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Friday 30 August 2013

The Adventure of Myrr and The Nightingales: 7

Chapter 7

The Junior Team gathered at the field where they could see high fences in front of them. Tonight was the night that they have been waiting for: the Hunting Test. Everyone wanted to show their talent especially their sword skills and casting spells. Myrr and her partner, Lach was standing in the front row. She then met Wreas, her brother’s best friend. Wreas is tall and hunky man with thick, wavy, canary yellow hair. He was one of the best fighters of the Nightingales and he barely used his weapons when he fought the Ghouls of Phantom.

Wreas was one of the Nightingales who will be in charge for the students’ safety. Even though they will fight the Dummies but it was still a dangerous task for them. Myrr waved at him and he smiled and nodded. Then, a woman who was wearing a bandana appeared on the big rock and all the students kept quiet. She was the Head of In-Charge for tonight. Her name is Plaud and she’s Assistant Chieftan of Weaponry Squad.

“Listen up, children. In few minutes the Hunting Test will start. I know that you can’t wait to show your talents but let me remind you something. That place over the fence,” she pointed to the high fence, “is very dangerous. You might get lost or die in there if you’re not taking extra aware. But don’t worry for there are 10 groups of Fighters who will save you if you’re in extreme risk,” Plaud spoke in a loud, clear voice.

The Juniors were whispering loudly with their partners.

“Before we let you off to the beyond fence, you need to take this thing,” she showed a metal plate. “This is Trap Plate. Its function is to trap the Dummies by sucking up those creatures. Once the Dummies were sucked in, the blue or green light will appear. The best pairs will be determined on how many Dummies they’ll catch. We will distribute you one Trap Plate for each pair.”

The Fighters distributed the Trap Plate to each pair and after they’ve done, the gate opened. They were given 3 hours to hunt the Dummies. Houle and Lach’s brothers were cheering for them. Myrr and Lach waved at them before dashing towards the gate. The Hunting Test began!


Myrr was hiding in the thick shadows behind the large oak trees. 3 Dummies were lingering around, not far from where she was hiding. She looked up at the other oak tree. Lach was hiding there. They planned to ambush the Dummies since they had caught 7 of them by fighting one-on-one. Those Dummies didn’t realize their presence and this made things went easier to both Myrr and Lach.

Gripping to her short sword, Myrr gave signal to Lach and both of them ambushed the Dummies by attacking in two directions; left and above. Those Dummies were taken aback by their attacks. Myrr cut off one of the Dummies head while Lach casted a binding spell. Another two Dummies couldn’t move. Myrr and Lach slashed those two Dummies and sucked them in the Trap Plate. Both of them cheered joyfully and gave each other a high-Five.

“We got 10 of them! We need to hunt for more!” said Myrr excitedly.
“We have one hour left. I think we can catch another 10!” beamed Lach with excitement.
Myrr passed Lach the water pouch and they gulped the water down. They took a brief rest for one minute before continuing hunting.

Houle, on the other hand, was waiting for them in the hut where the students were gathering before the Hunting Test. He was watching Myrr and Lach in action on the screen. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the screen since the hunting started. Wreas came back to the hut after taking turn with other groups to watch over the kids.

“Here, have a drink,” Wreas tapped on his back gently.
Houle was startled and turned around. He saw Wreas handed him a glass of berry juice. “Thanks,” he took the glass and took a few sips.
“You don’t have to worry much about Myrr and Lach. Both of them are doing well. Besides, they have caught 10 of them without being hurt,” Wreas smiled assuredly.
“I know. But still, I need to make sure that she’s perfectly save. If not, I can’t forgive myself as being her guardian. Unless I can join your group to protect her,” said Houle. He knew Myrr was stronger than before but he wasn’t confident enough about her safety. Myrr was still a kid and she didn’t have much experience in fighting yet.

