Episode Evan: Chapter 2: Your Story

Chapter 2 of Evan's story.

One Year Before the Fall of Aequo

The New Home of Evan Hahn and his Family

Vale

 

 

 

            Evan finished placing the last of his clothes back into his dresser.  His family was going around still putting different things away.  He was still attending combat school at Signal Academy much like his former neighbor and friend Nathan was, but his father had gotten a job offer and they decided to move to the city of Vale to accommodate this fact.  Evan was a bit upset, as he had spent almost his entire youth in Aequo to this point, and he was not accustomed to all the noises that the city brought.  There was so much happening, he spent just about any moment he could where he wasn’t helping unpack just sitting in a chair in his bedroom looking out the window taking in the new sights and sounds.  Their new house was just on the eastern most edge of the residential district of Vale, and his window had a perfect view of Beacon Academy off in the distance.  He was about to fall asleep from the one calm corner he had found, when his father walked in placing a small box of books on the floor.

            “How you holding up champ?” Evan’s father said wiping some of the sweat off his brow.  Evan didn’t really say anything.  He just continued to stare out the window. 

            “As talkative as ever” his father joked taking a seat on the floor next to his son.  “It’s crazy to think that could be your school in the next few years.”

            “Unless we move again” Evan said with a sigh.

            “Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing” his father replied with a smile.  “You’ve only seen two different places in your life so far.  Aequo and Vale.  But every single corner of the world has its own story to tell.  And I think it’s important to if not visit each of those corners, spend time learning about each of those corners from people who have experienced them so that we can become better people.”

            “Dad, if you want to try that new Mistrilian restaurant so bad then just go during your lunch break.  Don’t rope me into your crazy shenanigans and culture quests.” Evan’s father laughed and patted Evan’s head before saying,

            “Learning about other people is key to solving problems son.  If you haven’t learned that by now, I’m seriously concerned about what they are teaching you in those schools.”

            “But how can I solve their problems when I still have my own to deal with?  I don’t know anybody who lives here, most of the kids at Signal live in the dorms.  And I spent most of my time with Nathan both at school and back at home, I’m not going to have the latter anymore.”

            “Then you make new friends.  You keep improving and keep growing.  You’ll still have Nathan at Signal to help, but if you open yourself up to other folks, then perhaps you will solve both your own issues, but inadvertently help others along the way.”

            “Get that off a fortune cookie?” Evan said with a smirk.  His father grinned.

            “Lucky numbers 7, 13, 28 and 14” he said with a laugh as he ruffled Evan’s hair again.  “I’ll be downstairs helping your mom move the rest of the stuff in.  I’ll holler when it’s time for lunch.”  With that, he stepped out of the room and left Evan there to once more gaze out towards Beacon.  The future waiting on the wings.

 

 

 

Present Day

The Office of the Sheriff of Nix

 

 

            The Sheriff pulled out a small file from his desk and handed it to Evan.  It was simply labeled “classified” and held several pictures inside of it.

            “We didn’t want anybody to find out about this,” the sheriff said pinching his forehead as he fell back into his chair, “but if that thief knows about it, then it’s better that we protect it and face the consequences returning it rather than facing the consequences if we had it and lost it.”  Evan looked over the pictures, and they were all images of a golden crown with a gigantic sapphire in the center of it.

            “Wait, I read about this once”, Evan said examining the pictures further.  “Itsn’t this the lost crown of Vale?”

            “Yes.  Back during the great war, Vale and Vacuo were making a massive push against Mistral and Atlas.  Hoping to push them to the brink and end the violent war.  They nearly succeeded to.  But then Vale made the mistake of pushing them both too close to Argus.  Not only did Atlas have a strong military presence there, but it also allowed for Atlas to send supplies and weapons via submarine instead of airship.  Neither Vale or Vacuo had any way to survey the ocean, and so they kept searching the skies instead of the depths.  From there, Atlas and Mistral began to push back.  Our village was caught in the crossfire.  We held no allegiance to either the side of Vale and Vacuo, nor the side of Atlas and Mistral.  Our village was never much bigger than it is now, but a lot was lost during that battle.  Homes, families, it was not pretty according to the records.  Vale and Vacuo were forced to retreat, and Atlas and Mistral passed through without even so much as stopping to help somebody who had tripped and fallen to the ground.  But something good did seem to come out of the chaos.  The crown of Vale.  At first, we figured we could melt it down.  Try to sell the materials to some merchant and recover from our losses.  But then, the evening after the battle, the records say our scouts saw hundreds of creatures of Grimm heading towards our village.  The sheer volume of negative emotion was more than likely the culprit.  But just as the monsters reached the edge of the village wall, they suddenly evaporated into a puff of smoke.  We weren’t sure what was going on, but our ancestors surmised that the crown was protected by some form of magic.  One that could repel and destroy Grimm without a second thought.  We decided to use it in order to keep our town safe.  Our ancestors wrote they felt like it was fair compensation for what the waring kingdoms did to our home.  There had been a few groups from both sides that visited the village afterwards looking for it as rumors of its power had circulated amongst the black market and criminals looking to claim great power for themselves.  Even Vale offered a large reward for a short time, but we never revealed that we kept it.  As such, it has remained hidden in our care for years.  It’s magic keeping the Grimm at bay day by day without fail.  But then a few weeks ago, there appeared to be several Grimm attacking the village.  Breaking through the invisible veil.  But then they disappeared just as quickly as they appeared.  We initially were concerned that perhaps the magic had worn off, but a random Grimm ran into the barrier a few days after that incident.  Then some other things started getting stolen around town, and we realized that we have a thief on our hands.”

