately breathing. The boy, who seemed to be around twelve, panted for air; he had been deprived of regular breathing for so long.

“You guys alright?” Eleazar pulled the boy up on his two feet and helped the father of the children stand up from his respiratory tantrum. The light was still extremely dim, but it seemed to the young noble that all of them were capable escaping, which was the only thing he thought about at the time. “Let’s get you guys outta here.”

Gesturing over to the opening where Eleazar just came from, the young noble walked watchfully, scrutinizing his surroundings for any of the giant spiders. The father picked up his little girl from the ground and his son followed him in fearful obedience, looking up to him with worried eyes.

They walked in silence through the long corridor that Eleazar followed moments ago, since the other chamber was a dead-end. None of them dared make a disturbance, in fear that the demonic spiders would come crawling after them, wrapping them up again in their sticky webs. The only sound that could be heard was their barely inaudible breathing and the pitter-patter of their footsteps. And even though they walked away from the illumination that the light provided they all stuck together, not even thinking of splitting up, in fear of not making their way out together.

It was all dark when Eleazar caught sight of two pairs of eight blood red eyes, all lined up together as if they were pasted onto a surface. The young noble’s eyes opened wide in panic, especially because the eyes were less than five feet ahead of them. The eyes turned to him menacingly, and from the surface of the eyes came the unforgettable cry of the giant spiders.

KHAAAAAH!

Eleazar had no time to think, no time to form a plan, no time to do anything but run. He grabbed the twelve year old boy’s hand instinctively as he charged fearlessly and fearfully towards the two sets of eyes, fully aware that the eyes were pasted onto a much more formidable spider. He brandished his sword in defence, slashing away mindlessly as he passed the makeshift fence that the spiders formed with their hairy eight-legged bodies. He felt steel come in contact with flesh as gushes of spidery blood flowed through the air. Screams of the arachnids exploded in the silence, and soon after, more cries could be heard resonating seemingly throughout the whole hell of a place.

Eleazar ran. It seemed that he was running away from everything: from the spiders, from immediate fear, from darkness, from the shadows, from death, from himself, from his past, from his history, from his destiny.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 7

Eleazar had his hand gripped firmly around the twelve year old boy’s wrist as he dragged him roughly running through the dimness of the spider colony. The father was trailing behind them, barely keeping up with the young noble’s blind speed, carrying his unconscious daughter securely on his shoulders. Everything was dark, but not entirely pitch-black, so Eleazar could make out things in the lack of light. Many decaying corpses and skeletons were scattered on the squishy ground; numerous times did the group accidentally step on something, hearing an ugly crack. The little sound was nothing compared to the unbearable racket that the spiders created, though. Screeches and cries of the gigantic creatures echoed throughout the place, filling the air with dread and terror as the group ran hurriedly. The spiders seemed to be coming from everywhere, following them on their trail and crawling up the ceiling and walls to cover more ground. The earth thumped with the intensity of a powerful tremor, produced by a whole battalion of giant spiders charging after them. Eleazar was afraid to look back, afraid to find something that he did not want to see.

An ear-splitting khaaaah exploded from the young noble’s right side, a spider was crawling hurriedly up the wall to block their pathway. Eleazar sliced Silver Beach at the general direction, because the blue and black colouring of the spiders camouflaged with the darkness of the cavern, making them slightly invisible in the shadows. He felt his weapon pierce hard skin; the giant spider fell down, lifeless on the ground, as the rampage of the other spiders trampled over the dead body. Eleazar continued running, his instincts taking over his thought-process.

To his side was the adult man, fear plastered upon his youthfully ageing face like a tattoo. He kept up with Eleazar nicely, but it was evident that he was extremely tired; he was running on the last of his energies. They could not have possibly taken a break to rest, though, because the spiders seemed to be chasing after them even faster. Webs were shot towards them – Eleazar prayed to God that they wouldn’t get caught in it – but fortunately, they missed, dropping harmlessly onto the side of the escapees. It seemed that luck was their side, Eleazar mused, but then thought better of it. Luck wouldn’t put us in this position.

The group soon reached a cross-road, with three visible pathways to take. Neither of them could think which one to take, so Eleazar headed down the path with the least light, though he did not notice it running quickly by. The spiders thundered behind them, and more spiders seemed to be coming from the other pathways that they did not take. They simply covered the area of their hairy bodies and eight gangling legs. Frantically, Eleazar shot another burst of speed and dashed forward, hoping that they had finally reached the exit.

No spiders came from the path they took, but there were more than enough of the buggers behind them for the young noble to care. Yet another spider came by to block off their escape, this time swarming from the ceiling and jumping right in front of the group, preventing them to go any further. His primal instincts kicked in, and Eleazar wielded his sword confidently, striking dangerously at the creature in his way. With a scream of bestial fury, Eleazar stabbed the spider with Silver Beach in the middle of its forehead, blinding its eyes with the sight of its own black blood. He penetrated the tough leathery hide of the arachnid, reaching through its exoskeleton and damaging its fragile brain. He drew the sword back quickly, and shot past the corpse, letting it be run over by the berserk of the giant spiders behind them.

