Cantoria was once a peaceful world, where all was good and free. Men, Dwarves, Elves, Sprites and Nymphs, as well as many other creatures, all lived in harmony under the watchful eyes of the Five 1 страница

The Seer

(Intro on the video game)

Cantoria was once a peaceful world, where all was good and free. Men, Dwarves, Elves, Sprites and Nymphs, as well as many other creatures, all lived in harmony under the watchful eyes of the Five Sages, the guardians of that world.

But then the Dark Sorcerer took control of the land, corrupting everything good with his greed and power. He turned against his fellow Sages and began building his empire of Dark Magic. His minions—Warlocks, Snitches and Watchers, as well as several others—roamed the Realms of this once beautiful world in search for the Stones of Power, the purest, physical form of Good Magic.

But there are those who stand in his way.

Chosen by Sage Mortimer, the Chief Sage of Cantoria, the Brotherhood is a handful of people who are willing to take a stand and defend their world. They set off on a quest to reach the Center of Cantoria's Mega Labyrinth, where the very life force of their world resides. They have but one goal: to safely escort the Seer, the only being who can use the Stone to save Cantoria.

The Dark Sorcerer will stop at nothing to claim the Seer as his own. To aid them in their quest, there are the Seven Guides, the leaders of Cantoria's Realms, who will provide them with knowledge and the training they will need to succeed in their quest.

The Seer is Cantoria's beacon. The precious Stone it carries is the key to the liberation of that land. Strength and cunning alone will not be enough to obtain victory. Victory lies in the heart of the Brotherhood; in friendship, hope, faith, and Real Magic.

Magic Exists; but only the Innocent of Heart can See it.

*****

"Take the left flank and I'll take the right!"

"What do I look like, Buford; a soldier???"

"Just pull out your magic rope and do something, Baljeet! Your guy's just standing there! He's gonna get powned!"

Phineas vigorously pressed down repeatedly over the attack button on his game controller. "Isabella, keep an eye on our Stone; we can't let that get into the wrong hands," he ordered over his headset. He and Ferb had organized a day of video games with their friends online. Both Sixteen-year-olds were sitting on their beds, staring at the giant screen they used to play video games on with Isabella, Buford and Baljeet. Each person had a headset, and although neither Phineas nor Ferb were able to visually see anyone, they could hear them, as well as the game's sound effects, over their headsets.

"Gah! I have got a Snitch on my tail!" Baljeet exclaimed. "Phineas, I need a healing spell right now! My health is down to 23%!"

Phineas moved his Mage character into the right direction. "Hang on, I'm comin'," he replied, watching his game persona rush off. The game they were playing was part strategic and part adventure. Because so many people could play, it was being viewed at an aerial view. This also made it easier for Phineas and Ferb to see where everyone was and where their enemies were.

Normally, Phineas could not stand playing video games for long amounts of time, lest he was sick and forced to remain in bed. He would rather spend his day inventing. But this was an entirely different game than the others he owned. It had been the one he had waited over a year to be released. With his mother's permission, he and Ferb had saved up their allowance to buy it on its release day.

Its title was The Seer. It was said to be the most thrilling adventure game of all time, having already sold millions on the first day and gotten a five star rating. It had online versions and live versions to play on the gaming system.

The Seer was ultimately the only video game Phineas had actually sat down with Ferb to play for more than an hour. In fact, the two brothers had already beaten the game five times. The reason they continuously restarted was not only because their friends wanted to play along with them, but because there were so many different ways to play, and so many different things to unlock.

"Aaaahhh, I can't get passed the dang blockade those Warlocks put up!" Phineas groaned as he attacked an invisible shield. "Where's that dumb intangibility cloak when you need it?"

"Why don't you just use a cheat?" Buford suggested.

"Buford, I don't cheat at games. I win fair and square."

"Goody-two-shoes."

Phineas made several attacks before sighing and looking at his brother. "Ferb, you still have that blockade disintegrator on you?" he wondered.

Ferb finished attacking an enemy before looking at Phineas and nodding. He then returned to the game.

"Mind if I trade it with you?"

"Be my guest," his stepbrother replied without taking his eyes off of the screen.

Isabella gasped over her end of the line. "Phineas! Phineas, I lost sight of the Seer!" she exclaimed. "He just ran off!"

"Fall back, Gang!" Phineas ordered urgently as he and Ferb turned their characters around. "We need to find the Seer before going on! Move, move, move!"

"We heard you the first time, sheesh!" Buford groaned as they all regrouped on screen.

Phineas pressed a combination of buttons. "Lemme pull a tracking spell and find him before the Dark Sorcerer does," he muttered.

Sparkles of coloured light swirled around Phineas' character. "Oooh, I love it when you do that spell," Baljeet said. "It looks so cool!"

The red-head grinned. Out of all the characters he had wanted to play since he had bought the game, it was a Mage. A Mage was the lowest ranking of Good Magic wielders in The Seer, and considering Phineas never enjoyed playing games with weapons such as swords or axes, a wand or a staff, which was what his character currently carried, were his favourite options.

