Chapter One: Mayu’s story
The heat of Australia was starting to get to Mayu’s head; just the other day she thought she saw some sort of winged lion pass overhead. Mayu Peppers was a lowly homeless orphan that lived in a small cave in one of Australia’s beach dunes; she called it the “rabbit hole”. She always wanted to live on the beach, even if she had to make her home in a small hole. Just the sound of the ocean surf always put her at ease; it was as if the saltwater washed away all her lonely stresses.
Three months ago, Mayu’s parents were murdered by bandits. All she could remember was the sight their mangled bodies in their bedroom. Their priceless possessions stolen, their blood staining the white linen sheets on which they had slept, their windows busted open; all this had painted a very mentally-scarring image.
Mayu is definately still devastated by the death of her parents and the images of that horrid night are still fresh in her mind. At times she thought she should just kill herself and end her pain. However, she found that doing that will only put her in more torture because she thought it would only cause her spirit to wonder the earth as a ghost; unable to pass to the afterlife. Her parents were devoted Christians and told her about this very consequence. That really was the last thing Mayu needed, more torture.
Mayu didn’t take the idea of living in an orphanage or with some estranged reletive very well, so she ran away before the authorities could haul her away to such a fate. This solitary life she currently lived suited her best and she had been missing for 3 months up to this point. She did wish that people would just hurry up and forget about her already. She would still see her picture on posts and newspapers and really couldn’t understand why they would want to keep looking for her after so long. It’s not like she’s anyone too important. Mayu presumed they would pull that crap with a government official’s daughter.
I
The sun seemed to set earlier than usual. Mayu’s mind was swimming in a vast ocean of thought and intense emotion. She blew out the oil lantern that was sitting an arms-length away and laid her head back on her flat woven mat. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the ocean’s vibes right outside the rabbit hole. Paying close attention, her ear managed to catch something rather peculiar. For some reason, it almost seemed as if a wave hit the shore every time she exhaled.
“Tsk, as if that were true,” she thought and turned over; still curious, however, she listened a little closer. She could’ve sworn the waves were moving with her breath. Mayu decided to put it to the test, so she held her breath and listened closely. Oddly enough, the ocean did not seem to be moving…
“Unreal!” she screamed in her head and crawled out of her small cave and immediately went to the shore.
“I really must be out of my mind! But…just to be sure this isn’t happening,”
She drew in her breath, the water receded, she exhaled, and the water crashed into the shore. It was stunning to think, that all this time, the waves and tides of the oceans were being controlled by her very being.
“How come I didn’t realize this before?” However, just to be sure, she inhaled very deep. The waters receeded futher than usual. Then, she gave a hard exhale. The waves came back with so much force that it knocked her over and pulled her in.
“UGH!” she exclaimed. It caught her by surprise, but she really didn't mind once she got used to the cool water. The water soothed and comforted her so much that she forgot what she was doing. Mayu leaned back and let the water carry her to the shore. Her mind was now more unsettled with curiosity than it was before.
“How is it that the oceans moved with me? How is it that the ocean knew that I wanted to be carried to the shore?”
Mayu got up and went back into the deeper waters. The ocean made her feel as though she were flying. Her moves were as graceful as a sea lion dancing in the cerulean blue. Mayu’s sandy blonde hair flowed amidst the bubbles.
She came up for a quick breath and went down again not even realizing that she’d been breathing the whole time. She glided down to the bottom and lay down in the ocean floor as if she were on the sands of the beach. Looking up, she saw the full moon through the transparent waters. This was amazing power she had, the waters could move with her, read her mind, and even move the waves as she breathed…
“Wait…I’m breathing! Underwater?!” she exclaimed in her head as she took another breath of salt water.
“I can breathe underwater…this is amazing!” Mayu put her hand to her arm and pinched it really hard.
“Yow! Ok I’m not asleep, not dead either…” She drew in another breath of saltwater; it didn’t hurt or harm her. It didn’t even feel like it was any different than breathing air, except for the salty taste.
“Wow, the water moves with me AND I can exist beneath it. Matter of fact, I think I'll just spend the night down here…” she thought. Right at that moment, a Box Jellyfish drifted overhead; one of the most poisonous and lethal in the world.
“Erm…On second thought, I’ll sleep in my rabbit hole tonight!”

Mayu woke up feeling hotter than ever. Beads of sweat poured down her face as the hot Australian summer beat mercilessly on her. Sitting up, she brushed the salt and sand from her mildly tanned skin, then proceeded to brush her sandy blonde hair with a brush that one of the beach goers left along the beach.
The heat of the summer was one thing, but how was she going to survive in the winter? Three months ago she was at an ideal weight with perhaps a couple of pounds more. Though now, Mayu had lost a lot of weight just by living off of her pickings. She knew she’d grow even thinner with an empty beach as winter came. The nights would start getting cold around May or June, and then it would get warm again by August or September depending on what mood global warming might be in.
Climbing out of her rabbit hole, her hot, damp face met with the nice ocean breeze. Just that was enough to cool her off. A little sand managed to dry her deep blue eyes. Mayu looked down at the beach. It was packed with tourists and beach goers. Perfect for fetching lunch!
Mayu hid behind the dunes; choosing a young couple that arrived 5 minutes ahead of herself. As they headed out to sea, she began closing in. Patiently, she waited until they got further into the water. The younger ones always headed for deeper waters. Scanning the area to be sure no one was watching, she slinked up, snatched their bag of food, and ran quickly back to the rabbit hole clutching her prize catch.
“Blimey! This will last me a week!” she thought.
