Bayacrux Chapter 1

It was a sort of club restaurant, with old posters, road signs, and other odds and ends hung up on the wall for a sort of vintage look. The table he was sitting at had an old record cover on the wall above it. It was in the corner of the restaurant, a dimly lit place with jazz music playing on speakers. The blue-haired swordsman took a sip of his coffee, hazelnut with cream added, you could tell from the empty plastic cups on the table. He wore typical swordsman's garb, a lightweight outfit plated with metal. There was a large sword leaning on the chair beside him, one that looked rather heavy. It had assorted designs on the large hilt, the most notable one a sirena, a type of water-dwelling kitsune that caused mists and fogs, crashing ships on rocks.

The sound of bells on a door interrupted the jazz music that was playing softly in the background, and the forest green-robed man who had entered the room sat down in a chair facing the same table that the blue-haired man was sitting at. A waiter placed a silver tray on the table, carrying various fancy chocolates wrapped in colorful foil. the green robed man picked up a piece of chocolate shaped like a star, wrapped in a foil that matched the red of the old brick walls in the dim lighting. He scrutinized every little wrinkle in the foil, then unwrapped the chocolate and placed it in his mouth, dropping the crinkled foil onto the circular wooden table.

"My mom once told me that life is like a box of chocolates", the man said between bites.

"Quit it, Forrest Gump", the blue-haired man replied, not impressed.

The man in the green robes finished swallowing his chocolate, eyeing a circular blue-wrapped chocolate through his square glasses. He was about to reach for it when the blue haired man spoke.

"You asked me for something, right?"

The green-robed man pulled his hand back from the tray of chocolates and folded both his hands on the edge of the table. "Yeah, there's something I want you to help me with"

"I bet you lost something again, right?"

The green-robed man scowled, and ran his hand through his spiky black hair. "Well, I did lose something, something very dear to me"

"Did that girl you're in 'love' with break up with you, Shed?", the blue haired man snickered.

Shed slammed his hands against the table, knocking over the silver tray and sending chocolates sliding off the table. "It's not about her!", he said rather loudly. He lowered his voice to a whisper, seeing other people were watching and listening to their conversation intently.

"why don't we talk about this outside?"

"So, I lost her in The Field", Shed said, wrapping his finger around the chain of a emerald-eyed skull that was hanging from his neck. His other hand held a staff made out of oak wood. It was tapered at one end, and curled into a fern-shoot shape at the other end. It was the basic staff for all Earth Mages, wizards focused on earth-element attack spells.

"So... you want me to go out there with you and help get 'her' back?"

The Field was a name for the remaining part of the world. After the Torpedo, the name for a giant meteor that had hit in 2012, smashed all the continents to pieces, only one large landmass was left. People built costal cities on the eight points of this landmass - known as the Octogon. Soon, monsters began to appear in the Field - the area between the 8 cities of the Octogon.

"Yep", Shed said. "I captured her because I thought Dawn would like her... awful pretty..."

The monsters never left the Field, but sometimes other things came in. For example, a human who went a bit too far into the field for a look-see would be kidnapped, someone's pet could wander off and be captured, et cetera. The monsters were wild and untamable by anyone but the Mayao, or "Creature Tamers". They were able to tame the wild monsters that roamed the field, and defeat them if needed. they were called upon if someone was in danger from a monster.

Frecyo, the blue-haired man, laughed. "I thought you just lost your wallet in the tunnels again"

Because of the monsters, the people who didn't posess the abilities of a Mayao had a hard time getting through The Field. To make transport easier, leaders of the 8 cities decided to construct a tunnel system deep below the earth. There would be tunnels leading from each city to the next, all around the perimeter of the Octogon.

"I think she may have been captured by a wizard... when I tried calling for her with my flute, the flute didn't even make a sound"

But there were some who used their Mayao powers for evil. These people captured humans from villages to feed monsters, use as slaves in their underground dungeons, or to sacrifice to the Gods, 8 ultra powerful monsters representing the 8 elements - Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, Darkness, Power, and Mystery.

"Barrier enchantment..." the swordsman muttered.

"Come on Fre, I don't know where she is, but we have to find her! Come on!", Shed said. he grabbed Fre by the wrist and tugged until both of them almost fell over.