After several seconds of watching his Mage twist his staff and let his robes flutter about in the swirls of light, the teenager sat up straight. "Found him!" Phineas announced. He immediately paused and frowned in confusion afterwards. "Hm. That's weird; the readings I'm getting are telling me he's right nearby. Does anyone see him?"

"Is that him digging through that chest over there?" Isabella pointed out.

"What the heck's up with this Seer?" Buford scoffed. "He's like a five-year-old! The last one was better than this one! Why did the creators have to give so many different kinds of Seers for Sage Mortimer of Colornia to choose from? We're gonna lose because of him!"

"Let's just get him back here and find a way safely around that battalion," Phineas sighed. "Jeet, which way is the safest? What does your map say?"

"Ummmm, lemme check," Baljeet replied. There was a moment of silence before a map popped up on the screen. "If we go towards the Frost Range, the mountains in the North, there are definitely more caves to hide in, but it takes the Seer too close to the Burning Inferno Level and the Fire Sprites. We could go south, but then that takes us too far from Cantoria's Mega Labyrinth and its Center."

"We'll chance the mountains, then," Phineas decided as Baljeet put away his map.

"But Phineas, what about the Burning Inferno?" Isabella pointed out. "The Dark Sorcerer has a base near there."

"We're going to have to eventually beat that level too, Izzie. So, let's just go with it. Besides; Ferb has beaten it before; he knows all the shortcuts in that level."

"What about you?"

Ferb snickered. "If Phineas had unlocked the ability to keep his balance, then perhaps he would have beaten it without my aid," he teased.

"Hey, lay off!" Phineas exclaimed with a laugh. "I'm not a world winner at video games, Dude! Those stepping stones were tricky!" He turned his character and began running towards the mountains. "Okay, Gang; let's start heading there before the sun sets. And make sure the Seer hides his stone this time. We could get caught again."

"I have to agree with Buford," Isabella said as they all began running and only attacking what got in their way. "The Sage's choice of Seer really reeks this time round."

There was a moment of silence that followed until Phineas cleared his throat and spoke up again: "Okay, lemme just refresh our list of players for a sec," he announced. "Bufe, you're a Ranger right?"

"One you ain't gonna want ta mess with," came the reply. "Took me sixteen level ups to get to this point from a Scout, sheesh. And I still need 35 more level ups if I wanna be a Knight. How the heck did you get that far anyway, Ferb?"

Ferb grinned proudly. Phineas smiled as well. "You know Ferb's a top Gamer," he said. "He beats everything fast."

"Why do both of you have to be born with all these talents?"

"We weren't born with them. We just worked really hard at them." Phineas paused before continuing. "Okay; Isabella's the Archer, right?"

"You betcha, Phinny!" Isabella shouted out happily. "And I've still got those Ice Tip Arrows to boot, so no one's gonna wanna mess with the master!... Oh yeah, and I still have those extra special herbs by the way."

"Good, we may still need those. Baljeet's still the Rope Maker?"

"Unfortunately," Baljeet sighed. "What a lame occupation. I make ropes. Why was this even an option?"

"It's just as important as any of ours, Jeet," Phineas encouraged. "We can't make the special ropes you can. Remember how we had to cross that giant divide in the Floating Forest? It was you who made that rope out of twigs."

"… I got lucky, I suppose. Still don't remember what the formula I did for it was… I'd personally rather be a Mage like you, Phineas. That's such a neat job."

"Yeah; all those spells and everything! It's so neat!" Isabella added. "And you're all the way up to level 28 too! Almost a Wizard! Why do you always pick a Mage when we play, Phineas?"

"Yeah; why don't you pick the Seer next time?" Buford suggested. "It is one of the playable options right? That way, you'd be a pretty decent one, not like this doofus."

"And think of all the unknown, mystical powers you could use because of your rarity and that Seer Stone!" Baljeet added. "Seers are incredibly rare, which is why they're so precious. Why not be the Seer, Phineas? You fit the description perfectly, never mind you're already knowledgeable about this game."

"His height corresponds to it too," Buford teased, making the others giggle. "Seers are always short."

Phineas frowned. "Hey!" he exclaimed, making the others laugh again. "They are not!" After they had quieted down, he replied: "I like being the Mage, that's why.

"But Seers have magical powers too," Isabella pointed out.

"Not really. Mages can perform spells, Izzie. Seers can't. Only offense and defence attacks through the aid of the Stone. I believe magic—or in this case, spellbinding—is essential to several levels in this game. Don't you guys believe magic is important?"

There were several indecisive murmurs on the other end. Phineas raised an eyebrow and then looked at his brother. "How about you, Ferb?" he said. "You believe in it, right?"

Ferb shrugged. "Well, perhaps theoretically, yes," he said. "But… not literally. I mean, there's always an explanation to everything, Phineas."

Phineas was a little disappointed by this answer. He groaned softly and stared at the screen again as his mage led the others off. "Fine, I'll be the lone Magic believer, sheesh," he mumbled. "If you ask me, magic exists. We just don't know where to find it."

"There is another Seer attribute," Baljeet announced. "Guidance in the right direction."

"Oh, gimme a break."

