Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The White Chronicle
Jasmine and Leshin are exchanging words while walking their way to the town; Leshin is bewildered about the things Jasmine told him. Like how she came from the world called the 2000s. There are things that Leshin don't quite understand like how iron can be ridden and move with speed called cars or how can an object called television - a box that can conjure elves and make them move and sing at any time of the day. Leshin can't keep his head around the things Jasmine told her but he expects these are some knowledge that a Chronicler wields.
Jasmine apologizes for acting scared earlier. She explained that she was afraid at first with Leshin but she remembered her grandma's story to her about their kind – Annani.
"I am really sorry about my behavior, Leshin. I fell from my grandparent's house and now I am stuck here as a stranger. A rush of fear just flow thru me."
"Not to the inhabitants of this world. You are the Chronicler! The owner of the White Chronicle. Your primary job might just tell you to record the beings and happenings of this land but you are also obliged to protect this world from being thrown out of balance. And as a Guardian of the grassland and forest it is my duty to protect you at all cost and assists you in your journey. You might get scared, but I will defend you with my life." declared by Leshin as he continue to scatter the petals around them.
"What are Guardians?" asked Jasmine.
"We are an organization. We are beings of different shape and origins who voluntarily will uphold the peace and balance of this world. Have you forgotten about the Guardian, Chronicler? It seems that you forget to add a record about us." Leshin spoke as he grabs a small stick from his red shahs to his hand. Jasmine sees the stick as no longer than a pencil but it got weird inscriptions on it that she can't read.
Leshin taps to the stick and a green glow erupts from his hand to his stick. The stick grows in size and length. Leaves and tree branches that acts as Leshin 's armor also gave light as the stick takes it shape into a spear.
"This is what it meant to be a Guardian. You formed us a long time ago and gave us purpose. The ritual you performed gave us tremendous power but a cost. But I accepted it whole heartedly if it allows me to defend these lands from evil."
Leshin thrusts his spear to the ground and chant a prayer. After a few second the grassland in front of Jasmine grew a fast rate. Saplings grew to full bloomed flower in a moment and old trees withered away in a blink of an eye.
Jasmine was amazed and was happy to see that magic do exists in this world. She thinks to herself that if there is magic that brought her here, maybe there is a magic that can return her home.
Then she was stump. She remembered her grandma's story: Annai do not have any power to make plants grow. They can appear in dreams to scare people that want them harm. Or hide in grass like a chameleon and ambush their enemies. They are hunters and warrior not some magician. And she does not remember performing any ritual on others.
"Hold on. I do not remember any ritual. I told you I am just an ordinary girl that fell thru a hole and end up here."
Leshin nods his head as he continues walking. "Yes, you do not remember but you are the Chronicler. The book calls to you and responds only to you. The book gave us instruction when and where return and I will have returned the book back to you as instructed. I wish the other Guardians are here to see you."
"Wait. How many Guardians are there? Are you all from Annani?" asked by Jasmine as she opens her the White Chronicler to find the page that instructed Leshin about her supposed return.
"No, we are many. There is one from the ground below, Masiken from the Yumogyog, tribe of the dead. One came from the sky. She is Amihan from the wind elves tribe– Palessekan. There are many of us and maybe more since the day we are formed. All it takes is. . ."
Suddenly, Jasmine felt a rumble in her pouch. The book started to move on its own. Jasmine opens it and saw a faint light from a page. As she turned to the glowing page, she saw nothing but a glowing blank page.
"What was that? I swear this was moving on it's a while ago." Jasmine said as she tries to check why there is a faint light on the page.
"Ah you began to transfer new knowledge to this book. Curious, maybe it's about us, the Guardians." and just as Leshin just said, the book decided to wrote itself new text in the blank page. The book wrote Guardian. And the book immediately wrote information about Leshin. It wrote his spear, his power, and even drew his look.
"Looks like you did forget about us. Curious indeed. I wonder why you didn't write about us in the first place." Leshin mutter to himself while Jasmine was left to wonder how she did that.
As they are walking Leshin raised his spear and blocked Jasmine steps. "Stop Chronicler! There is something in the air. A foul stench. . ."
Jasmine sees nothing but patch of small grass along the road. "Maybe its dead animal in the grass" Jasmine suggested. Then later she did smell a pungent smell of rotting flesh. She covers her nose and told Leshin that she smells it too.
Leshin proceed to slash the patch of grass around them with his spear. He sees nothing of the ordinary but he still smells the rotting flesh. He kneels to the ground and the chants some prayer.
Then ground around Jasmine begins to take form of mud puddles of water and mud. "Do not leave mud encircling you Chronicler. It will protect you."
