The Warrior of Wind Rises

-"Protect what is precious with all you've got, or else you might find yourself with nothing one day."

[Several decades later- Caelum, Wahkan]

"Come on, Lei, Think!" a boy said to himself as he was seated at his kitchen table. He grumbled to himself and ran his hands through his wavy honey-brown hair. "I have to start with a plan...First, I'll...No, that won't work. Maybe I could--wait, that won't work either!" His voice raised to release his built up frustration. "Oh Goddess, what should I do? Nine days isn't enough time!"

He let go of his hair as footsteps clicked against the green linoleum floor. He turned and saw his twin sister--well, technically she was his triplet, even though most labeled them as the former. Her matching turquoise eyes met with his as she casually leaned against the wooden table. "Less planning, more training. It's as simple as that," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

He took a deep breath, letting his anger subside. "You're right, as usual. This is a waste of time, I need to stop worrying and train!" He closed his green notebook and pushed it away from him while leaving his seat. "I need to get some fresh air."

"You just realized it now? Seriously, Lei, you've been an anxious mess since you woke up." His sister groaned.

Lei broke into a half-smile. "Yeah... If only I could be as calm as you." He turned his head to the notebook he'd just abandoned as familiar words echoed through his mind.

***

[Years Ago]

"You, Magus Maximus? Ha! Like you'll ever be." With the words came the actions of the navy-haired bully. The image was crisp and fresh, as if it were really occurring. The bully's shoe shoveled sand in the direction of Lei's face, to which he shielded himself from with a strong gust of wind.

"You're wrong. Four years from now, you'll take that back. I will be admitted into Nine Petal Academy and outdo you! Then at the end of the three years there, I will surely have the upperhand. You will have come face to face with my true strength!" He yelled.

"You're such a loser, Lei." The boy sighed, completely disregarding Lei's promise. He threw his thumb over his shoulder toward the park. There were kids running around but there was no sight of Lei's family. "See that? Even your older siblings don't think you're worth being saved."

Lei struggled to his feet, not noticing the white sand sticking to his tear-streaked face due to the excruciatingly painful bug bites that dotted his arms. "They'll come, they will! But that doesn't matter, I can handle this by myself!"

The bully dismissed his threat with a wave of his hand as he turned to leave. "Yeah, yeah. You know, picking on you has gotten boring. Your words never mean anything, and the result is always the same. Destroying someone so weak over and over is just too cruel, even for me."

Lei tensed as his hands crumpled into fists and his lips curled back to reveal his clenched teeth. "You'll pay for this..." The agony from the bugs forced him back into the cold sand, tears of frustration turning the grains into a damp shade of gray. "My words are not meaningless...I won't stop until you and the rest of the world can vouch for that."

The sting from the disgust in the bully's blue eyes was deeper than that of the bug bites. "Come on, loser. Give up. You're worthless! You don't stand a chance at becoming the next Magus Maximus, just look at your talented siblings. Destiny chose for you to be nothing more than a weakling. You don't even deserve to share the same face as them. Speaking of, tell them that their efforts are just as pitiful as yours. I will be the Magus Maximus, and there's nothing you, nor your siblings can do to stop me."

The shaking in Lei's knees subsided abruptly. "I told you before, I'm not giving up! This is MY dream! My fate is my choice! I will shape it to what I desire!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. The rage that boiled inside him made him forget all about the pain in his arms as the sand around him spun in a flurry of wrath.

The bully glanced over his shoulder and let out a slight gasp. Lei's eyes were growing green.

"I won't be made less. I... I... will be the king of all magicians one day..." With those words, everything whitened.

***

['Present']

Lei shook his head, pushing aside the memory. He picked up the notebook and ran out of the house.

It's been almost four years since then, yet what do I have to show for it? I still haven't defeated Ayawamat. No matter, I still got three years until his promised defeat. He will rue the day he messed with Lei Lan!

Lei ran out of the small two-story house and strode toward the edge of a cliff overlooking a pristine beach. He jumped and landed several feet from the cliff-side. He grinned and ran on ahead and opened up his notebook again.

Closing his eyes, he called upon the four winds. Sand spun around him like it had that day at the park four years ago. He was careful not to get a single grain on him.

"Let me see, the test will focus in part on prana control so first I should focus on that." He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. He could feel the funnel of wind moving around him. It moved unevenly, that he had to fix. He moved the direction of the gales, straightening out their wavy movements. However, the waves quickly returned. Commending the wind to his complete will wasn't going to be easy, but it was the best task for practicing prana control.

