Quick Ravin

Volume 1: Wandering with the Wind
"It was a request from the King. The secret ancient book passed down through the royal family was stolen by thieves. The King wanted it back. The two young men who were asked of this task looked at each other. It might be a big deal that an item that belonged to the King was stolen. But if the thief is just a typical thief, it's not a very hard task to catch them. 'Whaddaya wanna do, Marl?' A young adventurer named Ravin asked his partner. The childhood friend with a calm face was smiling as if seeing what his partner would say. A strong breeze blew between them, but neither of them moved. 'We're going, right?' Ravin asked. Marl looked into the wind. 'It's better to face the storm . . .' He said and turned around. 'Treasures are always hidden in difficult places.' Ravin laughed. 'Ah, I can smell the storm.' 'I wonder what's written on the ancient book that has been passed down through the royal family?' Marl asked Ravin who was walking ahead. They were on a wild path that strayed from the main road. A cavern where thieves lived in was just ahead. 'I wonder why the thieves wanted it? And I can't believe that it would be just any old book if he asks adventurers for help.' The two climbed a steep mountain without losing their breaths. The young adventurers walked faster, gleams of curiosity in their eyes. They get to the destination cavern before they even knew it. The two sneaked into the cavern as if melting into the darkness. But they didn't quite notice the pair of eyes watching the two of them. . . The cold cavern air tossed Ravin's unkempt hair from side to side. Through his bangs in front of his face, Ravin saw light ahead and signaled his partner to move ahead toward the light, walking quietly."

Volume 2: A Change of Plans
"'(They're here . . .)' Ravin sent a signal to his partner behind him. When he concentrated, he heard voices of men from deeper in the cavern. ' . . . All we have to do is to give this to him. Then we're all done.' 'Yeah, that was easy. But I wonder why he wants an old book like this?' 'Don't you know? This book is . . .' ' . . . . . . . . . . . .' Suddenly, the voices became inaudible. The owner's voice was probably whispering for effect. But that yielded unexpected results. Crunch . . '(Oh, no!)' As Ravin tried to step closer to hear what was being said, he mistakenly scraped his feet on the ground. 'Who's there!?' The men yelled in response. Ravin shrugged, and signaled to Marl. 'Change of plans.' 'You didn't have any plans to begin with.' Without hesitation, the two simultaneously ran to the direction of the voices. 'What the heck!?' The area they jumped into was smaller than expected. Five men were drawing their own weapon against the intruders. They dressed and looked like stereotypical 'thieves.' Ravin and Marl were already moving before the men understood what was going on."

Volume 3: Interception
"Running as fast as he can, Ravin yelled at his partner. 'Marl, let's lead them to somewhere with more room!' 'Okay!' Marl answered with his blonde hair waving in the wind. Although they were able to take back the ancient book, they ended up with the thieves chasing after them. They defeated two of the thieves when they took the book. Unable to move in the narrow cavern, Ravin and Marl escaped the three remaining thieves and ran down the steep mountainside. Ravin carried the book under his arm as he cleverly weaved through the trees. (What is it with this book?) Ravin thought with the ancient book in his hands. He heard the voices and footsteps coming after him. A request from the royal family that was filled with secrecy. The mysterious 'him' that the thieves were talking about. Is this a book of such importance? When the two were just running out of breath, they broke through the trees into a clearing. The area was fine to swing a sword or throw a boomerang. They glanced around their surroundings as they waited for the pursuers. 'Okay, Marl. Let's take care of 'em.' As Ravin finished his sentence, the excited men came running into the clearing. 'Finally giving up!?' The three thieves readied their swords and attacked the two adventurers. The battle began again. It wasn't very difficult for the two adventurers who maintained their calmness to defeat the excited thieves. Ravin sheathed his sword. Three men lay at his feet. 'We're gonna be in trouble if someone finds us. Let's get outta here.' Ravin said, brushing his hair away. They were close to the main passage. The two were about to leave the area quickly. Suddenly, a dignified voice stopped the two adventurers. 'Stop right there.'"