Jasmine nods; she kneels to the ground and opened the White Chronicler. She opened her book thinks to herself that if the book can store information about her arrival and recent information like the guardians, maybe she can find monsters.
Then Leshin began to survey the area. He waved his hand in the air and uses his magic to make every grass in the area grow at an accelerating rate and wither immediately.
Later, he sees frogs jumping around and worms eating a dead body of a person. Leshin turns over the body but there is nothing there but worms and maggot.
Jasmine is busy thinking of monsters that have foul smell and can hide in plain sight. Her fingers are running thru the table of contents as she is trying to remember anything that her grandparents told her about monsters. Then her finger stop at a name in the book as she remembers a story about an aswang's pet.
"That's it! A Sigbin!" she yells as she flips toward the page about it. She read that this being loves to eat dead bodies and small children. They smell foul and can shape shift as a locust, goat or frog.
"The frog, Leshin! The Sigbin can morph into frog!" she yells to Leshin.
Leshin then utter some spell and later yelled to the group of frogs in the area. "Are you frogs?"
The frogs in the area collectively croak as if Leshin is talking to them. Jasmine find this amazing, not only Leshin fight and use magic on earth related magic but also talk to animals. She wonder how can Leshin distinguish the Sigbin among the crowd of frogs.
"Who among you recently join your group? Spit it out or I swear to Bathala I will feed you all to Oryol" yelled Leshin as he readies his spear. The frogs suddenly stop croaking and they all reposition. They all look at one frog among them and formed a circle around it. The frog in the middle began to croak intensely as it tries to leap away; but the other frogs reposition themselves around him everytime.
"Thank you my friends. Please leave me this impostor among you" Leshin says as he thrust into the frog. The frog suddenly morphs back into a Sigbin, leaping towards Leshin and dodging his spear.
Jasmine sees in front of her very eyes a creature of rotting flesh that looks like a dog. Its stature is the same with a dog but its hind legs are facing the other direction. She is worried about her safely but Jasmine is worried Leshin too.
Every thrust, the Sigbin evades it. Every snap of the sharp teeth towards Leshin, he uses his spear to keep its distance. Leshin knew that its sharp teeth can cost his an arm or his life if it gets near him.
The Sigbin is circling Leshin. Leshin assumes a defensive pose, his right hand on his spear and his left is in his pouch. Then the Sigbin wags its tail and transforms it to a whip. It lashes its tail toward Leshin's head. As fast as lighting, leaps back and threw seeds to the ground. From it, vines suddenly grew and entangled the tail with the vines. The vines prevent the Sigbin's movement and now it is panicking to escape.
The Sigbin tries to cut its tail off to escape but Leshin quickly thrust the spear to the Sigbin's head, killing it immediately.
Jasmine yells a hooray for a death of the Sigbin and started to rush towards Leshin. Without her realizing it, a small frog was near the mud circle and leaps toward Jasmine.
The mud grew and in size and transform itself into a fountain like shape, capturing the frog in midair. Leshin saw this and raised his left hand. Making an open hand gesture then suddenly closing it.
The mud crumbled and crushed the frog inside. Jasmine was shocked that she didn't even see a frog near the mud circle. She is afraid; her carelessness almost gave her lead to her death.
Leshin reassures her that it is his job to make her safe at all time. He released his hand and relaxed then from the mud followed and released a dead Sigbin in it.
"That was close Leshin. Thanks for protecting me and I am sorry.... I left your circle." She said trying to withhold the tears in her eyes.
Leshin pats her back and says "It's all right. As long as we are safe." Then he stops and muttered words again. He spoke to the grass and asked them to eat the remains of the Sigbin and hide them from their masters – the aswang.
Leshin and Jasmine left in a hurry as they think that more Sigbin might be hiding in the area.
After a long trek across the hill and grassland, they started to see a river and coconut trees in the area. Large mango trees and banana trees are also present in the forest they passed along the road.
Later Jasmine stop on her feet, ships that sailed inverted are roaring and flying across the sky. With their main mast and hull inverted, she is now in awe what kind of magic they are using. She thinks to herself maybe this ships are her way home.
"Ships of Dalakitnon, sailed by our brethren sky elves. Maybe they are docking and making trade with their spice. It means we are near the town." Leshin says while looking at the sky filled with hundreds of Dalakitnon ships.
As they continue to walk, Jasmine sees a town near a river.
"Welcome to Vale, the town of wonder and ancient beginnings. Let us rest here and discuss our plan to save this world." Says Leshin with his voice filled with a bit of hope.
"Wait. Save this world?" Jasmine looks at Leshin with a surprise look her face.
Weekly Power Status
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