"Focus. Don't lose focus, Lei," he said to himself over the roar of wind around him.

"I'm going to go call the others to come here," Yen called out from the other side.

"Hey, don't distract me!" Lei said as the wind dispersed. He opened his eyes. Encircling him was a ring of finely ground sand.

Yen smiled shyly. "Ah, sorry about that. Well, I'm off to Hikaru's place to meet up with him and the others."

Lei smiled as he looked down at his notebook and began to jolt down notes. "Hanging out with Hika again, eh?" He glanced up and gave his sister a sly grin.

His sister narrowed her eyes at him. "What's with that tone, mister?"

"Tone? What tone?" Lei asked, adverting his gaze by pretending he was still writing stuff down. A smile dotted his face.

"Whatever. I'm out. I'll come back to check on you later. Good luck with whatever it is you're doing!"

Lei waved goodbye and returned to his prana practice. He kept at it for two hours straight.

"Alright, think that's good for now!" he exclaimed to himself as he wrote down what he had done on his notebook. "Next up, some physical practice!"

He touched his boyish chest.

Hopefully I won't be short of breath once I'm done with this.

Lei moved around and sliced the air with his hands as if practicing some kind of martial arts. Blades of wind were emitted from his hands with each slice—blowing away the salty water and fine white sand around him.

He stopped and stared at the various two-foot circular dunes that he had formed around himself.

This is still not enough. I need to become stronger and faster. The Nine Petal Academy entrance exam is only nine days away. The other students are bound to be better than this. If I can't make myself stand out, they might not admit me.

"Lei!" he heard his sister call out.

Lei turned around and jumped out of his circle of dunes. Running toward him was Yen.

Lei wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "What's wrong, sis?" he asked as he made his notebook and pen disappear into thin air. He made his way over to her. "I thought that you were training with the others."

"I was and still am. Why don't you join us? You're all alone here, it'll be better if you practice your magic with someone else," she said, tilting her head to the side. "Or is it that you're avoiding us? You aren't mad at us, are you?"

He shook his head. "No, no. Why would I even do that? I mean, none of you have rubbed me the wrong way, well not recently." He chuckled. "I just needed the extra space for practice. I didn't want to get sand on you."

She stared at the dunes and then back up at him.

Lei avoided her stern eyes.

"You shouldn't kick up too much into the air, or rather punch, uh slice too much...eh you know what I mean!" Yen exclaimed. "You know what'll happen to you if you accidentally breathe too much of that stuff in."

Lei put a hand on his hips and scoffed. "I push it away with a veil of wind. You know me. I've been doing this for years. I'll be fine!"

Yen furrowed her brow and sighed. "Alright, just don't let your guard down. Also, can you come join us? Wanikiya could use a new sparring partner, since Hikaru is exhausted."

Lei snickered. "I'm surprised that you're barely asking. Hika must've lasted longer than usual."

"Haha, very funny," said a scrawny brunette teen as he made his way toward them. He collapsed into one of the sand dunes several feet away from them. His arms hugged the dune as if it were a giant pillow.

Yen ran toward him. "Are you alright?" she asked, still a good distance away. She was trying her best not to laugh.

"I am surprised that Wanikiya has so much stamina," Hikaru said as he watched the pair of siblings come his way. Yen held her hand out to him. His face flushed deep crimson as he took her hand that he had to advert his gaze. "Thanks."

Lei crossed his arms. "You know the reason."

Hikaru let go of Yen and nodded. Their small group of friends knew the secret behind the prince of Wahkan having a multitude of prana at his disposal. But all of them had promised never to speak of it in public.

"Wanikiya has already prepared the field for your match," a girl called out. They turned around and saw a crimson-haired girl make her way toward them—Zelde. Leather sleeves consisting of long strings danced in the wind with every step she took.

"Cool!" Lei yelled. "Uh, no pun intended." He ran off like a bolt of lightning and saw a part of the tropical beach—including parts of the sea itself— covered in ice. Standing in the middle of the ice was young man with short white hair and icy-blue eyes—prince Wanikiya.

Lei slowed himself down with the wind, but he danced on the ice. "Wah!" The wind mage spun around in circles, trying to regain his balance and sense of direction. "Wind!" A vortex of wind spun around him, preventing him from falling face first on the frozen sand.

"Watch your step," Wanikiya said as they walked toward a two-foot tall pillar of ice. "I don't want to end this before casting a spell."