“Now all I need is something to wash this banquet down with…” remembering the power she had over water, she inhaled very deeply and watched the waters recede far back. Then let go and in an instant the beach goers were drenched. Mayu’s false tide brought a stray floating cooler straight to her. She grabbed a hold of it and brought it back to her stash in the rabbit hole.
Mayu had collected a lot of the things she had stolen from beach goers while they were occupied with swimming. Not just food, but other things she needed as well, such as clothes, shoes, towels (used as blankets during stormy nights), even the very mat she slept on was stolen from an elderly couple. The old couple couldn’t even remember what they were wearing so she was pretty sure they didn’t miss it. As a matter of fact, a lot people really didn’t seem to miss the items she stole, some didn’t even realize they were stolen! It was as these treasures could have been thrown away in front of them and they wouldn’t seem to care.
Mayu thanked God for showing great mercy on this 15 year old, despite her situation. After saying a little prayer, she took a bite out of a fresh tuna salad sandwich.
“Mmmmm…My favorite!” she said aloud. With that, she continued to indulge in her new found treasure.
“Dear Mayu…is this how you must live?” said a voice from outside. Mayu quickly reached for her pocket knife.
“Who goes?” she demanded. Peering from the entrance, she saw a lean, tall figure of a man.
“Do not be afraid, I will not harm you…” said the man appearing to be in his late 20’s. He looked very handsome with his snow white hair cut just above the shoulder and was dressed as if he came out of a storybook. “Lower your weapon; I do not come to harm you.” He said in a light English tone.
“Then what have you come for?” she demanded again, knife still in hand.
“My name is Morgan Lunar,” he replied. Mayu’s attention seemed to be focused on his clothing.
“Those are some odd clothes you’re wearing, mate. Sure you couldn’t afford anything else? Even I can manage scrap up something decent. ” she scoffed. He sighed in exasperation.
“Never mind that; you just realized that you had a great power last night, didn’t you, Mayu Peppers?”
“How did you find out about that? AND how do you know my name,” she demanded again, he knowledge was beginning to frighten her.
“I have great power myself. I was sent to find you and the other Four Soldiers of God's Magic Circle.” he said solemnly.
“Wait…what?!” it took her a moment to allow that to sink in properly. She lowered her knife.
“Due to the power you demonstrated last night, you may be one of the Four Soldiers of God's Magic Circle.”
“The Magic Circle? You mean that ancient story?” she asked. She’s heard the story so much from her parents, but she just thought it was a folktale.
“Yes, but I’m afraid it’s not just a story.” He said patiently.
“So…I have this power over water because of that ancient story?”
“Yes, but just to be sure you really are...may see your hand?” Morgan said pulling out a bizarre looking wand.
“What are you going to do with that?” she asked.
“This wand is able to verify the true Four Soldiers by showing me their ancient symbols. Don’t worry; I’m not going to hurt you…” Morgan calmly explained as he tried to come close to her. However, Mayu was too intimidated by him to trust him.
“I’m not giving you my hand! You’re crazy!” She brought up her knife again, but unsteadily.
“Please, you can trust me. I just need to…” He was cut off by Mayu’s panicky voice.
“Yeah right, you know, perverts like you should be arrested.” She held her knife steady. Morgan sighed.
“Mayu, don’t you think it strange how I know about your power...and the fact that you have it?”
“Okay, let me rephrase that, stalker!” her stare was intense. Her knife wasn’t moving much neither. Morgan was starting to get frustrated; he knew something like this might happen because this old scripture was so overlooked. However, these events and scriptures are real, just as they happened in the ancient times, but it would be really hard convincing anyone of that now in this present age.
“Sorry, that came out all wrong,” he sighed. “So, I’m assuming you want proof of my spiritual magic being.” He pointed his white gloved hand toward the ocean. The water magically raised and shaped itself into a large animated dolphin and jumped back into the water with a splash. The people who saw it were astounded, but luckily, no one could give it a second thought. Mayu was astounded; she looked back at him and lowered her knife, finally dropping it.
"All right, I'll trust you. But if you even think about trying something fishy, I'll have you on the ground begging for mercy," she said with a hard look. Morgan just smiled.
"You have nothing to worry about..." he said with eyes so sincere, that Mayu could actually feel the truth and purity of his being.
She slowly and timidly gave him her hand. Morgan turned it to see her palm. He then pressed the wand to her hand to reveal a glowing mark in the shape of a water drop.
“Just as I thought, there is no mistaking it…” he muttered.
“No mistaking what?” Mayu asked, dumbfounded.
“Mayu Peppers, the Essence of the Ocean is in your soul. This means that you are indeed the reincarnation of Saphora, God's ancient sea lion spirit of water and one of the Four Soldiers of His Magic Circle,” he said proudly.
“You’re joking! THE Saphora?” She said bewildered.
“Well who else did you think you were?” Morgan chuckled.
“Oh…never mind.” Mayu said as she gave him a sheepish look. All this was a little hard to believe, but she realized it had to be true. Nothing else could explain the power she had over water.
“Now Mayu, I was sent to gather the Four Soldiers to mentor and teach them to realize their powers against the demon Pharoahnine, who has,” his voice broke in sadness as he delivered bad news. “Woken up not too long ago. So I ask, will you please come with me?” Morgan said with a slight sense of begging in his voice. “This world needs you along with the three other soldiers. And it’s either sit here and wait to die from Pharoahnine’s take over, or give a fighting chance at life. So what do you say?”
CHAPTER 1 CONTINUED IN NEXT POST! ----->
