Spirit Weaver

So… it’s the first time to the new island that recently surfaced near the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. Travis DeTroit just happens to be on his way to this island of mystery at this very moment. He had his entire luggage tucked safely away in his large pockets. It wasn’t much: simple gadgets and items that were apparently safe enough to be permitted upon this plane.

The plane, ready to take off, is divided into three sections: an area for humans; an area for Mages, or wizards; and an area for Aerleos, or anthropomorphic felines that frequently possess the ability to fly. An Aerleo Mage, an Aerleo that has the ability to utilize magic like wizards, is quite rare, but eventuates sometimes. As you can see, there is a quite new outburst of racism between Humans, Mages, and Aerleos. Rumor has it about a race known as the Partasian, but no one has ever seen one.

It's been such a long time ago since Mages and Aerleos appeared on Earth. This is way after our time. After the 'Futuristic/Space Age' came around for at least 1,200 years, society slumped and crashed down to a stone age then an elden age once again. Right now, we're in an Early Modern age, at the moment called the NAEMA. (Be sure to check the Spirit Weaver Encyclopedia if youSo, there are a lot of errors due to the lack of technology. Just like right now: Travis is a Human and there are no more seats in the Human section. How come Travis got a seat number that even isn't there?

"I am so sorry, sir. We seemed to have miscalculated the human capacity on Flight 64," said a scrawny, Human flight attendant.

"What's new?" Travis hissed under his breath.

"You can wait 2 hours for the next flight to arrive."

"Hm-nah! I'll sit with the Mages."

"Are you sure? … Mmh-can't even if you wanted too...They're full, too."

Travis looked around.

"This seat's open!" an Aerleo motioned to a seat beside his.

"Excuse me," barked the attendant, "if I wanted your minor piece of mind, I would—"

"Hey, some of my best friends are Aerleos, I'll be OK," Travis lied.

"Yer crazy," mumbled the attendant, glancing over at the Aerleo, whose furry face was full of shame. "Alright, do what you want!"

The Aerleo's face shot up with surprise.

"Hurry up and do what ever you want to do!" the attendant said, "We're ready to take off."

Travis quickly walked down the isle and over to the seat. Travis never really talked to and Aerleo before. He hasn't seen too many, either. He slowly settled down by the Aerleo, who was scanning Travis as curious as the cat he was.

"Hi, uh, Mr. Aerleo," Travis said nervously.

"I have a name, y'know," the Aerleo mewed with a bit of humor, "You can call me Myermak. You're one of the fist humans to actually talk to me in quite some time."

"Oh…"

The plane began to pick up speed and a little altitude.

"I've...never really come in contact with an Aerleo...before. And I've haven't been on a plane for as long as I can remember. That might not have been too long ago; my memory's been a bit fuzzy as of late...Hah."

"You must be from the western continents."

"I'll have to say you are right!"

"Hmm. Yes, not too many Aerleos go around the western continents anymore because of the Great Aerleo Rebellion that occurred there long ago."

The plane reached its top altitude and will probably be there for at least a few more hours.

"The Great Aerleo Rebellion? I don't know much about that."

"Well, you should. I'll tell you about it. Around year...4325 or so, an Aerleo now named the Great Leoduv marched to Lord Noevaugh VII's palace with a group of Aerleos and Mages and stormed the great stronghold. There was a great battle within. When Noevaugh's last moments were nigh, Aerleos and Mages gained the rights of equals. It's been a long time since then, but it seems that Humans have forgotten about most of the E.N.D.R. now. Rumor has it that the Black and White Humans had the same kind of conflict long ago."

"I never did well in History." Travis confessed. "I have no idea what you're talking about. All I know is that Aerleos, Humans, and Mages should get along!"

"I agree...," muttered a Mage across from Myermak. "Th'dang Humans have no right treating us the way they do. Even though most of the world destruction was because of us, it doesn't mean we're all bad. THESE JERKS WILL PAY!"

Travis smiled but Myermak just became all flustered, hissing, "Atabeuhtia! Atabeuhtia!" whatever that meant.

The Mage rolled his eyes and repositioned himself so that he was facing the front again. Everyone remained quiet for a while, at least an hour. Travis glanced over at Myermak to see if he was still awake. His feline eyes and ears turned to Travis.

"Have you ever tried the study of magic?" Travis asked him.

"Me? Can't say I have. I'm not one for magic. If things go sour with Mages again, I don't want the paw to point at me. Besides, I don't think I have any of that Magic Blood in me. Do you know any Aerleo Mages?"

"Hmm-yeah. Her name was Feilioena. She turned on my village, tried to destroy it, and then fled somewhere."

"I see..."

"So what brings you to Saigaea?"

"Well...I'm a treasure hunter. I've heard of so many legends of magical crests and ancient relics and...all kinds of neat stuff. You?"

"Well, I-" Travis was interrupted by a red light and annoying alarm.

"PLEASE EXCUSE THE INTERRUPTION. AN EERIE MIST HAS BEEN SPOTTED LINGERING OVER SAIGAEA ISLAND. WE WILL BE TALKING AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON A NEIGHBORING ISLAND THEN TAKE A FERRY TO SAIGAEA. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCES."

The plane slowly began to float down.

"Hmm...an eerie mist. I wonder what that's all about" growled Myermak, "Are you a scaredy cat?"

"Well, that's something I should ask you!"

Myermak didn't say anything.

"Sorry..." Travis moaned. "Uh, not really. Well, maybe. A little."

"Ah, nothin' to worry about!" said the Mage that Myermak hissed 'Atabeuhtia' to. "Probably just a low cloud or fog."