One hour passed and the hunt ended. Most of the students had gathered at the same place before the hunting started, including Myrr and Lach and her other two best friends. They were talking about how many Dummies they had caught. Houle approached her and gave her a drink for she was sweating but still looking energetic. She excitedly told Houle and Wreas about their hunting experience and she hoped that she and Lach will get the award of the Best Pair.

“Okay, kiddies! It’s getting late and you need to go home to have a rest. Your result will be announced in the next three days,” announced Plaud.

The students sighed in frustration.

Plaud laughed out loud, seeing their frustrated faces. “Hey, cheer up, kiddies! Here’s a good news. You’re going to have a one-whole-day break tomorrow!”

The students cheered excitedly and thanks to Plaud. They went back home and so as Myrr and Houle. Myrr said goodbye to her friends before leaving. Houle carried her on his back for he knew Myrr was already tired to walk. Myrr fell asleep on his back on their way home. When they reached home, Houle woke her up gently and asked her to take a bath and change her tunic. After that, he tucked her in bed.

Houle went to his own after checking on Myrr who was sleeping soundly. He sat on his bed and looked outside the window. The moon was shining brightly. He stared at the calm sky before lying on his bed. He was thinking of not going to sleep after having the same nightmare for 3 days in a row. He was scared. The angry spirits were haunting him.

Houle sighed heavily. He was confused. Why was those spirits accused him for being a murderer? He was not a murderer, he was sure of that! But still, he didn’t remember his past. Maybe I was a murderer before I lost my memory, he thought. He closed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened before he came here. He then fell into a deep sleep.


“Houle, are you okay?” asked Apologos. He was having field training with Houle and Arwe. “You don’t look well today.”
“I’m fine,” Houle nodded and tried to smile.
“You sure?” Apologos frowned.
“Yeah,” he patted on Apologos back. “Let’s continue with the training,” he turned to Arwe who was holding his bow.

He and Apologos asked for Arwe to help them sharpen their high-speed skills because Arwe is one of the sharp shooters who rarely missed his target. Arwe has been chosen to join the special army because of his sharp eyes. They called him Four-Eyes because his eyes could see twice better than any normal nightingales.

Arwe shot another rapid arrow and both Houle and Apologos dodge it. Arwe shot more and more arrows and they were getting faster. Houle nearly been shot as he rolled his body to the left. That was a killer shot, Houle’s mind exclaimed. The word ‘kill’ somehow distracted him. Then he remembered the dream he had last night. Those spirits told him he killed them mercilessly. He tried to get those voice out of his head but he could still heard them.

“Damn,” he cursed under his breath.
“Houle! Look out!” warned Apologos.

Houle snapped back into reality and he saw the arrow went straight toward him. He dodged but the arrow pierced through his arm. Houle yelled in pain. Arwe, who was stunned by the accident, rushed towards Houle with Apologos. Houle pulled the arrow roughly and blood exuded from his arm.

“You were spacing out just now. What’s wrong?” asked Arwe as he wrapped the wound with a piece of cloth that he tore from his tunic.
“I...I don’t know,” he groaned.
“We must get him to the Healing Squad,” said Apologos. “I’m not good in healing.”
Arwe nodded and both of them helped Houle and sent him to the Healing Squad.