And then he saw the beautiful, beautiful gleam of the dimmest ray of sunlight.

Grinning happily despite his circumstances, Eleazar reached into the core of his being, drawing strength and power hidden deep within his biological reserves, to give him another boost of running speed. It seemed that the father running beside him saw the light too, because he started running towards the light like there was no tomorrow. If they were not careful, there would not be a tomorrow for them. Nevertheless, they raced to the daylight, and very few moments later, they were rewarded with the sight of the greenery of Brokenthorn Forest. Still inside the thundering cavern, which they realized was an underground spider colony, they hastened to the opening.

And then Eleazar dropped to his feet, hitting his forehead hard on the earthy soil.

The man fell painfully on the ground, his daughter’s head banging on the earth.

The twelve year old boy the young noble had such a grasp on was being dragged towards to spiders. He was screaming and crying in alarm and his fingers searched frantically for any sign of a grip.

All four of them were pulled towards the spiders, dragged on with sticky spider webs entangling their legs. Eleazar struggled to break free from the pull of the spider, plunging Silver Beach into the earth as an anchor. He looked to the sunlight, desperate for the warmth that it provided, and looked back to the horrible mandibles of the blue-black striped spider, opening and closing, opening and closing. The young noble shouted a vain protest in defiance as Silver Beach gave way, plummeting him to the hairy darkness that was the giant spider.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 8

Eleazar was enveloped by the spindly hairy legs of one of the giant spiders. Their hide felt sickening to the skin, with the quills of their thin pelt brushing obscenely on the young noble’s healthily pale flesh. He was also exposed to the revolting language that was widely known to be Spider-Tongue. The various screeches and shrieks that apparently conveyed an intricate train of thought was ear-shattering. Also, the horrid stench of the underground arachnids was nauseating; smelling of rotting meat, spoiled milk and the stinging pungency brought forth by the paralysis poison. None of these factors helped make Eleazar’s experience a pleasant one, but then again, there was nothing pleasant about being dragged carelessly by the legs on the moist earth by a swarm of massive colonial sub-terrain-dwelling spiders.

At least, Eleazar thought, giving up on struggling and instead turning to reassuring himself to ease his terror. He looked around to see where his three companions were, finding them all unconscious beside him, being dragged by the beasts as well. At least the family’s still with me.

The spiders turned their great black and blue tiger-striped bodies around a bend, bumping Eleazar’s head quite comically on earthly wall edge. An unusual burst of spidery laughter arose from the creatures, sounding very odd – keh keh keh keh. Eleazar smirked, more hurt at his embarrassment in front of arachnid fiends rather than the purple bruise that developed on the right side of his head. These spiders have such a nice sense of humour.

Feeling lost and helpless as he was being dragged, Eleazar caught sight of another light, just as dim as the other glows he had seen before. To the young noble though, lights were becoming rather annoying, because every time he saw a light, something unfortunate would happen. In the spiders’ underground colony, light was not a very trustworthy sign, nor was it the epitome of hope. On the contrary, where there was light, there was always danger.

Which yet again, proved to be true, as the spiders dragged him into an open space lit curiously by luminous spider webs.

The underground gully was striking in many ways. There was the gleaming spider webs covering the earthy walls and climbing up to the ceiling, where a very small hole, the size of a human hand was poked through, revealing darkening sun rays, indicating that the afternoon was coming to a close, opening the stage to the darkness of the night. The place was shaped into a cylindrical chamber, with cracks and crags in the wall made of earth for wall-scaling. The ground, contrary to the other chambers Eleazar had visited, was clean and well-maintained; no decaying carcasses could be found and enamel skulls of different types of beasts were hung on one wall, like proud trophies won by a great warrior. In the middle of the underground gorge was a beautiful pool of clear water, untouched and undefiled in its peaceful existence. The water shone brightly in the luminosity emitted by the spider webs, so tempting and so inviting. Standing calmly in front of the waters, the spiders that captured Eleazar pulled him to his feet with their legs, poking and stabbing at him, enough for him to feel pain, but not enough to inflict any real damage. They disposed of their three other captives lazily nearby, dumping them near the shallows of the pond. They then prostrated themselves in a position the young noble thought must have been extremely awkward. They bent their four front legs forward, with their abdomens high up in the air, as prominent as ripe fruits ready for harvesting. The scene would have been extremely beautiful and majestic in a unique way, were it not for a colossal form shifting slowly in the web-covered shadows.

Good evening to you, feeble human.