            “You knew it was Emerald before today?”

            “We had some reports of a woman who matched her description prior to today.   And now that she’s boasting about claiming what she wants, it’s clear she is after the crown.”

            “A jewel of that size would definitely be the envy of most jewelers in the world.  Where is it hidden?”

            “It’s safe.  Within the village.  But I won’t go too deep into that fact just yet.  I can’t risk her secretly hearing in on our conversation and then taking the crown.”

            “I can only help if I know all the pieces of the puzzle.” Evan said placing the photos back inside the folder.  “At this point, it’s better to have the information out in the open rather than trying to deal with Emerald in secret.  And I might have an idea that could help us solve this problem.”

            “I’m all ears at this point.”

 

 

 

            Evan watched as the Sheriff lead him down a flight of stairs hidden behind a secret door behind the reception desk.  The staircase lead down into a small room with a giant vault door sealed tightly shut.  The sheriff was incredibly nervous as he twisted several locks and dials to open the door to the vault.  As soon as the giant door swung open, Evan saw the crown of Vale sitting on a small pedestal, glowing thanks to the lights from the ceiling reflecting off of it.  He slowly walked over, and pulled out a small circlet with a tracking device planted on it, then waved his hand to make the circlet look exactly like the crown.  From there, he created an illusion of an empty pedestal and carefully placed the real crown back on the pedestal, making it look like nothing was there.  Then, he took the disguised circlet and exited the vault.

            “So what do you plan to do with this thing out in the open?” the sheriff asked as Evan walked past him to head back up the stairs.

            “If Emerald knows where it is hidden already, then we need to take steps to ensure that it is hidden even better than before.”  The two of them stepped out from the secret room and back into the reception area and stepped outside.  There they were met by two guards.  The sheriff looked confused and started to say,

            “I didn’t order any….”

            “Took you long enough” Evan said with a smile cutting off the sheriff.  “I figured your sheriff placed this order before we arrived, so I’m not sure why you weren’t with us to begin with.”  The soldiers said nothing, so Evan simply smiled and handed them the crown.  “I trust you know where you’re going?” Evan said with a smile.  The two guards nodded their heads, and started making their way towards the center of town.  As Evan and the sheriff watched them go however, the moment they reached the town square, they vanished into thin air.

            “She took the bait” the sheriff said with a sigh.  “Gotta say, that’s a pretty gutsy call you made back there.”

            “She was taunting you to move the crown by making it sound like she already knew where it was.  This way, we can stay one step ahead of her.”

            “I can get a squad to follow that signal and take care of her.”

            “No.  Too many people will raise her suspicions.  Plus, the farther away she gets from me, the weaker my illusion will become.  So I need to get going as soon as your men can confirm that she is indeed out of the city.”  Just as Evan said this, the Sheriff’s radio squawked to life.  The Sheriff quickly grabbed it and held it up to his face replying,

            “This is the Sheriff.  Go ahead.”

            “This is Scout 482 in the northwest sector” the radio replied back.  “Spotted Emerald in the distance.  Seems to be making a beeline for the Caligo Caverns.  Please advise.”

            “Stay there.  The Huntsman will be taking over for this operation.  Just keep an eye out and report any other relevant sightings you may have.”  The Sheriff then put his radio away, and looked over at Evan with clear concern on his face.

            “Last chance.  Any help you need is yours.”

            “If Emerald believes you have given up or that you think everything is fine, that means she isn’t looking over her shoulder constantly and makes my life a lot easier.  And buys us some time before she realizes that she only has a fake.”

            “Fine.  Just make sure you actually capture her.”

            “I wouldn’t be doing my job right if I didn’t.”  And with that said, Evan pulled a scarf over his face as he made his way into the cold winds of the wilderness, heading in the direction where Emerald was last seen.

Author's Note

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