Drawing 01: The Secret Valley of the Iceblood

01❅ Antarctic, 10:00, CLST ♚

The frozen wind whistled and groaned. It chilled the teenagers' hands, numbed his finger, but he blew his breath, bracing himself. Albeit the air was freezing, he inhaled forcibly, igniting his power. Grimacing, the Ashoura came out, at last, enveloped him with fire.

Looking around, he saw their black and red banner flew royally in the sky, painted the vast white antarctic nothingness with meaning. Their feet stomped the earth along with magnificent war drums. Their glorious hair aflame in the air, hand glowed black and red, cracked with a power nothing could compare. The heroes, the patriot promised to bring back the lands of Gods, ready to fill the land with terror and might.

The teen jerked as his head aflame and via the firecomm his father's command whispered in his head.

Ara, Go!

Jumping down from the high cliff, Ara swooped down in firebird form, hovered over his army. A bit above them, the scenery opened to a great mirror wall, protecting the secret kingdom. In front of the wall was a sea of white army, all riding white wolf lined in ranks. Blue transparent hologram popped up in front of each person showing many numbers and figures before vanishing into the air. Their number was smaller compared to the Lava military, as the lava sneak attack strategy successful. Some great Ice wolf leaped around and the general riding it shouted to his army.

"KEEP YOUR RAANKS! KEEP YOUR RAAAANKS! STAY AT YOUR POSITIOOON!

Among them were many Ice monster, cubicle chunk shaped creatures that ready to hurl huge snowballs or spit ice blast. In front, above and behind the wall there were many men in white. Making a flip, Ara smiled as he noticed no blue army marched among the enemy.

It supposedly easier as their Ice Lords nowhere to be seen.

Ara held his breath as he saw the city from above. Behind the citadel wall, lined many futuristic igloos, filled the valley until the Ice castle at the edge of the volcano. At the middle of the settlement was an empty field, housed a great blue Ice pyramid, the Ice temple that stuck like a sore thumb. He snorted. It was so pompous, so unnecessary, so wrong, a big smudge, a stain of sin under the shadow of the volcano Gods temple, Mount Erebus.

Ara made a turn in the air, hovering back, perched on the high mountain before shedding his Phoenix form. Shivering, the breeze made goose bump on his skin, yet, it filled with promises of renewal. It was time for the war, redemptions of all the wrongdoings the Icebloods has made over the holy land of Erebus. It was time to rewrite history, redraw the scenery, regain the holy land for the rightful owner, Lavablood.

"Let this be your war cry whenever the enemy upon you, let this be a single cry upon this single army. It is the will of God! It is the will of God! FOLLOW ME! IT'S THE WILL OF GOD!"

Magma's voice boomed as the fire comm transmitted his message.

"IT'S THE WILL OF GOD!"

The cheer was deafening before the firecomm ordered Phoenix to yell.

"Chaaaaaaaaaaargeeee!!"

With that cry, towering above all the warrior, taller than the highest building, a great Lava beast formed and roared. On the opposite side, the same size Ice Dragon materialized and growled back, challenge it.

At the feet of the mighty beast, the Lavablood warrior galloping over their Ashoura in the form of giant lava beetles and centipede. In a flash, they left the giant behind, flooding the vast ice field, ready to crash into the awaiting enemy. But the white army ran to them, yelling :

"DEAAAAATHHHHHH"

Their howl spiked by some kind of magic, and the heart of the army in black trembled.

Then the inevitable collision happened. The sea of black uniforms moved in waves, crashing upon the beach of the angry white ones. Lava and fire blast clashed against the ice explosion from their enemy. At the same times, cubical Ice monsters growled and stomped as they hold their defense against the pointy crystal Lava monsters.

Waves of red and black creatures lapped, again and again, bringing more and more power, challenged by icy white ones. Over them, Phoenix flew, kept shouting his order to the whole ranks through the firecomm.

FOR THE RED, FOR THE BLACK, FOR PELE THE VOLCANO GOD!

Far above everyone, the Ice king stood on the high pedestal over the great Ice castle, his face whitened, frozen sweats beaded on his temple as he tried hard to make his Giant Pet Soul win the Ashoura battle in front of him. Both Ashouras were bigger than the skyscraper, dwarfed all the Ice and Lava monsters under them. One white from Ice, one red and black from Lava.

At the opposite side, above a steep rock cliff, Magma grinned as he moved his legs and arms to add more power to his Lava King Ashoura.

As Phoenix flew nearby he heard his father grunted.

"PUSH IT!".