Eleazar gasped sharply as a malicious deep female voice erupted from his head, similar to the thought-speak that the pink-haired spirit girl had with him seemingly ages ago. He stood his ground, appearing calm and controlled, but really, he was in utter fear. He was also surprised that he could actually understand the hidden behemoth. But he was mostly scared out of his mind.

I can smell your fear, human.

The young noble forced himself to maintain his tranquility, breathing in and breathing out, breathing in and breathing out. Beads of sweat began forming near the purple bruise on his forehead.

Give me your name, human.

He could not bring himself to speak in the presence of such a mighty and powerful creature, staring in awe and terror at the monstrosity before him.

I commanded you to give me your name!

The colossal spider’s voice boomed so loud in his head that Eleazar clutched his head in striking pain. Apparently, the other spiders heard their authority’s anger, and they bowed even lower, appearing scared out of their tiny spider minds.

“E-Eleazar L-La-La-Lachrist.”

Hmmm... so you have come.

“Eh…?” Eleazar was not only scared, but confused as well. He was only here because he was stupid enough to take on the challenge of saving that weepy old woman’s family.

It has been so long since the last crest bearer of the Cerulean Destiny went after his crest pieces.

“Crests? Crest Bearers?” Eleazar responded, clueless of what the spider was talking about.

So how would you go about obtaining the Cerulean Today?

“What are you talking about?” he said in a questioning tone, unintentionally offending the colossal spider. It let out a riveting cry, and crawled out of the darkness of the shadows, revealing itself in all its horrific glory.

Like all the others, its body was covered with thin bristles of hair, with the leathery hide gleaming in the illumination, exposing ancient battle scars and wrinkles from the spider’s age. Coating its massive build were remarkable black and silver tiger stripes, impressively designed on its membrane. Its legs were not spindly and thin like the others, but they were evidently strong and capable. Its abdomen was immense, with a large spike protruding from the end of it, with slimy poison dripping, melting the earth that they dropped on. Its blood red eyes gleamed menacingly despite the light, and they stared at Eleazar, as if looking right through him, digging a whole in him painfully, only with the eyes – the spider queen had that much power and authority. Its mandible looked ready to tear, but simply its size was enough to scare anyone. It was almost as tall as the royalty chamber itself, and it was especially taller than at least three of the giant spiders combined. And those giant spiders were not very small, rather, individually, they were approximately as tall as Eleazar.

The spider queen stepped out of obscurity opposite Eleazar, on the other side of the rivulet. And like a practiced ritual, all the other spiders resumed their normal state, standing up tall on all their eight legs, watching and waiting for what the queen was to do.

Never take that tone with me, foolish human!

“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty!” Eleazar responded, panicking, realizing that royal authority the queen of the giant spiders wanted.

Hmmm…, she began, considering his unawareness of the crest of the Cerulean Destiny and its importance in his life. You don’t look very important... not to me, anyway. And I have been hungering for human meat…. for quite some time now…

The spider queen crawled slowly around the pool of clear water, as if it dared not defile it with its dirt. Nevertheless, it looked so menacing that Eleazar was paralyzed on his feet. With the speed of a snail, but the precision of a mantis, the queen creeped, its eyes focused solely on the young noble, and its thoughts focused only on the young noble’s flavor.

The spider queen, grand and terrible in its existence, was hunting him.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 9

The giant spider queen inched ever closer to Eleazar as he stood near the bank of the placid underground pool. Her mandibles opened and closed, spidery saliva dripping hungrily from the mouth they protected. She was a vision of ravenous terror, the epitome of the primal savagery of all living things. Even her own kind seemed to be afraid of her. The other giant spiders shuffled away into the gloom of the royal chambers, watching and waiting for the queen to have her way. The luminosity provided just enough light for Eleazar to assess his desperate situation.

He glanced back at the pathway leading out of the royal chambers and thought better of it, the spiders were sure to chase him down, even more infuriated than they were now. Fighting the queen was too dangerous, especially because the odds were against him. Eleazar was running out of options, and his options were limited to start with. Desperately, he searched around his surroundings, until he noticed something. The spider queen creeped closer and closer to him, but she never set foot in the clear water. As a matter of fact, Eleazar noticed that she seemed to be avoiding any contact with it. Maybe…

And then the dreaded spider queen lunged at Eleazar, baring its mandibles at him.

Without even thinking, Eleazar jumped right into the water with a refreshing splash. He had a rather clumsy leap, falling on his face in the rocky pond, which turned out to be quite deep. The cold water enveloped his body and his clothes absorbed the liquid, making them twice as heavy as before. He righted himself up quickly, expecting the worst from the arachnid predator, when he looked back at the shore of the pool, only to the spider queen backing up awkwardly away from the serene waters. He cheered in relief, things were finally looking even just a tad brighter.