"I agree, Mr. Mage." said Travis, brightly.

"I've heard that there's always a slight fog over that island." mewled Myermak. "Besides, it's in the Bermuda Triangle; we shouldn't fly in there anyway."

"Speaking of flying, I thought most Aerleos could fly! What are you doing on a plane?"

"Hmm-well! Where did you hear that all of us can fly such distances? Each Aerleo is just as different and unique as you Humans. I, for example, can't fly at all. Isn't that right, Seymour?"

An Aerleo a few seats ahead of Myermak turned around and waved. "Right-o, Myer! But unlike Myer here, Mr. Human, I am lucky enough to be able to fly with wings!"

Travis noticed two, large, folded, furry wings behind Seymour.

"So who's yer friend, there, Myer?" Seymour asked. "Looks like a Human...What's he doing with the 'low' like us?"

"His name is Travis. Yes, he's a Human. But doesn't seem to be against Aerleos or Mages."

Travis waved nervously.

"Is that so?" interrupted the 'Atabeuhtiaed' Mage. "Imagine that. It's been so long since that ever happened. Buuut~, I should have guessed since he didn't Atabeuhtia me instantly. But Myermak seems to be the only one around here that does that anymore."

Myermak just mewed.

"Well! My name is Taez, the Mage...hah!"

The plane finally hit the runway! It wasn't soon after it came to a stop. All the passengers were ordered to get off. Humans first, of course. Travis left with them. Once outside, he looked around, got used to the new pressure, and breathed in the fresh air. It was so much nicer out here than on the western continents, where Travis is from.

The island they were on right now seemed to be only a few miles wide, a mile long. A few villages were scattered here and there. Myermak, Seymour, Taez and all the other Mages and Aerleos were finally allowed off.

"What? You ditchin' us already?" hollered Taez.

Most of the other humans turned around and shot nasty looks at them.

"N-no! I was just-"Travis stuttered.

"Bah, calm down, Humanoid!" yipped Seymour, waving a paw around. "You'll have to excuse Taez, here. He thinks he's Human. He thinks he can do whatever he wants."

"Aw, C'mon, kitty-boy!" Taez responded.

"Kitty-boy?" Seymour said in a confused and slightly upset tone.

"Yeah, you! Gee! Humans and Mages look the same. For all I know, that...uh...Travis kid could be a Mage in disguise!"

Travis nervously laughed. Myermak was already far ahead, tail swishing happily, ready to board the ferry to Saigaea. Suddenly, a rough voice over a Public Address rose from a tower.

"PLEASE EXCUSE THE INTERRUPTION! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. I'M SORRY TO SAY THAT THE FERRY TO SAIGAEA WILL NOT BE READY TO DEPART FOR AT LEAST TEN MINUTES. KUDOS TO FLIGHT 64'S MANAGEMENT CREW FOR FULLY PAYING FOR THE FERRY EXPENSES TO SAIGAEA. AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND HAVE A NICE DAY!"

"Another ten minutes???" whined Seymour as the three caught up with Myermak.

"Probably another ERROR!" laughed Travis.

"So how are we gonna kill some time?" Taez inquired.

He looked around as he straightened and brushed off his expected-to-be-near-antique purple robe. That is supposed to be a sure sign that one is a Mage. That, and some Mages have white hair, like Taez does. There are a few other signs here and there but most can be covered up easily. Taez watched as the last cart of luggage was brought onto the Ferry. He also noticed that the people liked to call it the S.S. Leaky, probably partially named after some other fine ship. Taez then trotted over to make more cat jokes to Seymour as Myermak pointed out Saigaea Island to Travis"There it is," Myermak began. "Many legends smother that fine island. Like one: Saigaea Island is said to have rose about 500 years ago due to same kind of volcanic activity. It didn't take long for the Humans to build a community upon it. It is already filled with treasures and secret ruins. Seymour, Taez, and I are all treasure hunters. We've recently set our eye on that mystical island because of it's mystery. But that place is very strict; not very many Aerleos and Mages can do much there. Security if very tight. We're not sure if this is going to be a successful find. It's also said that you need Mage magic and/or Aerleo strength to get most of the plunder. What are we going to do?"

"Well, I'm sure you can figure something out. But, it's time to go! Let's board the ferry!" said Travis, excitedly.

Humans were already flooding onto the ferry. Travis dashed on before the Mages were ordered to board, followed by the Aerleos. Travis waved to his new friends before they were shoved below deck.

A woman shouted "LET'S GO!" before the ferry left the port and started floating toward the island shrouded in mist, Saigaea.

Travis walked to one side of the ferry and gazed around. The sky was very bright blue, not many clouds in the sky, it was warm, and there was an amazingly nice breeze to help carry the colorful birds to their destinations. The only thing that broke this serene tranquility was that awful cloud over Saigaea. And a mysterious one it was. Travis glanced out at sea as the ferry slowly crept toward the island. Travis looked down at his watch to see the time and how long he has been journeying from his home continent. But it was very well impossible to do so for his watch was spinning out of control. This made him jump. What's going on? Travis took it off and looked at it closely.

He even shook it to see what it would do. The next thing he knew, there was an immense weight that fell on Travis's head. He was startled and jumped again.

"Whoa, hon! Take 5, kid!"

It was a quite tall, slim woman with short, fiery, red hair who wore a little bit of armor and a cape. Apparently, she decided to use Travis' head as an armrest.

"Gah! Who might you be?" Travis asked, still a little shaken from the startle.