At that time the bluish Ice Dragon hit the humongous lizard soft stomach with its spiky icicle tail. And the Lava Beast roared in pain. But the black beast roared, spit some lava that pushed the Ice Dragon away. The white creature rolled a bit far, crushing several buildings underneath it, yet it refused to give up and spurted another ice blast to the Lava Beast head. Before the blast reached its body, the Lava Dragon blasted back with hot Lava. Tremendous hiss and vapor arise as they met midair.

The sound of the explosion was barely enough to muffled cries of men, screams of melted ice monsters, growls of stoned Lava monsters and deafening pounds of war drums. Ice creatures and army fight back, bursts of blue and white seen everywhere. But the enemy was too many. 

"STEADY! HOLD YOUR RANK! STAY IN YOUR POSITION!"

Ice shards formed above the head of the Ice monsters as the info sent. They trudge forward, executing the command. Soon, big chunks of snow and ice rolled through the air, splattered and hissed as they collide with the lava monster. A horrible howl filled the air as the ice ball stoned several of the Lava monster's hand, cripples them. The general sent another command.

Aim the catapult.

As Ice shards twirled n disappeared over their helmet, above the wall, the Ice army aimed their cannoneers to the giant catapult and blasted their shoura inside.

"CRACK!"

The shoura canon blasted bluish light that froze the catapult at once. And when a big icicle hit them, it cracked. The white army at the citadel cheered as the catapult crashed with a bang.

But alas, the enemy still has many of it.

"STEADY! SHOOT!"

The lava army cried and another lava ball flew directly to the cannoneers! Everyone scattered, and the general busy telling them to hold their ranks.

Under the wall, ice knights swung their eternal ice sword while their wolf bit and sink their teeth to any meat they encountered. Alas, it was no use, the splattered lava was enough to burn a huge hole on the wall behind them. 

"DEFEND THE WAALL! DEFEND THE WAAALL!"

The black sea kept advancing and the white keep pushed behind. And then their number was too small in the field, that more and more of the commander stepped behind the wall. 

But it was not a safe haven, cos it's not over yet. The smaller Lava creatures hurdled huge lava ball to the wall, trying to break it. Lava splattered here and there at the wall of Ice stronghold, burning them, melting them, breaking them down.

The commander screamed while the hologram screen in front of the commanders busily display how long the walls could last and how the Ice monster can attack the lava monster effectively. They whispered command and the hologram disappeared.

"Retreat! Retreat!" The Ice general shouted, and the white and grey clad warrior galloped their ashoura back, leaving the ice monster as big as the house behind to hold the lava army advance. But the wall only stood for a few minutes after that. As the wall broke down, the city fell to the mercy of the Lava Army.

"The city is breached! Fall back! Fall back!" The cries of Ice Generals heard over the growls and roars of the Beast and Monsters. They tried to move to the second layer of the city.

Meanwhile, the king Ashoura fight continued as the giant Lava dragon splurged a humongous fire blast with lava bullets, but the Ice Beast covered itself with its wings. The Ice King Ashoura spluttered another ice blast.

Under them, the sea of human clad in black breached through the wall and flooded the city. About a hundred of Lava Monsters pushed their wall, hit everything in their way, burned it to blackened ash. As if trying to change the whole landscape of blue and white to black and red, challenged only by five or seven dozens of Ice Monsters. More and more white uniform turned to red, more and more snow stained by blood.

Phoenix stopped and perched upon a high hill, his heart drummed as he saw death among his comrade, but the adrenaline was too high, the loss felt nothing when he saw how far they went.

A mighty cry startled them all, and Ice King Ashoura fell to the ground, crashed with a loud thud that rippled the whole continent. All white soldier's head turned to their king. To their horror, the man dissolved to ice shards that blew by the wind.

After a deafening silence, the air drummed with cheers of the whole lava army. Seeing their King Ashoura fallen, the Ice Army lost its morale. While some still fought and stayed back, pillars of blue and white blinding light can be seen at the far back of their army, signs of soldiers and other Ice people trying to escape the slaughters by teleporting to a safer place.

"Ride into the city! Kill everything in your path!" Magma thundered through the firecomm.

Soon, it was over.

That blinding white of limitless frozen white, blue and gold landscape now ruined by red splatter and smudged by black. At that moment, the fiery phoenix descended down from the air.  As he saw the glorious sea of a beetle head symbol on the black banner proudly sputtering in the air, the pain and soreness from the countless swing of his wings, the exhausted shoura from splurging to many lava powers, and the hollow feeling as his soul spent, dulled and forgotten under the mighty feeling of glory.