She let out a long angry khaaaah, swinging back and forth, waiting for Eleazar to come out from the water. She dipped one of her legs into the water, desiring the flavour, the flesh, the blood of the young noble. She withdrew her leg immediately, unable to bear the feel of water on her bristling spider skin.

Maybe out of boredom or just to humour Himself, God created the giant spider race to be deathly intolerant of water. To them, water felt like acid upon their leathery skin. It felt like hot burn, incinerating their hide, no matter how cold the water was. Many giant spiders have learned the hard way that water is extremely bad for them. Many other foolish giant spiders have died of pain trying to satisfy their hunger with the delectable-looking fish. This spider queen tried to challenge the elements by housing in the chamber that had water. Everyday, she stubbornly tried to break the creation rule by dipping herself in the pool. Everyday, she failed, pulling her leg back, howling in unbearable pain.

Heatedly, she screamed in greedy rage. Get back here, human! Let me nourish myself with your imbecile blood!

Eleazar smirked as he stood up boldly in the water, rising up to his shoulders. “Not so tough now, eh queenie?”

Never speak to me like that, foolish human!

“Drink much?”

Her “water training” proved to be of at least some use when the spider queen screamed in rage and jumped straight into the water, creating a loud splash and a large wave that knocked Eleazar right off his feet. Shrieks of pain erupted from the queen as she lashed out in the water, both trying to stay out of it and diving deep into it to find her prey. Eleazar, on the other hand, was trying to stay emerged; he worked extremely hard to keep his head above the water, especially because the queen was splashing around madly.

The queen then whipped herself out of the water, shooting out a sticky luminous web towards the massive ceiling. She climbed her sturdy web, desperate to get out of the water. She intentionally blocked out the dim sunlight as she adjusted herself so that she looked down into the now-unruly pond from the ceiling. Aside from the radiant spider webs, everything was dark and shadowy. She searched the water with her eight keen eyes for any sign of the young man, spotting him righting himself up near the shore.

The other giant spiders screeched in approval as the queen pushed herself off of the ceiling, diving intensely into the water, aiming her mouth at the young noble.

Looking up, Eleazar saw the spider queen lunge terribly from the ceiling. He brandished his sword mightily in a confident reply, drawing his Cold Ocean powers inherited from his deceased mother. Two long thin snakes of water twirled beautifully around his sword from the pool, following the weapon wherever it went. Letting out a cry, Eleazar stabbed into the air at the queen’s fast-approaching mouth. The water took a dreadful effect inside the mouth of the queen, dissolving its flesh slowly and painfully. There was a blinding light when the mouth finally enveloped the young noble. He felt Silver Beach contract with soft flesh as the giant spider queen let out her final khaaaah.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 10

The giant spider queen’s corpse fell lifelessly into the water with a large and loud splash. A hiss escaped from its mouth, as did the magically blinding light. Eleazar stood in awe at the spider’s once-majestic body, mouth agape and mind shocked. He had never done anything so daring... or so vicious. Not that he cared for the spider to live. The carcass had its mouth exposed and its mandibles twisted in an awkward angle, water vapour absconding and steaming up into the dim light of the ceiling. The black and silver tiger striped colouring the queen’s body dimmed to lustreless hues. Black blood from the beast dripped into the clear waters from the sharp edge of Silver Beach. Amongst the sudden quiet of the underground spider colony, an inaudible chink resounded from the spider’s bright motionless maw. A small incandescent cerulean jewel fell from its orifice, dropping without a sound into the rippling waters. Eleazar watched it fall to the shallow depths, disappearing into the grey pebbles and stones.

Suddenly, the jewel came back, darting like a mad seahorse, as if trying to find something. It zipped hurriedly through the waters, swimming around Eleazar until it seemed to find what it was looking for. He followed the luminous cerulean jewel with his striking ice blue eyes as it jabbed itself glaringly into the surface of Eleazar’s right hand. He winced in pain as the gemstone embedded itself into his skin, digging into his flesh and wiggling its way through bone. The jewel positioned itself comfortably inside the young noble’s hand, and stopped moving, leaving only traces of the pain that had been. It fused itself with the young noble, as he felt it become a part of him.

Examining the cerulean gemstone in his right hand, Eleazar saw it to be made of a smooth stone, gleaming from inside his skin. It glowed with the unusual sheen of the moon, which could be seen shining despondently through the small ceiling hole. It was oddly shaped, and it seemed that the jewel was incomplete, because there were little slots and openings.

Abruptly, an army of spider screams and screeches exploded from the giant spiders cowering in fear from their queen in the gloomy shadows. They crawled and shuffled towards the shoreline of the underground pool, snapping their mandibles threateningly and striking their legs in the air, as if provoking Eleazar to attack them. Making its way through the water was the father, with his two children very close by, all conscious and safe.

For the mean time.

The father, dragging his sobbing daughter and traumatized son, went up to Eleazar, seeking the young noble for some life-saving advice. “How do we get out of here?”