Heilen healed Houle’s arm in her room. With one healing spell, the wound was healed in a blink of an eye. “Alright, that should do,” said Heilen.
“Thanks, Doctor Heilen,” said Houle softly. He looked at his healed arm. He was relieved because he didn’t want Myrr to know about the accident.
“You’re welcome,” Helien smiled.
“Doctor Heilen,” said Houle after a short silent, “can you foretell a dream?”
Heilen stared at him for a while. “No, not really. Why? Is there something bothering you?” she asked gently, sitting down in front of Houle, waiting for his further explanation.
Houle took a deep breath before began his story. “I’ve been having this dream, no, this nightmare nearly a week. I dreamt about spirits, angry spirits in precise, accusing me for murdering them. And there are skulls everywhere. Last night, I heard a little girl’s voice calling me from afar. First I thought it’s Myrr because she always wakes me when she heard me screaming or grunting. But it’s not Myrr. It’s the voice that I knew but I can’t remember. Can you please help me, Doctor Heilen?” he pleaded. “I need to find the answer, who I really am and where do I belong.”
“I can’t really foretell a dream but I don’t think that’s a dream, Houle. Maybe it’s part of your lost memory. Something had happened in the past and you can’t figure it out. I think you should not think too much on that because it’ll cause distraction, just like how you got your wound,” she pointed to Houle’s arm where the arrow had stuck before. “You need to relax your mind, do something that you enjoy with Myrr. I’ll try to ask Cheiftan Skuta. He’s the Cheiftan of Investigation Squad. Maybe he can help since he’s expert in this kind of situation. Have you told anyone about this dream?” asked Heilen before standing up from a chair.
Houle shook his head. “No. Not even Myrr. She thought that it was just a nightmare. But she seems worried since this same nightmare keep on repeating every night.”
“I see. Well, let’s see if Cheiftan Skuta can help. I’ll arrange a meeting with him for you,” she patted Houle’s back gently.
“Thanks very much, Doctor Heilen,” Houle bowed slightly to her before he left.


He closed the door behind him and sighed. This nightmare was tormenting him.

Monday 5 August 2013

The Adventure of Myrr and Te Nightingales: 6

Chapter 6

“You’re totally not going to believe this!” Lach tried not to shriek as she was holding a piece of paper. “We’re in the same pair!” She leapt with joy.
Myrr jumped with joy too as both of them were dancing gellfully. “This is great! I can’t believe that we’re going to be in the same pair!”
“Congratulation to both of you,” said Struer who just came from behind.
“Thanks, Struer. Oh, who’s your partner, by the way?” asked Myrr who was still smiling broadly.
Struer sighed and pointed to her twin brother. “Hittan.” She made a solemn face. Myrr and Lach couldn’t stop giggling.
“What with that sour face, Struer?” Hittan frowned furiously, his hands on the hips.
“I never thought I will end up pairing with you,” Struer said in a bored tone.
“Well I was thinking the same thing. Never mind, then. I guess we have to stick together until the end of the hunting test. But remember this, I’m going to be the leader and you must listen to everything I said,” he said with his chest high.
“Hey, who said that you’re going to be the leader?” This time Struer who had her hands on her hips. “I’m older than you,” she poked her finger to Hittan’s chest, hard.
“It doesn’t mean that you’re two hours older than me, you can be the leader. I’m a man, and the man is supposed to be the leader. Not a girl,” he answered back.
“Stop it, you two. If Mr. Reopan knows that you’re arguing, he will cancel your names on the list,” warned Myrr.

Both of them stopped mouth-fighting and went back to the class without talking with each other. Myrr and Lach laughed because Struer and Hittan were always fighting over the small thing.

The hunting test will be held on the next week so Myrr and Lach were preparing themselves to hunt the Dummy Ghouls. Myrr was waiting for this since she enrolled the School of Nightingales. Houle will be proud of her if she passed the test. She wanted to show him that she was capable to handle the Ghouls on her own.

They went back to their seat as their tutor, Reopan came in. He smiled warmly to his students. He put a stack of papers that he carried when he entered the class. He cleared his throat politely and the students were in silence, waiting for him to explain.

“Have you found your partner?” asked Reopan. The students nodded while saying yes. “Good. Now, I want to give two pieces of paper each. This one,” he lifted up a blue coloured paper, “is your parents’ permission. This test is quite dangerous since this is the first time you guys will be using your own weapon. You’ll get the permission first, and then you’ll receive your won weapon, alright?” He handed to the President of the Class.
“And this one,” he lifted up a green coloured paper, “is your fitness check up. The Healing Squad will come tomorrow morning and you’ll have your fitness check up. You are compulsory to undergo a fitness check because it is essential for you to know whether you’re really fit or not. Those who have any illness will undergo another medical test before you are allowed for the Hunting Test. Any question?” he looked around, searching for the raising hands. “No. Good. You can scramble back to your house; get your parents’ permission. See you again, tomorrow!”