The cheering of the army welcomed him as he prepared to land. As his feet touched the ground and transformed back into human, Phoenix raked his red hair with his hand, smeared his hair with stains of blood and sweat that was everywhere on his uniform. He smiled, savoring the cheer, enjoying the thrill of winning.

Looking around, basking in glory, his chin held high as his sight fell upon the valley, filled with his own people. The Army drummed their feet to the ground, celebrating the winning around a beautiful ice pyramid with a deep blue big dome with a lot of Snow crystals, the Iceblood Temple. There was only one thing to do...

"Destroy it," He said, and some of the Lava monsters went up and cracked the Ice. In no time, the magnificent place transformed into many scattered pieces of ice that cracked and trampled under their foot.

"Prince Phoenix," The general bowed as he entered the ruined place.

The teenager nodded and went into the ruins, followed by the general. Inside, at the former prayer room, the army sat, circling a high bonfire. Under the fire, piled many human carcasses that crackled and burst. He looked at them, with a mixture of disgust and pity, questioning their choice of life that made death is a better way for them.

Now you all free from this big sin you committed all your whole life.

He nodded to the commander, signaling that he is ready to perform the sacred routine. Silent for a bit before the commander started by calling "aaa oo eee aa eee aa ee aa ee" The army all chanted cak cak cak cak cak cak cak kecakecakecak cak cak kecakecakecakecak. They raised their arm, wagging their open palm to the air and chant, cak cak kecakecak eee oooo eee oo cakecakecakecak.

As the mantra went louder and louder, the teenager donned the Buta mask. It was red, dipped in fresh enemy blood. Lifting his arm and shook it, he danced the spirit dance to release the agony of their enemy.

His head bowed down in honor to the fallen Iceblood warriors but then lifted up. As if to see their soul flew to the sky as they purify it. A mixture feeling of awe and bliss awash them, as they see smoke bringing the soul to the sky, and know that this holy war is over. As he danced, on the outer side of the temple, ten people of the army raised their arm. Meanwhile, as the army raised their arm, lava flowed slowly from the earth, and bit by bit the Ice temple changed into the Lava temple.

02. Oregon, the same day, 18:00 PST

An owl nodded sleepily inside the large hall of a Victorian house. It has a glass roof on the high ceiling that dropped a patch of sunshine to the vast and cold marble floor while the other side of the room remained dark. On every side of the roundish square hall, were three steps forming a small flight of stairs, with the last step wide enough for an alley. Two of the tall creamy wall decorated by tapestries, and the great arch door on the far end adorned by two grand knight plate armors. One from shiny iron, and another in bronze. A beautiful cathedral window closed, crossed and nailed. Maybe to prevent storm or thief. A hole on the vent explained why and how the owl was here in the first place while spider webs that stretched everywhere told the story of the owner who was never there.

All of a sudden, a glowing ice shard floated in the middle of the room. It grew brighter, and in a flash, it became a blinding blue pillar that blasted and splattered ice in the middle of the floor, waken the owl in the process.

When two people appeared from thin air as the light faded away, the owl fled in surprise.

One of them released himself harshly from the grip of the other. "WHY DO WE HAVE TO RUN LIKE A COWARD!" His icy blue eyes glared at the older man.

"NO. You have to listen to me. Listen, you see, our kingdom has lost!" When the man replied, his voice shook. The teenager boy whipped his hand in distress.

"HOW ABOUT FATHER!?"

He trembled as he gripped his head. "I was so stupid and reckless. Why, why did I choose to run away and have fun last night? I only wished I was there when the Lavablood army attacked. It was my fault that we lost. It was my fault..." He tightened his knuckles, pressed his lips and his blue orbs eyes flamed with frozen anger.

The old man sighed."It is for the best, lad. We would still be doomed if you're there. Now it's the time for us, for you ... to lay low, go to school, like all people at your age. With you are here, safe and sound, we could regroup in secret, and rebuild our kingdom." He said.

The teenager stubbornly shakes his head. "No, Father still out there fighting! What about him?!"

Then suddenly, the boy's upper arm glowed blue. The young man gasped. Lifting his wrist up to his eye level, he stared in disbelief. A crown tattoo formed bit by bit as if drawn by an invisible hand just above his vein. Realization dawn on him struck a knife into his heart. As sorrow bled inside his soul, his finger closed in tight knuckle over the still glowed blue tattoo, trembled hard.

"Father..." He stammered, a tear rolled down, and another. He leaned to the pillar. "Father" his voice croaked and his whole body shook. But then he inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes, and rested his head at the pillar at his back. After a few minutes, he was able to control himself again.

He suddenly made a stance and drawing his hand in circles, a portal opened, but it puffed in second. He held his heart. "UGH ..."