"I'm Madam Aulwrentina Perumentil Dewillachanci Cherisyno Genesyl Maurikisato III!" the woman said brightly as she removed her gauntleted arm from Travis' noggin.

He just gawked at her.

"But you can call me Dewilla!" she said with the same happy tone, as though she was some type of salesperson.

Travis just continued to stare as Dewilla beamed ecstatically for a long while.

Dewilla broke the silence. "So...I saw you hanging around those Aerleos and Mages. I sense that you are Human. What are you doing hanging around a bunch of monsters like them?"

Travis took a few moments to respond.

"Um. I guess I kinda had to, Madam Dewilla."

"Whoa. One, What kind of answer is that? And two, It's Dewilla to you."

Her cape flapped heroically in the wind.

"Uh, sure, um, Dewilla. Uh, well, there wasn't any more seats in the Human section, on Flight 64. So, I had to sit in the Aerleo section. I guess I got to know them, they're not all that bad!"

"Mm-hmm. Yeah. I really don't know what you are talking about, Good Aerleos and Mages, HAH! They're all Magic and Fur Trash!"

"Don't talk like that. They're just as good as us. Just because a few tried to destroy the world, doesn't mean they're all bad."

"...Uh-huh. Welly, You are one confused boy! Where ya headed in Saigaea?"

"What would you care? Good bye!"

Travis quickly turned and walked away. No sooner than he did, he heard hard, fast footsteps stampeding toward him.

"Hey, kid, loose the HP! I'm sorry I put down your pals, I won't do it again. But I-"

"Don't worry, you won't get a chance to," Travis said coldly as he continued to walk away toward the back of the ferry.

"Heeeeey~! I said I'm sorry!!"

Dewilla chased Travis all the way around the ferry, getting much attention from the other people on it. But what Travis did next to escape Dewilla was unimaginable. Everyone gasped. Travis dashed below deck with the Mages and Aerleos.

Down there, the conditions were horrible, almost as bad as the Aerleo section on Flight 64. Other than being bad, it was very, very crowded.

"Myermak! Seymour! Taez!" Travis yelled, making Mages around him shrink away, when he stumbled down the last step.

"Trav-man!" Taez, first to respond, said coolly.

"What are you doing down here? You're not allowed to be here," hissed Seymour.

"Seymour, Taez! There's this really creepy woman chasing me around!"

"What it's like to be young again!" Seymour sang.

"Yeah...anyway...Where's Myermak?" asked Travis.

"He's here," Taez said as he motioned behind Travis.

Myermak emerged from the crowd.

"This place is like a slave cabin!" Myermak growled. "What's the matter?"

"Nothin' much. Just wanted to see how y'all doing."

A Mage from the crowd barked cruelly, "Since when did a bloody Human give a diddly about us non-Humans? Oops...don't hurt me!"

"That's very nice of you," Myermak continued to growl, "but you're not allowed to be down here! You better get your Human rear back up there with your kind!"

Dewilla yelled down to Travis, causing quite a disturbance, "HEY KID! You better get away from them lowlifes, NOW!! Get back up here! We're almost to Saigaea! Don't make me call the security!"

Myermak grit his fangs.

"Is that her, kid?" Seymour asked Travis. "Whoa...I see what you mean!"

Seymour slapped a paw on Travis's shoulder, but quickly removed it.

"Almost to Saigaea!" Travis cheered with much excitement. "Wow! I can't wait! OK! I'll go back up to my kind."

Travis left without saying no more.

"What a nice guy!" said Taez. "I'd swear that he was a Mage. What kind of Human would be so nice as to treat us as equals. No Human that I've heard of ever did anything like that."

Myermak just stared into space with a concerned look on his face as he stroked his whiskers. Seymour let out a little "Uh-huh..." as he looked around at the Mages and Aerleos that stared at them with looks of fear, concern, surprise, and confusion.

Suddenly, the ferry slowed to a stop and a gong was sounded. They, from below, heard the Humans slowly walk off the ferry. The Mages and Aerleos were then ordered to "get [their] monstrosity selves outta [there]!"

Travis agreed to let Dewilla show him around since she had been here before, but only if she'd respect his Aerleo and Mage friends.

"How do you do?" Dewilla said blandly as she shook their hands/paws. "I'm Dewilla, but you can call me Madam Aulwrentina Perumentil Dewillachanci Cherisyno Genesyl Maurikisato IV"

Travis, Myermak, Seymour, and Taez just gawked, along with a few other people. Dewilla smiled like a proud idiot.

"OK, you can call me Dewilla..."

"How about Devil-a?" Seymour whispered.

"I heard that, you little chicken-livered, fur-faced, low-life, fruit-topping, kitty boy!" Dewilla responded.

Both Aerleos grit their fangs. Seymour also looked as though he had a bit of sympathy for the mindless fool.

"Hoo! That's harsh...and WHAT kinda get-up is that? Ya look like one of them Noevaugh Soldiers!" Taez laughed at Dewilla.

"OK! EVERYONE just SHUT IT! DEWILLA! Didn't we have a leetle teensy discussion a bit ago?" Travis barked.

The party o' 5 just stood there bickering on the docks for at least TEN minutes now!

"RAWR! We're not getting anywhere fast!! Seymour, Taez, and I need to look for some treasure, this Human needs to get a life, and Travis...needs to...do whatever!" Myermak said as it was obvious that the cranky kitty was losing his patience.

"That reminds me!" interrupted Seymour. "Trav-man! You still haven't told all of us why you came to Saigaea."

"Oh yeah...I'm looking for the St. Mwretz Ruins! It's right here on my E-map!" Travis said as he reached into his big pocket and shuffled around.