Volume 4: Dark Eyes
"The two turn around, ready for action. Long, black hair waving in the wind was the first thing that entered their vision. 'Hand over the book.' The calm voice sounded again. A young girl with black hair turned her dark eyes to the two adventurers. Ravin and Marl couldn't hide their surprise. But, returning her straightforward gaze, Ravin replied. 'No.' The girl with black hair held out her pale hand to Ravin without changing her expression. The hand was asking for the book to be handed over. 'That book is too much for you two to handle. Power you cannot control will destroy you. Hand over the book.' Ravin was taken aback by the girl's ambience, but he managed to ask. 'Who . . . are you? And what is it about this book?' The girl narrowed her black eyes. 'There are many things in this world that you don't need to know about. . . It's okay. I'll come for the book another day.' The girl walked past the two and started walking toward the passage. Ravin and Marl exchanged glances. At that moment, the girl disappeared. Ravin threw a questioning look at Marl. Marl just cocked his head to the side. 'What was that?' The wind carried Ravin's mutter to his partner's ears. 'I'll come for the book another day.' The 'another day' the girl mentioned was actually not another day, but the same day."

Volume 5: A Chorus of Insects
"The two were lodging at the Capital that evening. They still had not returned the book they took from the thieves. Under normal circumstances, they would have returned the book to the rightful owner. But they were concerned about the strange encounter earlier that day. What was the importance of this book? Who was that young girl? If they were to return the book, they would never be able to get the answers. Later in the evening, Ravin turned to the bed next to his. 'Marl, are you asleep?' Summer insects sang their songs outside the window. After a while, Marl replied. 'Nah . . .' (There is no way I could sleep.) each of them told themselves. They were worn out physically, but their curiosity completely blew away any poassibility of sleep. The two lay there for a while, without saying a thing, waiting for time to pass. When Ravin was replaying the events during the day in his mind . .. 'She's here.' Marl whispered. The songs of the insects had stopped. The next moment, the window was blown away with a large sound. The two jumped to their feet, as if they were expecting this. 'Sorry to keep you waiting.' The girl from earlier that day appeared in front of the two adventurers who were poised for action. 'You were expecting me?' The girl threw a sharp knife at Ravin without even waiting for a reply. Ravin reached for the sword next to him and with a sharp metallic sound, the knife fell to the ground. When Marl was beginning to cast his spell to assist Ravin. . . ' . . .!?' A sharp pain shot through Marl's back and his face contorted in pain. Marl gasped. The intense pain forced grunt from his throat. There was a sorcerer dressed in black standing in the doorway. Ravin lit the lamp nearby. 'Marl!' The girl that was facing Ravin suddenly yelled at the Sorcerer. 'Doruk!? This is MY job!'"

Volume 6: Foregone Dreams
"Panting, Ravin and Marl were running through the nighttime road. Ravin held a book firmly. They were able to take advantage of a chance to escape the inn at the same time. The timing and teamwork between the two was the result and advantage of working for so long together. But the enemy easily caught up and cast a flame spell from behind Ravin. Ravin jumped away immediately, but the Sorcerer was expecting that. He cast another spell while Ravin was in the air. This time he cast a lightning spell. Pain shot through Ravin's body. Ravin fell tumbled on the ground. 'Ravin!' Marl ran to Ravin's side. 'R, run . . .' Ravin gasped, and lost consciousness. Ravin thought that he heard Marl say to him, 'I'll protect you.' Ravin was watching a dream from long ago. There was a time when Ravin got drenched with water while playing with Marl. Ravin was freezing because the water absorbed all of Ravin's body heat. To make things worse, the wind was blowing without any mercy. ( . . . It's cold. I wanna go home . . .) Ravin thought. Suddenly, he came to his senses. 'Huh?' he opened his eyes. (It's cold . . . When did I fall asleep?) he thought. He could almost hear his childhood friend telling him that he'd catch a cold if he slept like this. He was still drifting in between dream and reality and tried to wipe his body dry. Then, he felt the slippery sensation. He opened his eyes. He saw himself laying in a pool of blood. His back hurt, but he realized it wasn't his blood. He stopped breathing. Cold sweat trickled down his back. 'Marl. . .! Marl!! Where are you!?' He called the name of his lifelong friend. (If this is not my blood . . . if this is not my blood . . . then . . ..!!) 'Aaaaaaarggghh!!' Ravin's scream sounded in the night, and the wind carried it through the town."