The class cheered and everyone was eager to go back home after they got the two pieces of papers. Reopan knew that this was what they were waiting for. The test will show their bravery and skills. He waited for the whole class to dismiss. Myrr walked up to him as he was getting ready to leave.

“Excuse, Mr. Reopan. Sorry for not raising my hand just now. Can I as you about the parents’ permission?” asked Myrr politely and showed the blue coloured paper.
“Yes, sure, Myrr,” he smiled.
“Do I have to get the permission from my Uncle Shatter or from Houle?” Myrr looked at him, waiting for the answer.
“You can ask them both. If you stopped by your uncle’s mansion, you can get his permission. Either, you can get Houle’s permission. He’s your legal guardian so he has the right for allowing you or not,” he replied.
“Oh, okay then. Thank you, Mr. Reopan,” Myrr smiled broadly and bowed to him. Reopan chuckled and patted on her head.
“Now go home, little Myrr. See you again, tomorrow,” he waved at her as she’s leaving.


Houle was drenched in sweat. He was panting hard while gripping the sword. Ever single muscle in his body was aching. He wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand and gripped the sword again. His vision was getting blurry but he didn’t want to withdraw. He could barely stand up for his legs were getting wobbly. The room was tropically hot.

Feoh knew Houle couldn’t continue any longer. He lowered his sword to show that the training was ended. “That’s enough for today, Houle. I can see you could barely stand,” said Feoh.
“Please, Chieftan Feoh,” pleaded Houle while panting hard. “Just a little longer.”
Feoh shook his head. “No, Houle. We must stop here or it’ll affect your health. You can come by in next two days. You need rest,” said Feoh in serious tone.

Houle understood and loosen his grip to the sword and lowered it. His wobbly legs made him stumble on the floor. Feoh handed him a bottle of energy drink and Houle gulped the water down. Feoh patted Houle’s broad shoulder to tell him that he has tried his best. Feoh knew that Houle was training very hard to get stronger and he was proud of Houle’s determination and effort. For two years he trained him and he knew Houle was improving his sword’s skill day by day. He wanted to train him more even when Houle was suited to have his own sword. Sometimes he will let Houle sparred with his son, Joind for he was very skilful in sword fighting.

Houle took a rest for a while before heading back home. After drinking the energy drink and took a shower at Feoh’s mansion, he got back his strength. But still his muscle was still aching a little. When he reached home, he was surprised to see Myrr was cooking, guided by her cousin, Arwe.

“Welcome back, Houle,” greeted Myrr while stirring her soup. “How’s your training?” she asked.
“Not bad but my body is sore,” he replied and sat on the chair. “What’s cooking?”
“Chicken soup with mixed vegetable. Arwe taught me,” she smiled. Arwe nodded and told to stir the soup until it mix well with the vegetables.
“I heard you’re having a special training with Chieftan Feoh,” he said, pulling the chair in front of Houle and sat down.
“Yeah. But it’s not easy. He’s very skilled in sword fighting and I can’t even scratch him one,” he ran his fingers to his flaming red hair.
“Of course, you block head. He’s the toughest and the strongest among all the Chieftans. A person like you couldn’t defeat him,” he smirked irritatedly to Houle.
“What did you say?” he growled and stood up to punch Arwe in the face.
Myrr turned around and scowled ferociously at both of them. “Stop it or no lunch!”
Both Arwe and Houle timidly nodded and got back to their seat. They knew what will happen if Myrr got mad.