Lei grinned at his friend. "Oh? Did seeing me slip cause you to gain a burst of confidence? Not that it matters, I'll win anyways." Azure lightning covered Lei. "Ready?"

"Wait for us!" Yen yelled as she the other arrived. Hikaru, Zelde and she surrounded the two boys in a triangular formation.

"Prana Prism!" the trio shouted in unison. A light blue barrier covered the entire frozen area. Though Hikaru's side of the barrier moved like the walls of a bubble about to burst.

"Alright, you may start now!" Yen said.

Wanikiya's smile faded. The look in his eyes changed, as if he had aged several years. "Ice Diamond!" Wanikiya chanted as he clapped his hands together. Seven unevenly sized icicles in the form of swords formed from the ice around him. He flung one of the icicle swords at Lei without even lifting a finger.

Lei ran past the icicle with ease. What is Wanikiya planning? Or is he fighting erratically? He got closer to the circle of icicles, ready to dodge the next one when Wanikiya suddenly dropped the six remaining ones. The impact of the six icicles hitting the frozen ground, and shattering all that ice caused a chilly wave of ice magic to envelop Lei and the entire inside of the barrier.

Ice even spread across the prince's right arm and left leg. He had managed to get Lei, but couldn't keep all of the chilly air away from himself.

He turned around as a crackling sound echoed in the mist covered interior of the barrier. Lei wasn't there. He glanced around in every direction. Did his attack not freeze him? It was omni-directional, it should've gotten him. Not willing to wait for Lei to strike first, he formed another set of seven icicles, this time with their tips pointing outwards instead of toward the ground.

An icicle shattered as yellow and blue sparks caused the icy mist to sparkle. Lightning came at him from all directions, shattering each of his remaining icicles.

'I knew it, he wasn't frozen. This time he won't escape,' Wanikiya thought.

The prince weaved the ice prana inward and circled it around him. "Gather around me and guard me, Ice Shield!" A thin, but hardly transparent barrier formed from the mist covered him in a 360 degree bubble. Despite having gathered some of the icy mist, it was thicker than ever. Lan...of course Lei would be good at moving around in the mist. He closed his eyes and extended his hands outward. The mist gathered around his barrier.

"Léijī," Lei's voice echoed. Golden chains appeared in his hands and struck Wanikiya's barrier. Lightning bolts discharged from the chains, shattering the ice instantly.

Wanikiya knelt down onto the partially frozen floor. The ice was spreading up his leg and arm. "I won't give up so soon!" the prince yelled.

Lei emerged from the mist, holding a single butterfly sword. Blue lightning crackled across the silver blade, giving it an extended reach.

The ice mage waved his hand, sending swords of ice at him.

Lei redirected the swords by blocking with the side of his butterfly sword. The sword flew past Hikaru's part of the triangular barrier, causing an entire side to shatter. Though they didn't stop there. Lei watched with horror as the sword curved downward, straight toward an ultramarine-haired girl. She was busy listening to music and texting away without a care in the world.

"Hey! Look out! Pay attention!" Lei shouted, moving as fast as he could. He jumped to the top of the seven foot sea-cliff and spun around, forming a wall of wind as the ice sword came a few inches from the girl. Suddenly, the ice sword dissolved into water in front of him before it even hit his wall of wind.

"You should be more careful with these," the girl said, glaring at them.

Lei spun around and watched as the blue-haired girl moved the once frozen sword toward her. "So you were paying attention."

"Of course, I was," she said, scoffing. She dropped the water to the ground and shifted her gaze back to her phone. "Thanks for trying to save me, though. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find this Mahpiya high."

"I know where it is!" Lei said.

She glanced at him and then at his friends. "I can find it myself. I did live in this part of town once. Also, you should finish your match with that ice mage." She put back on her blue earphones and walked away.

Lei watched as she walked away.

If she's looking for Mahpiya high, then that must mean that she plans to take the test to Nine Petal Academy too.

"Is she really alright?" Wanikiya said, jumping up the cliff.

Lei nodded and jumped back down. "Seems like it. Let's continue this match!"

The prince smiled, jumped back down and ran back to the icy field.

"I really messed up," Hikaru said, staring at the cliff behind him. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

"She's fine," Lei said. "Now, if you don't mind—fix the barrier."

"We'll take care of this," Yen said as Zelde and she made an almond shaped barrier. "Now, battle-restart!"