The young noble sighed, breathing out the stench of the spider queen breath. Uncertainly, he answered. “… I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” the father asked, with a hint of fear in his deep voice. “We have to get my kids out of here!”

A plan formulated in his head, a plan so daring and so improbable, that it seemed to be his most farfetched idea yet (and it was). “Maybe…,” he began reluctantly, wholly unsure of himself and the daring action he was about to take.

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The spider paced angrily around the shallows of the water, not daring to make contact with the waters that killed his mother, his queen. He hissed forebodingly at foolish Eleazar, who was making his way near the banks with the three other thoughtless humans. He bared his mouth and snapped his mandibles, wanting to rip apart the ugly human form of the young noble, to avenge the blasphemous death of the queen. Their scripture proclaimed that the spider queen was to die at the hands the destined Crest Bearer of the Cerulean Destiny. Surely, this Eleazar Lachrist was not the one. With his eight keen red eyes, the spider watched as Eleazar withdrew a medium-sized satchel of water, hidden beneath the noble’s dripping wet clothing. He pulled the cap off with an evil smirk, and swirled his glowing right hand over the water container. Magically, the spider stared wide-eyed as water pulsated their way out of the container, dancing in the air like snakes.

The water snakes snapped at his eight eyes like a whip, and the vengeful spider knew no more.
__________________________________________________ _______________

The spiders made a clear path for Eleazar and the family to pass through as the young noble utilized his Cold Ocean powers, snapping the water from his satchel to and fro without wasting a drop. The water hit the spiders on their facial area, blinding their eyes or on their legs, forcing them to topple over in torture. His energy drained slowly, sapping away as he whipped the water at a spider that got too close for comfort. Not matter how tired he was, Eleazar was determined to survive.

He broke into a quick run when the area narrowed into the pathway the spiders dragged him from before. The family followed him close behind, huffing and puffing as the spiders chased after them in abandon. He thrashed his water at the pursuing arachnids and withdrew fluid quickly, holding them back if only for a few seconds. Thunderous noise and ear-piercing angry khaaaahs erupted as hundreds of spiders scampered all around the colony, racing after the escapees. Eleazar looked back to see an inhuman giant spider pounce at him. He drew Silver Beach in one lithe motion and snapped it back, slashing the spider’s leathery face, drawing dark black blood.

He ran with all his strength, moving his legs so fast that running seemed so… distant. His legs numbed. He thrusted his water back to keep the spiders away as the family ran ahead of him. He ran through the dark damp hallways of the underground colony, with only the embedded jewel in his right hand illuminating the place. Silver Beach slashed away at the spiders that got too close, steel mashing away at tough hide, producing a painful khaaaah from its owner. Casting a last look at the spider queen’s carcass in the distance, the young noble darted away.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 11

Eleazar and the family of three ran hastily through the underground spider colony, darting to and fro, trying to find the right passageway leading to the outside world. The thunderous rampaging of the giant spiders echoed through the dimness, and their resonating khaaaahs blasted in the humans’ poor ears. The young noble brushed dripping sweat from his damp forehead with his arm, staining his brow with the disgusting dark blood of the spider queen. It stuck to his temple as if it was a part of him, temporarily fusing with the colour of his dirty pale skin. His black damp hair was a malodorous combination of water, sweat and blood and it never knew its purple shine because of the sheer darkness of the underground. Eleazar’s diaphragm relaxed and contracted nanosecond by nanosecond, and his energies were being spent just as quickly.

“Faster!” he managed to shout, more to himself than the panicking family. Driving himself into energy storages he did not know he possessed, Eleazar burst away, turning right into a corridor, with the giant spiders rumbling just behind him.
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A ways in the corridor, a small brigade of giant spiders communicated with each other, reassuring themselves that the human was too weak to battle at least ten of them. They clustered around each other, waiting for the precise time to ambush the impudent fool. One of them voiced out apprehensively that he had dangerous waters; another accented the sharp steel blade covered with the blood of many other spiders and their beloved mother and queen. The lieutenant screeched an ear-piercing order to silence, interrupting any of the other spiders’ grievances. It was covered in black and blue tiger stripes like all the others, but only much bigger and much more experienced. It told its subordinates that they were to capture the humans at all costs, and that he was sure that they were to survive.

None of the spider marines complained again.

One of them silently contemplated to itself. What if this Eleazar Lachrist was the prophesied Crest Bearer of the Cerulean Destiny?
__________________________________________________ _______________

Sprinting through the pathway, Eleazar noticed, to his aggravation, a diminutive battalion of red spider eyes. The eyes gleamed in the blackness up ahead, staring straight at the young noble, attempting to paralyze him in his footsteps, as did the spider queen. Flourishing his sword up high, he screamed a defiant war cry, motioning for the family to keep running but to stay out of his fatal way.

