Chapter 2: Chosen

Aquarius, Capital of the Scalon Empire

Divarus swam through the large transport tube on his way to the Royal Hub. Divarus was a Scalon, a humanoid fish. His head, arms, and feet had soft pale blue skin while the rest of his body was covered in scales.

Aquarius was a standard Scalon city. It was comprised of multiple spherical hubs that separated the various city districts. The walls were made of a clear permeable membrane. The hubs were connected by transport tubes, which Divarus was using now to get from the Residential Hub to the Royal Hub.

He swam quickly through and arrived at the first security gate. This membrane was selectively permeable and only let through Scalons it thought of as not dangerous. Legend says that this was a gift from the Goddess of Water herself, and that all Scalon cities are essentially living.

Divarus passed through with no problem. He continued on to the second security membrane. No problem here either. He continued on through the third, again with no problem. The fourth and final was the actual exterior of the Royal Hub.

Divarus passed through and found himself outside the palace. The building was made of a blue metal found in Terra’s seas and outside of it grew many of the local plants. Divarus entered the castle and bowed before the Council.

As per tradition the Council was made up of three men and three women. Together they ruled Aquarius and all the other Scalon cities. Most of the council members were stern, however one of them was a close friend of Divarus.

His name was Hydri and he was the oldest council member here. His opinion was held in the highest regards among the other council members.

“Divarus, welcome.” said one of the council women. “Are you aware of why you have been summoned today?”

“I am not sure. But I have heard that there is a situation between the elves and demons. I assume it has something to do with that.” Divarus said.

“You are correct.” Hydri said. “But it is much more serious than that. A Chaos Lord has awakened and is controlling the demon forces. There is only one thing in this world that is known to be able to drive a Chaos Lord back.”

“A Heldum Blade?” Divarus asked.

“That is correct.” said another. “And a hero must be chosen to wield the Heldum Blade.”

Divarus was in disbelief. Were they talking about him? He waited for someone to say something as he did not want to embarrass himself. What if he said something and it wasn’t him?

“We have chosen you.” Hydri said.

“Why...why me? I am honored...but I am not a fighter.”

Hydri laughed. “You have been chosen by the Water Goddess herself. Her Avatar appeared before us yesterday and told us you would be needed.”

Divarus was shocked. The Avatar of the Water Goddess had chosen him? But why? He still did not understand.

“You may now wield the blade.” said another.

A small runic symbol in-between them began to glow. The floor shifted and a large cylindrical stone column rose from the ground. The stone cracked and exploded revealing the golden blade. It was a true Heldum Blade.

Divarus stepped forth and grabbed the Blade. It felt heavy, but it gradually got lighter as he held it. The blade began to glow and a beam of light shot upwards, through the palace roof, the hub itself, and out of the water towards the sky. When the beam stopped a Scalon surrounded in dark blue armor emerged from the water itself.

The water swirled around and from that she appeared. “Warrior of the Light, I greet you.” she said. “I am the Avatar of the Water Goddess and I am here to guide you.”

“Guide me?” Divarus asked.

“Yes. The Heldum Blade is an extremely powerful weapon, and you are not yet ready to use it unsupervised.”

“Then why choose me?” he asked.

“Anyone would be unprepared...but you are the most pre-prepared of them all. You are special. Different from other Scalons. The Heldum Blade will...accept you.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Divarus asked.

“You will have to trust me. It is very complicated and it goes back to the creation of the Ten Blades. Now I need you to come with me. You already know of the war occurring.”

“Between the demons and elves.” Divarus said nodding.

“You will need to end that war.” the Avatar said.

“End the war? I don’t think I am capable of doing such...”

“You do not realize that the method to ending the war lies within the Heldum Blade. With this blade, you are to strike down the Chaos Lord. Strike him down and the demons will be freed.”

“Freed? They are being controlled by the Chaos Lord?” Divarus asked surprised.

“Yes. But it is more troublesome than that. The Chaos Lord is being controlled by a dark force. He is merely being used as a tool to control the demons. Defeating the Chaos Lord is only the first step. I fear a larger war will soon begin.”

Divarus began to grasp the situation. This was far bigger than he was. What if he could not stop the Chaos Lord? What would happen then?

The Avatar saw the concerns he had. “If you fail to stop the Chaos Lord, that will buy us some time. However, your world will continue to be burned by the forces of fire.”

“How would that buy us some time?” Divarus asked confused.

“The Avatars. The Gods themselves want to know what is happening. The God of Fire is not behind this movement in the forces of fire, and the Chaos Goddess is not in control of the Chaos Lord. We would like to find out what is happening. Unfortunately we can not afford to wait.”

“I understand.” Divarus said. His goal frightened him, but he felt an odd sense of security. The Water Avatar trusted him for some reason, and although it didn’t make sense...there was a reason. Whatever that reason was, it was what he needed to utilize to defeat the Chaos Lord.

The Avatar smiled. “I must leave now, but I trust you can complete this mission.” The blue armor of the Avatar began to glow brightly. The light blinded everyone in the room, and when it disappeared so did the Avatar.

“We should move the army immediately.” Hydri advised. The other council members agreed. They had intended to stay out of this conflict, but fate had other plans. The Scalons had just joined the war.