"Hon," Dewilla interrupted, "did you forget? Your in the Bermuda Triangle! That shtuff won't work here? And your watch...from the looks of it, it didn't work either!"

Travis looked down at his watch and E-map. An E-map is basically a small cylinder that projects a map image. All it did now was just squeal and project blobs of colors. His watch's hands showed 12:25, but it was actually 5:00. Travis put both the E-map and the watch in his pocket.

"OK..." he said, "I'm stumped. Anyone know where the St. Mwretz Ruins are? All I know is that it's past a town where only humans may enter."

"AAAND?" Taez said.

"And what?" Travis responded.

"Ohm...nothing."

"Welly! If we're on the East side of Saigaea, and St. Mwretz's Ruins are near the middle we need to go straight!" said Dewilla proudly as her cape still waved heroically.

"We?" Travis asked her.

Taez laughed.

"Well, this is where we part ways!" said Seymour.

"You are truly a wonderful Human. Good luck with whatever business you have!" said Myermak.

Everyone, except Dewilla, waved farewell as they walked farther down their separate paths.

"It is my duty as a knight of Noevaugh to protect little kids and help them get to their destinations! Ha Ha! Have no fear, Dewilla is here! Yay!"

Dewilla whipped out a shortsword.

"So! You ARE a knight of Noevaugh! Figures! I really don't know anything about them, but I do know that...uh...they...uh..."

"Hey, hon! Chill, 'kay? Here's how the Crests of Fate are laid..."

Dewilla put her sword away.

"What?"

"I feel that it is my duty to accompany you to Crentle, that's the town that blocks the St. Mwretz Ruins. It's the least I can do for causing such a ruckus for you and your friends on the ferry."

"Sounds...fair. As fair as the Crests of Fate can get. Whatever they are."

Dewilla smiled with satisfaction as the two unlikely duo trailed down the path. It was just a big empty field only broken by a few trees, hills that descend in cliffs, and the wiry mess of dirt roads that connected the communities. After a while, a huge village could be seen at the end of the dusty dirt path of which our heroes were traveling.

"That's it, kiddo!" Dewilla exclaimed. "That's the great village of Crentle. Many legends are based on that massive village. Have you ever heard of the Legends of Narugo? That's where they all start. A hero with the last name of Tusinagi attempts to save Goddess Narugo and defeat the evil Toshi Daricuna. It's a series of legends filled with mystery, suspense, and action. Too bad it was such a stupid plot. Oh well. So we're going into a fairly well known village."

"OoooK! I think you can go now. I can take it from here."

"No, no, no, no! I need to make sure you get to the St. Mwretz ruins alive!"

"Huh!?"

"I promised I get you to the St. Mwretz ruins. AND! You also may need my help navigating the treacherous depths of the collapsing tower."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey! We're here!"

The village was surrounded by a massive wall. All except an arch that acted as the front line. A well dressed soldier stood under the arch.

"Oh, my!" Dewilla whispered.

Travis looked up at Dewilla.

"Alex! That you?" Dewilla shouted to the soldier.

The soldier looked at Dewilla, confused.

"It's me! Willow!" shouted Dewilla.

The soldier's confused look turned into surprise.

"Willow!? Willow! The, uh, Madam Allrenteena Perhoomentil Deewillochansee Cherinsino Jeensil Marikeesahto?" the soldier stuttered"Yeah, close enough. Yup! That's me! Alex! How have you been?" said Dewilla, almost in tears.

"Oh, just been working hear as the ca'm of the CFL!"

"Isn't that a soccer or football thing?" Travis interrupted.

"No, you're probably thinking of, uh, NFL or AFL. Football hardly exists anymore anyway. The CFL is the Crentle Front Line. Who might you be anyway?" Alex asked.

"I'm, uh, Travis DeTroit. Dewilla is escorting me to the St. Mwretz Ruins."

"Well, any friend of Willow is a friend of mine. How do you do? I'm Alex Burgess, nice to meet you! Well listen to me go on...I bet you two would like to enter Crentle. Sorry, but I'll have to scan you both! Please step onto this platform, here, Dewilla. I'll begin the scanner."

Dewilla stepped onto a small iron platform to the left of the arch. Once she stepped upon the platform, it emitted and eerie glow and a bunch of beeping could be heard.

"Hmyup! Yer good! You’re very well Human; not a drop of magical blood in your veins, nor are you a furball! Hah! OK, little Trevor--"

"Travis!"

"Whatever. Please board the platform like Dewilla did."

"OK," Travis said, hesitantly. "Uh, Dewilla," he whispered as he dug around in his pocket, "I got you a feather!"

Travis's hand emerged with a small, radiant feather with a very mystical design. It was thin and perfectly straight.

"Uh, sorry, Ms. Dewilla!" Alex exclaimed. "I'm gonna have to confiscate that!"

"Awe, Atabeuhtia! C'mon, it's a harmless feather. You're probably just jealous that Trevor gets me presents and you don't! Be a man and just grow up! Figure that one out!"

"It's Travis," Travis moaned.

"Fine, fine. What can a feather do, right? OK, goody-boy, get on the platform.

Dewilla leaped off, snatched the pretty feather, and then Travis hopped on. There was the glow and the beeping. The beeps, though, sounded a bit different. There was even what seemed like a buzz.

"Hey...you got a little magic in ya!" panicked Alex.

Alex and Dewilla both pulled out their swords with a 'shhing!'