He chopped through the wall of spider legs, hacking off one arachnid’s limb like a lumberjack’s wood. He slashed away to his side, gashing one spider’s face, cutting through three of its eyes sloppily. Another aggressive slash and one spider’s abdomen was cleaved open, exposing slimy organs and membrane. As he made his way through the dying horde, one particularly large spider pounced upon his back. Eleazar tried to waddle away, pushing himself to stand while shoving the spider off his back. The spider pinned him down strongly to the ground and drove its drooling stinger into the young noble’s left arm.

An intense pain shot from Eleazar’s arm, as if he was being burned from the inside from the point of contact with the stinger. His left arm convulsed frantically and he could feel the burn making its way to his central body. He sliced violently at the spider atop him, cutting off the arachnid’s stinger, making it bound away in hurt. Shrill khaaaahs screamed from the spiders as all of them turned away fearfully in withdrawal, leaving only the corpses of their dead comrades behind.

The family helped Eleazar up to his feet, almost dragging him towards the dim sunlight that could be seen around the bend of the corridor. Making their way as fast as they could (which was not fast at all), the trampling legs of the rampaging spiders echoed ever closer. Eleazar felt his arm going numb, dying away into bodily unconsciousness. Soon, his eyes were drooping sleepily and he began foaming at the mouth. His legs had already given up their will to run, as the family dragged him along, heaving and hoeing all at the same time.

When they turned the bend, Eleazar saw the familiar sight of the Brokenthorn Forest. It was around late afternoon, and the wind was beginning to cool into the nightly breeze. The sun was shining lazily in the sky, with grey cumulus clouds blocking the full extent of its happy rays. The entrance was the most welcoming sight he had seen. One last heave away from the dark underground path and they were climbing a small hill to the outside, away from the thick brush covering the underground colony entrance, running towards the small river that flowed through the forest.

The spiders chased after them wildly, trampling out of the entrance to the underground spider colony like the beasts they were. Strident khaaaahs reverberated in anger throughout the woodland as they caught sight of the puny humans, running handicapped towards the graceful river. It did not matter if they crossed the brook, though; the arachnids would simply climb the tall trees easily to the other side. After all, they were spiders.

The family shuffled desperately, crossing the sinuous river. The four of them fell with a thump onto the grassy earth. The father was clutching his two scared and weeping children to his chest, protecting them from anything that might attempt to catch them like before. Eleazar breathed heavily, inhaling oxygen to restore himself from his pain. Unfortunately, the wound burned ever more excruciatingly, the poison climbing up quickly to his facial area. Soon, he knew, it would make its way up to his brain, intoxicating him like before. He did not want to wake up in the spider’s colony again, because he was almost certain he would not actually wake up again.

Noisy rustling came from the trees along the river, and looking up, the young noble saw the black and blue tiger striped giant spiders crawling through the boughs, making their way towards him and the family. He gasped in surprise, preparing himself for the worst as one of the spiders leaped off the branch towards him, baring its vengeful mouth.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 12

The great spider lunged at Eleazar vengefully, jumping with agile precision from the tops of the tall trees. It soared through the air, as if everything was slow-motioned, Eleazar panting vulnerably on the earth ground. He did not have the strength to lift his sword once more, nor did he have the vigour to cast a last minute water spell at the incoming arachnid. Almost as if to accept his fate, the defenceless young noble clamped his eyes shut, waiting for either the spider to viciously rip him apart or for the previous spider’s toxin to take its effect.

Either way, he was going to die.

He lifted his right arm weakly before his face in instinct, waiting for the spider to come in contact with him.

Suddenly, he heard a sharp khaaaah from the beast above him. And then the quick and surprised gasps of the family. And then the strong current of flowing water, bashing powerfully into the spider. Eleazar opened his eyes in confusion, perplexed as to why he had not died. He was sure of that. But he was relieved all the same when he the old hermit, Fortino, clad in his black-white arachnid-designed robe, standing boldly in front of the river, glaring warningly at the approaching spider army.

The spider that had tried to attack the vulnerable young noble was on the ground beside him, laying dead in an awkward manner. Its exoskeleton seemed broken, because its legs were twisted in a horrific way that even spider legs could not have tolerated. Its red eyes dimmed by the second, turning into a pale grey-pink. More over, the spider was ruefully wet, dripping from mandible to abdomen, with the clear water of what Eleazar realized to be the river.

Looking back to the old man, Fortino lifted both his arms slowly into the air, as if he was praying. The river waters seemed to bubble and boil, surging violently in its wake. Fortino narrowed his eyes at the fast-approaching spiders, screeching and screaming their way towards their human prey. A few of the spiders who were well ahead of the others jumped manically over the river to the old hermit. Fortino just swept his arms even further to the sky.