“We will be having a Hunting Test next week,” said Myrr while eating her lunch. “I was partnered with Lach and we’re going to be the best pair!”
“Well, that’s great. We hope you’ll pass the test,” Arwe smiled proudly.
“Arwe is right. The test will be held at night, right?” asked Houle.
Myrr nodded.
“I’ll be cheering for you,” he patted Myrr’s head and smiled.
“Oh, before I forgot,” Myrr jumped off the chair and took a out a piece of paper inside her bag, “ you need to sign the permission paper. Reopan said that I can get the permission either from you or Uncle Shatter.”
Houle took the paper. “Okay. I’ll sign it after this.”
“Yes!” Myrr threw a punch into the air. “Thanks, Houle!”
“You’re most welcome. Now finish your meal. You too, Arwe,” Houle glanced at Arwe who almost finish his lunch.
Arwe chuckled and after that he helped Myrr to wash the dishes. Houle went up to his room for he was very tired. He really needed some rests before having another extra training with Feoh in three days.


“Okay, let’s do a little check up,” Pelle smiled cheerfully as Myrr entered the room.
“I can’t wait for the Hunting Test, Pelle. It’s going to be awesome! I’ve been waiting for this in my whole life!” said Myrr excitedly.
Pelle giggled. “You remind me when I was your age, Myrr. I, too, couldn’t wait for the test. And guess who’s my partner?”
“Reles?” Myrr guessed.
Pelle shook her head. “It’s Esclice. I was so excited that time,” her smile subsided. “That night was the first time I fell in love with him.”

Myrr stared at Pelle and patted her hand. Pelle smiled and did the check up. Myrr didn’t say a word about her brother, not in front of Pelle. Pelle was her brother’s fiancé. They planned to get married as soon as Myrr finish her Junior year. When she received the death news of Esclice, she was crying bitterly in her room after the funeral. She loved Esclice so much and she felt that her world was crumbling into dust. But when she saw Myrr who was feeling down at that time, she promised herself to be strong. She promised Myrr to be her sister where she’ll have a shoulder to cry on.

When the medical test was done, Myrr and Lach went to Reopan’s office to submit the permission paper and medical test paper. Reopan gave them inspirational words before they left the room. Then both of them went to the Blue Forest to train.


It was a freezing cold night. Houle was wandering in the middle of nowhere. The air was thick, as well as the fogs. His feet were getting cold for he didn’t wear any boots. He looked around but he couldn’t recognize the place. He continued walking until he heard voices. The fog cleared little by little and the voices were getting louder. Houle searched for the voices.

Then, he stopped. He saw grey brick arch, standing tall in front of him. Dried grasses filled the along the path and he saw four crows were crowing loudly. He took a step forward, feeling scared. Then, he heard those voices again. His paced was getting faster as the voices were getting near. The bright moon shone upon the path and he was terrified of what he had seen. Skeletons were everywhere and the wailing and crying voices could be heard loudly.

He couldn’t move. His feet were stuck on the ground. The spirits appeared from the rotten skeletons and swirling around him, yelling to him that he was a murderer. The spirits kept on yelling and yelling, accusing Houle for being a murderer. Houle’s ears couldn’t stand the yelling and he covered his ears with his hand.

“No! I’m not a murderer!” he shouted but the spirits ignored him. “Leave me alone! Leave me alone!”

Houle jerked up from the bed. He was sweating hard. He looked around and he realized he was inside his room. His breath was getting calm. He was having a nightmare. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and opened it. It was Myrr. She ran toward him with a worry look.

“What’s wrong, Houle? I heard your scream just now,” she asked worryingly.
“I’m having a nightmare,” Houle replied in a hoarse voice. “Sorry for waking you up, Myrr.”
Myrr hugged him. “It’s okay,” Myrr looked at him and wiped the sweat with her sleeve.
‘Thanks, Myrr. I’m fine now,” he patted her head.
“Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?” asked Myrr, holding his hand gently.


Houle shook his head and said he was fine. Myrr kissed his cheek before going back to her room. Houle lied on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He never had that kind of nightmare before. He didn’t want to continue sleeping. The feverish images of the rotten skeletons and the angry spirits were playing in his mind. This was the first time he felt terrified.