"No, Ryuzan, you won't make it! Your soul is hurt!" The old man grabbed his hand.

The teenager shook him off, raised his hand to the air, and inhale deeply. A spark of frost appeared, he pushed forward to the floor, making a new teleportation portal, but the frost disappeared. ".. I haven't tried enough"

He inhaled again, now a bit longer. His whole body was bluish as he projected his power to the floor once more. A wisp of snow appeared, but it disappeared. He tried several times, but nothing comes even when his face turned blue, every muscle bulged as he exerts all his strength.

But nothing came. "Damn..it!" He said, his breath raging.

The sweat on his temple turned to ice, his icy eyes glowed.

"AAAAARGGHHH!!"

"STOP THIS FOOLISHNESS!"

A mighty punch threw him to the side until he rolled and bumped on the stairs. The silver-haired teen sprawled clutching his heart. His spiky hair tamed with sweat, his face pale, and his breath robbed from his chest, as every last drop of his soura power exhausted.

The old man who punched him, looking as dreary as the teen who laid on the steps. 

"Your soul is hurt right now, you can't force the Shoura!" The old man crouched and shook his shoulder. His brow furrowed and his eyes loaded with worry.

"Aaaaarrghh!" Frustrated, the young man yelled.

"Uncle, It's my fault... It's all my fault....his death..our country.." The teenager bit his lips, his face contorted in pain. For a few minutes, silence reign as both men cowered in sadness.

"I will regain my kingdom. I will..." His blue eyes glow fiery, a flame just ignited there, inside the icy eyes.

His uncle shook the teenager shoulder, his eyes wet. "Ryuzan listen! It's time for you to be a usual high schooler, just like you always wanted. You hear me! No more of this foolishness! It's all has to wait!"

"Yeah, just as I wanted..." Ryuzan laughed, his face cold with numbness as his hollow voice echoed at the dusty corner of that room.

03. Antarctic, same day, 18:00 CLST

Meanwhile at the battlefield, the forty years old man stood over the snowy mountain. Blown by the wind, his hair and his cape suspended behind him like flowing lava. The sun glinted on his gold and black grandeur armor while he walked down the frozen stairs. Walking on the now empty valley, his feet made an echoed thump. He couldn't help but stood and looked proudly at those black and red banners raising glory and might over the freshly conquered kingdom. The beautiful land sprawled helplessly under his power, bruised, claimed under his forceful hand with many red and black stains on everything and everywhere, no longer pure white and blue as the war changed and repainted the scenery.

He felt wonderful. The feeling of having the treasure he took away forcibly from this untouched virgin land was very satisfying. It was he who managed to find this place, to think how to get it, to actually plan and doing everything possible to have it to himself, took everything over, under it, and claimed it for his own. 

He huffed as he felt a big chunk of his soul wounded, and continued his walk slowly, as his injury started to gnaw his sides in pain. The death toll was unbelievingly high, and he had to endure the pain on his soul affected by the crippling state of his Lava Dragon Ashoura after the fight with the Ice Ashoura, but it was worth it. Even when half of his whole army almost vanished, one of his sons died, he would still be proud over this winning. The gale was forgotten and the cold ignored as the march of the war, echoed in his memory as he replayed it over and over in his mind just to relish the sweet taste of it.

As he stepped on the last stairs, he could see his own landmark was there, the mighty pure black Lava temple, stood over the destroyed Ice pyramid, the proof of his glorious achievement under the Erebus.

Magma grinned as he walked up to the top of Ice citadel, he silently sang a mighty celebration song in his mind. He stopped as he reached the spot where the Ice king's fallen. It was very high in the air, he could see everything from there. It must be a magnificent sight when the futuristic igloo still intact, or the pyramid temple, or the mirror wall far above the Ross Sea.

But Magma has no time to admire the view. The mighty king's remain was dissolved, his mighty Ashoura destroyed under his own hand but he couldn't care less. Bending his back, he searched everywhere for something. And there, between splatters and spots of frozen and dried blood, was a circular mandala rune, shining gold.

Smiling from ear to ear, his heart thumped with anticipation as he hurriedly stood on the golden mandala, waiting for something to happen.

Then, it happened.

The great Ice Dragon, mighty and powerful, materialized just above his head, circled around, sniffing and snorting. Awestruck, Magma watched the giant transparent spirit flew around while solidified bit by bit.

"Come" Reaching out, his right hand opened as he called it. "Come to me"

But the mighty dragon flew higher in a larger circle, and all of the sudden, it spiraled fast into the sky, turned into a golden light, and vanished in a blink,.

As the rune disappeared on the ice under his feet, Magma's face darkened.