The last thing Eleazar saw was the majestic river, rising up in Fortino’s skilful authority, forming a formidable was of solid water, blocking off the spider passage to them. The leaping spiders did not have to stop themselves in midair; the damned arachnids fell into the gushing water wall, drowning. The hermit turned his head around slowly to meet Eleazar’s gaze. He winked at him in approval.

And then the poison took its toll.
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The father had quite a few dire injuries: a sprained ankle, three broken fingers on his left hand, a large gash on his forehead and two broken ribs. Fortino laid him on the floor and gathered a few of his medical and healing herbs to help ease the man’s pain. His wife garbled over at his side, weeping, screaming and praying all at the same time. The children did not have as many wounds, but nonetheless, they were hurt. The pre-adolescent boy had two broken fingers, an open cut on his right thigh and he was traumatized into silence. The little girl only had a bump on her forehead and a stiff neck from falling asleep inside the spider’s webbing. Fortino tended to them like a professional doctor, grabbing his potions, concoctions and echo screens from his well-ordered shelf.

The hermit’s hut was quite crowded, with six people dwelling in it, resting and healing up from their arduous journey through the underground spider colony. Fortino had been trying to locate the entrance to the colony for years, and he felt quite comforted when someone else stumbled upon it by accident. He patched up the adult man’s forehead quite cleanly, smiling as he did so. He ruffled his fuzzy white beard in humble concern.

Soon, he served the family the same soup that he had served Eleazar the day before. To everyone except the old hermit and the sobbing mother, the day before seemed like an entire lifetime ago. The father sipped the warm, strange-tasting soup gratefully. The children gobbled up the brown bread hungrily, not caring about the flavour, which was not all that great. Fortino did not bother asking what happened in the spider colony – he had a feeling that he knew what happened. Sinagog had finally been slain, after all these years.

Fortino smiled. Brokenthorn Forest was safe from the giant spiders, yet again. For the time being.

[Eleazar]

The Cerulean Today: Chapter 13

Eleazar floated calmly in the gauche dimensions of in-between dreaming and waking. He was so tired, so fatigued, but for some reason, his body wanted to stop sleeping. He did not know how long he had been asleep, but the comfort of the bed laid on tempted him into dozing off. He turned his head to the other, cooler side of the fluffy pillow, not even thinking of opening his eyes. All he wanted to do was rest.

Unfortunately, his body did not comply. Dismayed, the young noble, slowly opened his eyes. The sight of a hideous creature with ivory white teeth shocked him into waking. He shouted in alarm, searching for Silver Beach on impulse. The horrific figure backed away in confusion, and spoke.

“Oho, calm down, my lad!” the black and white figure motioned for the panicking young noble to relax, breathe in and breathe out. Eleazar focused his eyes clearly and saw the happy old face of Fortino, dressed in his exotically beautiful robe. He smiled, ruffling his white moustache (not his ivory white teeth). “Seems like the toxin still has an effect on you.”

“Oh… sorry ‘bout that.” Eleazar apologized, turning soft pink in his embarrassment.

“Oho, it’s not a problem.” Walking towards the dinner table, Fortino gestured towards the messy pile of blankets on the dusty floor. “The family has left for Scara Brae. They give you their utmost gratitude. And 100 gold.” The old hermit tossed a small pouch of chinkling money at the young noble. Eleazar caught it in the air easily. His strength was returning quickly by the second.

“Thanks.”

Fortino prepared the same soup and bread he had served Eleazar what it seemed to be many years ago. Thankfully, he pulled off the warm blanket and found that he was wearing his black pants and white shirt. He looked suspiciously at the old man, questioning him with a stare: Where was his other equipment?

“I put your other things on the side table.” Eleazar looked around and found his apparel, folded and arranged nicely in a corner table. With a small smile, he made his way to the table, sitting down to a nice pleasant afternoon meal. The sun was shining vibrantly in the light blue sky, raiding in through the window. The cool ocean breeze of the Scara Brae Sea could be felt caressing his skin.

“Eat up.” Fortino said.

Without taking a second glance at his food, Eleazar cupped the whole bowl to his mouth and drank the warm soup, tasting its unusual flavour. He did not mind table manners, although he was always supposed to in Moonglitter. He was famished, so he stuffed himself with the brown bread and very soon, he was sitting back in his chair, wholly satisfied. Rubbing his stomach like a fat old man, Eleazar thanked Fortino.

“Oho, you’re very welcome.”

“Also, what kind of soup and bread is this?” the contented young noble asked curiously.

“Oho, I thought you had already figured that out.” Pausing, he smiled, furrowing his white moustache, and said indifferently. “It’s spider soup and bread.”

Eleazar’s eyes opened widen in disgust. Spiders? He ran to the windowsill to vomit out all that disgusting food he had just eaten. He clutching at his mouth, the young noble saw a politely chopped up giant spider, sitting prettily outside the window. Its legs had been butchered off, and there sat the spider’s abdomen and facial area. Unable to blow his chunks so near to the slaughtered corpse, Eleazar turned back to Fortino in disgusted surprise.