Volume 7: The Girl
"When he awakened, he was in an inn room. (Where am I? Why am I laying in a bed?) 'I . . .' When he was about to ask himself a nearby door opened. 'Are you awake? I did the best I could to patch you up.' A girl walked into the room. Her eyes were as cool and deep as a lake at night. Her eyes were filled with tenderness as she looked at Ravin. 'I am Rudy.' The black haired girl said softly. 'The men whom you fought during the day aren't just common thieves. They are a part of a malicious group that is aiming at destroying this country.' Rudy spoke softly, standing next to the bed. 'The book you had is the Forbidden Book that was sealed by the royal family long ago. That book contains the procedures on how to control monsters.' Rudy took a deep breath and looked at Ravin. 'They . . . they're planning on conquering the country using those powers. They are a very powerful organization. That Sorcerer is only a part of the organization. The leader is someone else.' 'What happened to Marl?' Ravin mumbled in the middle of her explanation. Noting the shake in Ravin's voice, Rudy sadly, but firmly shook her head. That was Rudy's kindness toward Ravin. There are truths that people must overcome at times. (I need to overcome this, too.) Rudy thought to herself. 'He. . . he died protecting me. . .' Ravin realized. His best friend appeared in his mind as he closed his eyes. Ravin shook his shoulders. 'You're. . . you're not a part of them?' The black haired girl laughed weakly to Ravin's question. ' . . . Yes, I was. But not anymore. I wanted to build peace using that book. 'But I was being tricked and taken advantage of. . .' She didn't change her expression, but her voice dropped to a whisper. 'I have to go. If they can control the monsters, this country. . . no, this world will be destroyed!!' Rudy spoke as if she was telling herself. 'I can still make it in time. As long as Doruk hasn't handed over the book to the organization yet.' 'Wait a sec.' Ravin grasped Rudy's wrist. Her wrist was so thin that Ravin's hand wrapped fully around it. 'You don't plan on going alone, do you?'"

Volume 8: The Sorcerer
"The Sorcerer was inside the cavern where Ravin was able to reach under Rudy's directions. The man whom Rudy called Doruk looked at Ravin through sunken eyes. He had the book that he just acquired in his hands. 'If you want to die so much, I'll be glad to help you . . .' Ravin gripped his sword stronger, looking at the murderer of his best friend. The sound of a blade slicing through the air and the sound of a spell filled the cavern. It seemed as though it was going to be a drawn-out battle. But there was too much of a difference in power. The Sorcerer took Ravin's back right away. (No!!) Ravin thought, and then he heard a dull sound. Dark red fluid, so dark that it looked black, dripped to the ground. And the drops continued. 'Rudy . . .' Ravin whispered. 'You . . . You betrayed us . . .!' His hair and beard stood in anger and veins popped up on his fist. Doruk stared at the knife in his back angrily. 'I didn't betray. . . I was always wishing for peace. My actions were true to my belief!' Rudy said, as if she were convincing herself. Ravin swung his sword without hesitation. And the battle was over. 'Argh. . . aag. . .' Doruk gasped weakly as he kneeled in front of Ravin. 'If you're going to continue your defiance. . . I'll have. . . to act accordingly. . .' Doruk gave an unpleasant smile, even though his face contorted in pain. 'Your. . . your partner. . . your friend. . .' Doruk said, spreading blood all around. Ravin's heart raced in his chest. An image of his blonde friend appeared in his mind."

Volume 9: Finding Hope in a Storm
Ravin ran up to the Sorcerer. (Maybe . . .?) Hope and desperation intersected in his heart. "I'll . . . I'll kill him . . . kill him . . ." Blood welled up from Doruk's mouth before he finished his sentence. That was the end of the Sorcerer. (He said that he was going to kill Marl . . . then . . . is he alive?) Ravin looked up to the ceiling as he wiped the blood from his sword. "Marl . . ." Ravin whispered as he started walking. " . . . You're going, aren't you?" Rudy asked Ravin who had his back to her. Ravin stopped walking. It wasn't a guarantee that Marl was still alive. It could be something made up by the Sorcerer. Even if he were alive, it didn't necessarily mean that he could be saved. But. . . Ravin made a decision. "I'm going to go look for Marl. As long as he is alive, I'll go to the end of the world to find him." As long as he has the Book, the organization would come to Ravin. Then perhaps he could find out if Marl was alive or not. He wasn't afraid of having a large organization as his enemy. But why was it that the hand that clutched the book was shaking? Rudy no longer repeated phrases and stood behind Ravin. A pleasant wind blew against the two of them, as if to push them forward. "It's better to face the storm . . ." Marl's voice rang in Ravin's mind. "The treasures are always hidden in difficult places." Ravin laughed. (You're right, Marl. Hope is always hidden in the storm, right?) "Where will we be going?" Rudy asked. Ravin pointed into the wind. "Where the wind blows to." Where they were heading was undoubtedly towards a storm. But they can't give up. Ravin started walking with footsteps of confidence. He was only looking at the hope that lay beyond the storm. Quick Ravin "The End"