Wanikiya cupped his hands and unleashed an icy wave on Lei. A chill gust danced around him once more, sending the cold air into the four winds.

"You're good," Wanikiya said, laughing. He raised his hands in the air and formed an ice sword the size of the cliff.

"Woah," Lei said, grinning as he ran around the ice mage. Sparks jumped around his arms and legs as he drew closer. His eyes grew wider as he felt the temperature around Wanikiya plummet. "Hey! I think that it'll be best to call it for the day."

Wanikiya grinned. "Oh? Are you afraid that you might actually lose this time?"

Lei shook his head. "Not that. Look above!"

Wanikiya glanced up and saw ice crawling down his forearms. For some reason he couldn't feel the coldness being emitted. The blade shattered into a million tiny ice crystals, creating a chilling mist.

Lei closed his eyes and formed a vortex to keep the crystals at bay. Once the wind stopped, an icy cylinder laid where the wind-tunnel once was.

"Lei!" Yen yelled from the other side as she ran over to him. "Brother!"

Wanikiya grasped his head and turned, unable to see what had happened to his best friend. Suddenly a hand touched his unfrozen shoulder. He glanced back but couldn't make out who it was due to the fog.

"You did well," the owner of the hand said. "I thought that that icy mist was going to get me. Luckily my wind vortex managed to protect me." The mist gradually cleared, revealing a smiling Lei. "I'll like to have a rematch when you can control your magic better."

Wanikiya grinned. "You're alright."

Lei snickered and put his hands behind his head. "Of course I am, I'm the future Magus Maximus after all."

The Wahkanian prince snickered. "You still have a long ways to go, though."

Lei narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, but still..." He lowered his hands as Wanikiya grimaced from the pain of his own ice spell. "Here, lets get you healed."

Lei helped him walk back to where Zelde was. She put her hands on his leg, melting the ice by radiating fire prana from her hands. When she moved on to melting his arm he felt warm, but in the face.

"There, it's all melted. How do you feel?" Zelde said, moving away from him.

Wanikiya moved his arm and leg, punching and kicking the air. "I'm at ease now, well physically."

She sighed. "You did well today. Slowly, you've improved."

His face reddened. "I... see."

"Wanikiya and Zelde sitting on a tree," Lei and Yen began to sing.

"Shut it you two," Hikaru said, pulling their arms. "Let's give them some alone time," he whispered.

"Good idea!" Lei said, snickering.

"You guys!" Wanikiya cried out, running after them. "Why are you leaving?"

Zelde chuckled, following after him.

Lei laughed at his best friend as he ran on ahead. He looked up the cliff, to the spot where he had seen the girl. Suddenly he noticed something glimmering in the light of the setting sun. He jumped up and ran toward the mysterious object.

He kneeled down and picked up a silver card. It was an I.D. from Western Wahkan middle school, the top middle school in Caelum. Actually, the entire country. It was one of the few middle schools in the country which still taught magic.

He would've attended that school, if he had the money. He stood up and glanced at the name of its owner— Nyima Taiyang.

His hand clenched the green fish-shaped necklace hidden under his shirt. Something about her seemed familiar... Nyima Taiyang? Why does that name ring a bell? She did mention having lived here once. Had we met before today?

"What's wrong?" Yen asked rushing toward him.

Lei quickly slipped the I.D. into the pockets of his jeans. "Nothing. Hey, do you remember meeting a girl named Nyima?"

She tilted her head at him and rubbed her chin. "Nyima? Hmm, doesn't ring a bell."

"I see..." he said, letting go of his necklace.

"Why do you ask? Was that the name of that girl who you met earlier?" She raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me that you fell for her mysterious aura like some cliché anime character?"

Lei's face flushed. "No! That's not it at all! Though I am curious about how strong she is."

Yen patted his shoulder and laughed. "Ah. So that's it. She did managed to transform ice into water rather quickly. Though Wanikiya's ice isn't exactly very strong."

That's true. But that look she had in her eyes; it was that of a person who was self-assured of their strength.

Lei sat down where he had found the I.D. and stared at the sky as it was lit aflame by the setting sun. "What kind of people do you think that we'll meet in a few days? Do you think that they'll be as strong as that girl?"

Yen glanced up at the clear sky. "Hmm, maybe."

Lei raised a hand toward the heavens and smiled. "I sure hope so. I need strong people in my life to overcome. They'll be stepping stones toward my goal of rising from the lowly rank of Novus Magus all the way up to the godly rank of Magus Maximus."