“Spiders?!”

“Oho, they have quite the amount of essential nutrients. Especially the giant spiders. They have a lot of protein.” Fortino informed him listlessly. Gesturing for him to come back and sit down, Fortino smiled sympathetically. “ Oho, don’t worry, its all healthy. Been eating these things for thirty years. You shouldn’t have a problem.”

Slowly, the young noble sat back down, staring at the soup at had obvious spider hairs. The bread was covered in spidery bristles. His mind did not play tricks on him after all.

Breaking the silence, the hermit announced. “Oho, so you have slain Sinagog.”

“Sinagog?” Eleazar asked, puzzled.

“The spider queen.”

“ Oh… yeah. Big bad bugger. And she knew how to speak Common Tongue… just not… normally.”

“Oho, yes, Sinagog can do that. I taught her how to speak.”

“What?” So many shocking discoveries… all at the same time. My mind hurts.

“Oho, I took care of her as an infant spider.” Fortino said matter-of-factly. He sipped his soup nonchalantly and continued. “And she ran away into the wild, trained.”

“Tell me why you took care of that beast.” Eleazar questioned, even more suspicious of Fortino. His affiliations and personal views seemed to be a little… off.

“Because I could not have killed a helpless baby spider. Especially a female one.”

The young noble lifted his eyes, unconvinced. “So… why did she run away? Did realize that she was supposed to eat meat… human meat?” He asked acidly.

Fortino sighed, looking down ruefully at his soup. “She ran away, because she did not want the Cerulean Today to be passed down to its next Crest Bearer.”

“What?” Confused as ever, Eleazar scratched his head.

“Oho, if you stopped interrupting, I would be able to explain everything.” The old man snapped. “You see, I used to live here with my wife. She was supposed to be the Crest Bearer of the Cerulean Destiny. But because she was a pacifist, she did not want to go adventuring for the other Crest pieces. All she had was Cerulean Today. Sinagog, on the other hand, was a Crest Hunter. As a reckless child spider, she found and tried to attack my wife. She was wounded and we resolved to take care of her. I do not really know why… maybe we wanted a child of our own?” Fortino paused in retrospect. “Oho, we took care of her and taught her many things. When my wife passed away, she was already a full-grown spider, and was ready to become pregnant. Sinagog was devastated when she died. I told her that I would keep the Cerulean Today for the next Crest Bearer. Sinagog wanted to preserve the memory of her “mother.” One night, she stole away into Brokenthorn Forest, taking the Cerulean Today with her. I never saw her again.” Pointing over to the butchered giant spider out the window, Fortino explained. “Those spiders are proof that she became pregnant and had children. Thousands of children.”

“You got that right.” Eleazar said quietly, sympathising with the old man. “Just in case you wanted to know, the spider queen mentioned something about me being the Crest Bearer. And I think I have the Cerulean Today.” She raised his right arm to show Fortino. Imprinted on the surface of his pallid skin was the luminous glow of the jewel inside his body.

“Oho, so you do have it.” Fortino smiled, satisfied. “Very good. It allows you to produce light, or moonlight, I should say. This jewel is shaped like a seahorses body. The other two will complete it and unlock your White Moon powers.” He clarified, observing the Crest on the young noble’s hand.

“Can I ask, why do I have to find the other three?”

“Oho, because your fate is tied in with the Façade, an organization located in the heart of Althanas. They will help you find out more about Joseph Fluxengard.”

The name stung Eleazar like the stinger of the giant spiders. Anger burned inside of him, but he quickly suppressed it for a later time. “Where can I find them?” he asked, determined.

“All the pieces are scattered about here in Scara Brae. You better go and find them all, and quickly.”

((SPOILS: 100 gold. White Moon ability - able to shine moonlight from his crest, embedded in his skin. Eleazar does not have complete control over the power, so for now, the crest always "turned on."))

[Osato]

I’m not going to comment too much on this quest. I think you clearly have the idea of role-playing. This is another very good solo, this one much more to do with the present then a history lesson of your character, lol.

Introduction: 7

Setting: 8

Strategy: 6
Your lowest score because I have no clue why the spider’s are affected the way they are by water… that didn’t make any sense.

Dialogue: 7

Character: 8

Rising Action: 7

Climax: 7

Writing Style: 9
Your strongest point, easily. You’re an awesome writer…

Conclusion: 7

Wild Card: 8

Score:
74!

Rewards:
EXP: 800
GOLD: 150
ABILITY APPROVED – for now it is approved, upon your next level up it is subject to change or disapproval though.

((I did not take off exp, but instead gave you the ability without a cost because of your use of Scara Brae information in all areas of your quest. Good job and glad to see such great work coming back!))

[Thoracis]

Rewards Added!