"H-hey! Wait! I was attacked by a Mage a while back. Her name was Feilioena. She was an Aerleo Mage. She attacked my home village long ago!"

"I never knew anyone who survived a Mage attack! Not since the Great Aerleo Rebellion!" said Alex, gripping his sword tighter.

"You're quite young, too. You must be lying. I don't see a thunderbolt-shaped scar on your forehead, either!" cried Dewilla.

"Huh!?"

"Prepare to die!!" Alex roared as he rose his sword, ready to attack.

Dewilla stepped back, on the verge of tears. Alex's sword plummeted down. Dewilla turned away as there was a loud noise.

"What the...?" Alex shouted.

Dewilla quickly turned back around.

"What? What?" she screeched.

Travis was scrunching down with a terrified look on his face.

"Something...shot my sword out of my hand!" Alex yelped.

Travis opened his eyes, stood up, and looked around.

"Taez!" he shouted.

Taez was off in the near distance, his fingers formed a gun, and were smokin'!

"Alex! Leave the poor kid ALONE!" Taez shouted.

"Taez!? Is that you?" Alex yelled.

"You know him!?" Travis and Dewilla said, full of astoundment.

Dewilla put her sword away.

"Sure!" Alex said quite happily. "He's the master of the mystics."

"Heh...I don't know that much!" Taez laughed as he approached.

Dewilla turned away and walked over near the platform with an angry, but befuddled look on her face.

"So, Travis. You know Taez?" Alex asked Travis.

"Sure do! Met him on the way to Saigaea."

"Alex, I will have to say that survivors of Mage attacks will be able to set off magic alarms! Travis? Where were you hit?"

"Uh...my...right shoulder!"

Taez motioned for Travis to take off his shirt. He hopped off the platform then slipped out of his tee and turned so that his right shoulder faced Taez. There were absolutely no markings what-so-ever on his shoulder.

"Aha! No scars, no nothing!" Dewilla roared.

"Be quiet, woman!" Alex barked. "Watch and learn!"

"OK, Travis," said Taez, "this may burn a bit. Ready?"

"Anything is better than being cut in half!"

"Good! Now, then..."

Taez took another stance and held out a hand.

"Deeper than the deepest visions of truth. I call upon Visyncci Mana, lend me the power to wipe away all illusions of the physical realm and show me the truths of the past, present and future! TRUELIGHT!!"

Taez's hand began to emitted an eerie true-blue glow. He held his hand closer to his shoulder. The blue light shined on Travis. A large green mark showed up all over his shoulder. Taez shook his hand and the light went out.

"Yup," Taez said to Alex, "It's true. Travis does have a magical injury."

Travis pulled his shirt back over himself and straightened it out quite swiftly.

"Well, Travis! Sorry about the little misunderstanding! You may pass. You, too, Willow." said Alex as he moved out of the way.

Travis nodded, wiped his forehead with a "Whew..." and finally stepped within the Crentle boundaries.

"Bye, Travis! See you soon!" Taez shouted. "And watch out for White Anubis Knights that roam this area!"

Travis and Dewilla, a little shaken, finally made it inside Crentle. Dewilla pointed out that the St. Mwretz ruins were all the way in the west end of the village, AND another minor request.

"Travis..." Dewilla began in a gentle voice, "...there is...a friend of mine that I haven't seen in about 4 years...that lives here in Crentle--"

"So, why don't you go see her and I'll go to the ruins!"

"No, you must meet her! C'mon."

Dewilla grabbed Travis by the arm and dragged him over to a nearby house. She knocked then straightened her fiery hair and armor. Dewilla knocked again. Travis sighed and looked up at Dewilla. She still wore that idiotic smile as she stared at the door as though she was anxious for it to do something. Travis sighed and stared at the door, too. Something unlatched and the door slowly creaked open. A fairly elderly Aerleo peeked out at them.

"Yes?" she hedged.

"Hallo! Is Auryn around?" Dewilla asked her.

"Auryn? N-no. She still hasn't returned from the Phoenix Chateau. She's been gone for almost a month, now. I've been ordered to watch over her house until her return. I wonder what has happened."

"Oh, well good day to you!"

"Aren't you a knight of Noevaugh? Why do you speak to me with such sincerity?"

"Yes, I'm Madam Aulwrentina Perumentil Dewillachanci Cherisyno Genesyl Maurikisato V! This brat, er, kid here is an anti-anti-Aerleo, or something like that. Bye!"

Dewilla quickly turned and walked away, dragging Travis again.

"Trevor!" Dewilla hissed once they were away from the house.

"It's Travis...." Travis reminded her.

"Yeah, well, this is terrible!"

"Your memory?"

"NO! AURYN! Something has happened to Auryn!"

"Why don't you go to the Phoenix whatever and I'll go to the ruins, 'kay?"

"Y'know? FINE! I don't need you! Go to your ruins!"

"Can...may I have that feather back?"

"TSH! You're a real brat! Take it!"

Dewilla whipped the feather out of her sword's sheath. Travis held out his hand. It seemed like the feather jerked out of Dewilla's hand and drifted to Travis's. Dewilla was a little shocked at how it just flew out of her hand and into his. But she didn't give it much thought before she stormed away and out of the village.

"Looks like I'm on my own for a while. At last!" Travis thought to himself as he slipped the mystical feather into his pocket. "Better find the St. Mwretz Ruins, now. I have a feeling Dewilla is going to need my help...heheh! What a coincidence...I also need to make a stop by that, uh, Pheonix Chateau later! Well, first things first!"

Travis began to look around. A small poster attached to a crumbling house caught his eye.

"White Anubis Knights. WANTED. By conquering a fierce White Anubis Knight because of happenstance, one will be bequeathed with a legendary White Anubis Pearl. Ye with White Anubis Pearls amany will receive distinguished fortune within the oracle flow of time. The phenomenal plunder of the White Anubis can and thus should be exchanged, by archetype conquerors, for a budgetary actualization. This promise may be interchanged by ones racial prominence inasmuch as of the predetermination additionally distorted by ones incorporating physical and also mystical sanctifications. If one should seem so unseasonable as to transpire to accumulate an Anubis Crystal, thou must discard the cursed item immediately for it shall bring one much gloom and sorrow for the malevolent omnipotence it haunts is transcendent."

Travis shot an odd look at the poster, not knowing what the heck it meant. He walked away and continued through the middle of the village. At last, the great fallen temple, the St. Mwretz Ruins, could be seen ahead. Travis dashed down toward his destination. Finally! Travis has reached the great St. Mwretz Ruins!

A thin fog appeared as soon as Travis left the village and entered the Crentle Outskirts, where the transcendental temple once reached for the heavens. But now, all that remained was a crumbling 3-4 story castle-like structure. It was still quite a temple, but age and the elements have taken its toll and only made it more dangerous; still huge, and still full of treasure that was unattainable by any mere human. That must have been what Taez meant when he acted as though Travis missed something during his description of his intentions. Even with all of this knowledge in mind, Travis didn't feel a bit discouraged. Well, maybe a little.

He approached the vast ruins and looked about. A few dead trees could be seen in the fog swaying a tiny bit with the gentle wisp of a breeze, the hustle and bustle of the village muffled, distant, and behind him. The formerly upper part of the temple was now shattered, eroded, and scattered all about, sunken into the earth. A deep and fairly tiny lakes near the left side of the temple was visible through the light fog, too. The main entrance was also caved in. The only visible, and penetrable, entrance was a large window that no longer contained its marvelous stained glass. Travis gazed way up at the high window. No normal bound nor jump could reach that great altitude.

He shuffled around in his pocket and whipped out that mystic feather. Travis took a deep breath as he looked up at the window again. He held out his hand as far as he could and stared at the feather. Suddenly, the feather's aura shined brighter and it began to float above his hand. Travis tossed it up as it shined brighter than ever. At last, the feather shot a light down on Travis and vanished. Travis, still engulfed in the great light, was donned with a nice blue robe and a stylish beret-like hat to match. His hair and eyes became a bit lighter. The light faded away, revealing a whole new Trav-man!

He looked back up at the window. Travis pointed to the ground, closed his eyes, and turned his face to the sky. He began to chant mysticly . . .

"For the mystics of supernatural aerodynamic abilities, I call upon Aesynagxi Mana of the power of the winds. My goal of reason lyes of which a greater altitude of my strength alone. For this reason, I beckon the winds of the Aero spirits to make the wind my footing and give me wings! AEROLEVITATION!!"

What seemed like a tornado of green light surrounded Travis's feet. No sooner than that, Travis turned his face from the sky and toward the window again. He let his arms relax, now, occasionally letting them help keep his balance as he began to float up, up, and away. He watched the window as he slowly drifted up to it, the tiny green tornado still swirling from where he left the earth. He stopped himself and almost fell. That would be quite a fall, too. Travis then made a jumping motion and bound over to the pane. He instantly collapsed to his knees. Completely out of breath, his robe faded away and his eyes and hair darkened to their original tone. His once empty hand now contained the feather, which he slipped into his pocket once he collected himself.

Whew . . . haven't done that in a while," huffed Travis.

He hopped off the pane and dropped a fairly long way down to the floor inside the St. Mwretz Ruins! Success! Travis finally made it inside the ruins!

It was very dark. The window let just enough sunlight to make things visible, but not clear. Travis took a gander around before he advanced. He was standing on a dusty rug with much damage done to it. He appeared to be in some kind of hallway or corridor. Two dead fountains could be seen on walls either side of him. Silhouettes of decaying tables and shelves could also be depicted in the shadows. The area looked quite safe . . . so far. Travis got a slight chill because he noticed that the only way out was to reach the roof, or what is now called the roof. He would have to get there before it became too dark, or at least he found a source of light.

In Travis's mind, the red light turned to a green light and he built up the courage to advance down the hall. He almost tripped down a set of two or three steps that were immediately after the worn rug. The farther Travis traveled, the darker his path became. At the end of the hall was a large door, which just happed to be rusted and unopenable.

Travis walked all the way back to the rug looking for other doors along the walls. There were two! The one on the left was locked but Travis was easily able to knock the one on the right down. Inside was a tiny, almost useless room . . . almost. A sturdy drawer rested in the middle. With much UMPH, it slid open revealing a wave of bugs that marched and flew away swiftly, startling Travis a bit. After regaining composure and bravery, Travis shuffled around in the dark drawer. Other than squishy creepy-crawlies, Travis was able to find a small, cold, hard object. Not being able to see much, he felt the contour of the object. It had a long cylinder-like body with a circle on one end and two ruffled pegs on the other. Hmm . . . Nothing that Travis knows about.

He hopped over the fallen door and back to the rug where the setting sun cast a ray of light through the window. He held the object into the sparkling orange light. Wow! It was an old rusty key! But, looking at the orange sunlight, it donned on him that he must also find some light in the next few moments for it would be night and he would be stuck in the dark for the next ten or eleven hours or so. Once shaking off the uneasy chill of the thought, Travis, remembering where they were, jumped down the few steps and scurried over to the locked door on the opposite side of where he obtained the key. He could see the doorknob, barely, so he felt around there for the keyhole. 'Twas right where it should have been. The key slid in perfectly and turned with a rusty click. With a bit of force, the iron door slid open to reveal a room even smaller than the last.

A huge lever was sticking out of the wall. Travis took one step inside and put all of his weight on the lever. With much noise, it was finally lowered as far as it would go. The area began to shake and rumble. It just seemed like instinct for Travis to immediately jump on the lever without thinking. Who knows what he did, but soon the rumbling turned to rapid clicking and then all of a sudden, a shower of burning webs fell to the ground as a bunch of torches ignited and lit the room to a nice calming grayish-orange tone!

Travis glanced around the room to finally see what it really looked like, now with enough light! It was quite normal for being a quite ancient cathedral. Finally, glancing over at the big rusty door at the end of the hall, Travis noticed a small key that rested on a hook right beside the big door. He hit himself on the head and jogged down to it. He couldn't see it before, but now he could, so he grabbed the key off the hook and rammed it right in the keyhole. With a turn and another rusty click the door opened . . . and fortunately it opened far enough that Travis couldn't slip into the next room. Totally ticked, he looked around for an alternative for at least a half hour. Finally, more upset than ever, Travis noticed a big can marked "OIL" in big red letters RIGHT beside the big door he was trying to open. He peered into the can. It was still at least half-full with a black, runny substance, and after all these years, too! Travis hoisted the can over to the hinges and began to pour it on slowly as he pushed and pulled the door. At last it opened far enough and he slipped into the next room for more fun!

This next room also had no light of its own and looked like quite a challenge. The only light here was that from the previous room. It only lit a little bit of the entrance area and filled the remainder with an eerie, and very dark, purple glow. As far as what could be see, A few more crumbling shelves were scattered about. A couple doors like the ones that could be easily knocked down lined the walls. Finally, to Travis's right rose a wide staircase consisting of about five steps ascended to a bigger door. That looked like the way to the next room.

Making dust-clouds, Travis skipped up the steps and looked at the door. Some quite odd things were on it. The most intriguing of all was what seemed like a dial on the left side. With a closer inspection, holes could be seen around it. Travis carefully placed a hand on the knob of the dial. Rough at first, he was able to turn it quite smoothly. Maybe a combination is needed. He inspected the dial again. The holes did seem to form a pattern. A sense of touch was needed to make sure, for sight was near-useless! Yes, going clockwise, the bigger the hole; the largest and smallest were side-by-side to connect the pattern. But this new info was still useless without a way to use it.

Travis hopped down the stairs and over to a nearby desk. It opened with a screech. Nothing. Next, he walked over to one of the rotting wooden doors. This one could be knocked down easily, too, which he did with a fist of iron.

"Haha, Now you take that!"

It plummeted to the ground with a cloud of dust. In the tiny room was a broken window that let some moon light in. The light shined on a small box that sat on a desk. Hesitantly, he walked over and opened it. Inside was a scrap of paper. He took a gander at it immediately.

"Oh, our temple! We have been attacked and this poor excuse for ruins is all that remains. The attackers have begun using the ruins as a storage place for their plunder. I have constructed a map of the new 'temple.' It isn't much, but I must make haste because it is only a matter of time before they find me here."

Faded medleys of lines were sketched below the eerie note. It must have been a map mentioned above.

With his eyes wandering away from the note, a pile of gnarled bones was noticeable under the desk. A chill ran through his own bones and his stomach sank. What kind of...thing...would do such cruel acts. It puzzled Travis and only aroused his curiosity.

Travis pocketed the note. He turned and left the spooky room. With his head turned back to gander at the poor soul, Travis did not see a large object he was coming towards. At the last moment, he looked ahead only to run right into something kind of warm and fuzzy. He was shocked by the blow he took by running into this...obstacle. Travis knew for sure that it wasn't there before.

Feeling around in the darkness, Travis felt a few colder, harder plates on this object. All of a sudden, a low, rumbling sound could be heard close by. After there was a moment of silence, something whipped through the air. No soon after the wind whipped, Travis was struck with an incredible blow to the arm that sent him flying at least ten feat. Landing and skidding with much pain, Travis yelped with agony as he broke through a few desks and bookcases. Something huge landed beside him with an explosive force. The same low, rumbling noise could be heard again, but only this time it was closer. After another moment of silence and utter confusion. Two tiny red lights, side-by-side, glowed not even a few feat from his face as he looked up. Below them, at least 50 glistening spikes shimmered in the little light there was. They moved closer and closer, moving into the moonlight which beamed down on Travis. The red lights and glimmering spikes formed into the hideous face of a white jackal. The canine face emitted the low, rumbling noise heard often before. Travis, too, turned white as a ghost and a lump formed in his throat, staring face to face with a monster. Travis could do nothing but scream at the top of his lungs. That only irritated and angered the monochrome jackal. It jumped away. Travis, still screaming, supported his injured arm and scrambled up to flee.

Running blindly through the darkness, Travis heard the beast give chase, snarling madly. Once Travis reached a wall, he felt around. Just as he hoped, a lever stuck out. With all of his might, Travis pounced on the rusty lever and it slid down. A few torches ignited and burning webs showered down in a familiar display. He was just in time to see a human-like jackal stampeding after him with a huge staff, ready to shish-kabob poor Travis. He evaded the attack just in time.

The beast kind of reminded Travis of an Aerleo, except this evil beastman was more canine. It possessed pale, albino-like fur, which was mostly armored. Of course! This demon must be a White Anubis! But how will Travis be able to overcome this mighty legend?

The staff plummeted into the dungeon wall, just barely missing Travis. Quick to pull it out, the beast made a slash at him, which he swiftly evaded. Travis looked around the room for any means of overpowering this massive demon. Fire. The blazing torches on the wall seemed like the only weapon.

"Yes!" Travis thought, "The torches are the only weapons that I can utilize. But...they are kinda high up. And I can't use that mystical feather to fly for a while. What am I going to do?"

The White Anubis was ready to attack again. It raised the staff high, preparing to bring it down and cut it's opponent in half. It plummeted down with an incredible force, shattering the floor where it crashed, just missing Travis. Fleeing, Travis made a run for a desk by a wall. Half way there, he collected a long, thin board from a collapsed bookshelf. He leaped onto the desk, then made a jump for a huge crack in the wall. He could only grab onto it and shimmy to a torch on the wall. With the board in one hand, he managed to keep a diminishing grip with the other as he held the long, thin piece of wood to the torch. His heart raced as the wood slowly began to glow in the blaze. The beast behind him regained it's composure and was slowly making it's way for the vulnerable boy on the wall. At last, the wood caught ablaze. Travis pushed away from the wall with all of his legs' might, making him plummet down on the White Anubis.

They both scrambled up and returned to the brutal battling. The beast seemed a little bit frightened by the flaming board which Travis possessed. The White Anubis made a weak slash at Travis, which he blocked with his own weapon. Taking a bit of a chance, Travis performed a jump attack upon his enemy. A bit of the fur caught ablaze, itself. The White Anubis patted it out. Angered, the jackal retaliated with a fury of slashes. Travis was able to agilely evade them all except the last one, which knocked him back to the wall. Travis collapsed with the pain of about three injuries. At this time, he really wished he could utilize the power of the magical feather, but he used all of it's power making it into the St. Mwretz ruins. Now he had to wait before it and himself regained the power to use it.

Not ready to give up yet, Travis forced himself up back to a standing position, flaming board ready. He slowly limped toward the anubis, attempting to anticipate the beast's next move. Without any warning, Travis's foe bound and struck with a tremendous force. He lost the burning board and was knocked far away, crashing into a pair of large jars. Travis was now buried in the concrete rubble. The beast started to walk slowly toward the mess as Travis felt around for anything to use. Lucky him, Travis obtained an odd spear. It was very short and very fancy. It kinda looked like a weapon for the St. Mwretz Knights. It isn't much, but anything will do for moments like this. Travis looked up just in time to see the swift staff plumeting toward him. He dodged at the very last second and the staff crashed down with an immense explosion! The beast was ready to take another swing, but was unable to because of a short, fancy, spear in him.

Travis stood a few feet away from the White Anubis, his arm extended from throwing the spear. The jackal roared with anger for he knew he had lost this battle. Soon, he evaporated into thin air! Travis, and also the spear, collapsed to the ground with much pain and fatigue.

Where the steam from the evaporated monster dissapeared, a small, milky sphere suddenly appeared with a flash. Travis stared at the floating object, wondering what it was. He forced himself up to get a better view. It seemed to just float there, waiting for the taking.... Nervously, he reached out and pulled the sphere out of the air. He looked at this pearly item more closely in his hand. Then it hit him; maybe this is one of them there White Anubis Pearls! Wow! He earned his own White Anubis Pearl!

With the fierce battle over and the room calm once again, Travis pocketed the White Anubis Pearl and spear and tried to remember what he was doing before the battle began. He dug around in his pockets and pulled out the note with the map. The room Travis was currently in could easily be recognized on the faded map. Writing could also be seen where the big door with the combination lock.

"smallest -> 3rd largest

360<-

180->

3rd smallest"

It was kind of confusing at first, but that's probably normal since the dial isn't in front of him right now. Travis turned and walked up the steps to the dial on the large door. He looked at the mysterious dial curiously.

Travis began solving this perplexing puzzle.

"So it seems like I need to line up the smallest hole with this li'l arrow at the top. Then...turn it clockwise until the third largest hole is lined up with the arrow. Then do a full revolution counterclockwise. Then half way around to the left. Uh-huh, uh-huh...Now, to the third smallest. Huh? But which way?"

He studied the code a bit more.

"Well, duh! To the left! I think..."

Travis tried it and VOILA! With a loud clank, the big door slowly opened to reveal a gigantic stairway leading to the top story!

He couldn't contain the excitement as he dashed up the vast stairs. At the top, a large room lit by a single torch and a small hole in the ceiling awaited him. It the middle rested a fairly large treasure chest! This is it! At last, the treasure of the St. Mwretz Ruins is recovered. But just what exactly is it? Only one way to find out. Travis trotted over and examined the chest. The lock was so rusted; it could be pulled right off.

Travis whipped the chest opened and collected the treasure! YAKITICIAOA! It was the Catearo Tiara! He had heard a lot about this. Once placed on one's head, he or she will temporarily be able to possess the form of an Aerleo! That person will also obtain the strengths of the mighty beast.

"Well, ain't I just the greediest shape shifter! I can be a Human, Mage, AND Aerleo! Lucky me!" Travis laughed sheepishly.

He also mumbled something about "Don't worry, Renice. I'm coming..."

Travis waltzed over to the corner of the room, where the hole was. With a mighty bound, he was able to get a grip on the edge of the hole and pull himself up and onto the roof.

"Ahh~! Fresh air! A wonderful night breeze! And an amazing view to go with it!"

CONGRATS! THIS DUNGEON IS COMPLETE!