"But Phineas, it's true," Isabella pointed out. "The Seer is always the most humble, gentle-hearted, innocent and adorable person—!"

"Adorable???" Phineas interrupted in confusion. "What does adorable have to do with it?"

Ferb, Baljeet and Buford were already choking on laughs—they had noticed the little hint Isabella had set down, but were completely blown away by the fact that Phineas was still that oblivious.

Isabella groaned tiredly. "I didn't mean that," she muttered. "What I meant to say was wise. The Seer also has to be wise in order to lead the group when needed. The Seer's the only one who knows the exact paths to the Center of the Labyrinth, Phineas. It's got powers that are beyond what any Mage has, it can see things others can't normally see, and even feel things others can't normally feel."

"But I'm not like all of that," Phineas replied.

Ferb crossed his legs. "I think what she meant, Phineas, was that many of those attributes can be found in you," he explained. "Not necessarily all of them, just most."

"Come off it, I'm not that special, guys," Phineas sighed. "I like being a Mage, that's all. I don't want to take on such a serious role as the Seer. He's the guy who's wanted by the good guys and the bad guys. Besides; who would want to play as a player who needs to sacrifice himself at the end of the game anyway?"

"He does raise a good point," Baljeet pointed out.

"I thought you liked being a hero," Buford said. "You know… The Beak???"

"Oh please, I was ten years old," Phineas groaned. "Besides; I was only the hero because of a fluke—!"

Ferb cleared his throat loudly, catching Phineas' attention. The red-head smiled wryly while blushing. "Uh, I mean we were the hero," he said after noticing his brother's irritated glare. "I still feel bad about totally ignoring you, Bud."

"I'm sure," Ferb replied, although he had a smile on his lips.

Phineas looked at the game again. "Okay, so being the hero has its perks," he answered Buford's question. "But who would want to be a hero in a video game who ends up dying anyway? Either you get taken by the Warlocks and Dark Sorcerer, shot at by their Deception Sceptres and turned into a weapon of mass destruction, OR, you reach the Center, connect yourself to the Labyrinth's life force, go through the Transfiguration and sacrifice yourself to save all of the innocent people, as well as your team."

"Heroes make sacrifices," Ferb pointed out.

Phineas groaned. "But this is just a silly video game, for cryin' out loud!" he exclaimed. "It's not even real!"

"Says the guy who just claimed magic to be real," Buford muttered, making Baljeet giggle.

"Okay, you guys are confusing me now. Can we just get back to finding a haven and then saving this silly game?"

"You wanna quit?"

"No, I just want to stop playing. I'd rather be inventing now. You guys are making this game a confusing whirlpool of… confusion."

Isabella started laughing at the other end, and was soon joined by the others. Ferb chuckled and looked at his brother. "Actually, I think adorable would fit you perfectly if you were a Seer," he joked.

Phineas narrowed his eyes and tossed his pillow at Ferb. "Put a sock in it, Ferbo," he muttered behind his teeth.

"So; how do you like the game so far?"

Ferb looked up from his dinner plate that evening while chewing on some of his steak. Because his mouth was full, Phineas was the one who answered their father's question: "It's really sweet," the sixteen-year-old replied with a grin. "Ferb and I practically have every part of it explored and unlocked… Well, except for Twilight Lagoon."

"What's that?" Lawrence wondered curiously.

"Not what; where, Dad. And it's only the most beautiful realm in Cantoria. Says so in my official game manual! I've got loads of concept art of the people and the realm itself!"

"Why haven't you unlocked it then?"

"Insanely difficult to do so. You need like, a bajillion points in order to unlock it. Ferb and I have only saved up about two thirds of that."

"You've only had that game for about a month and already you're near completion?" Linda said curiously, making Lawrence chuckle.

"Are you kidding? It's the biggest game world that was ever created, Mom," Phineas replied after swallowing some food. "It took them near a whole decade to make it so huge. There's too much to explore for us to be near completion!"

"I hope you two won't be spending your time on that game for the rest of the school year," Linda said sternly.

Phineas winked. "No worries, Mom; inventing is still my first priority!" he reassured her.

Lawrence cleared his throat. "I believe she was referring to your grades at school, Phineas," he muttered with a grin while raising an eyebrow.

Ferb choked on a laugh while Phineas smiled wryly at his parents. "Oh yeah, well, that comes first-first," he corrected.

"How about you, Ferb? How do you like the game so far?"

Ferb finished drinking his coke before wiping his mouth on his napkin. "Quite stimulating," he replied. "There's always something new to discover. I know most levels from the back of my hand now. And I've mastered every single attack my Knight can accomplish. Only three more levels up and I'll be a Blade Master."

"My, my, sounds like you've been a busy squire," Lawrence laughed. He looked at Phineas again. "What about you, Boy? What kind of Knight are you?"

Phineas shook his head. "I'm not a Knight," he replied. "I'd rather be a Mage—!"

"Apparently, magic exists," Ferb muttered teasingly.

His brother shot him a glare. "Not restarting that!" he scolded. Looking at his father again, Phineas continued. "I don't like fighting with swords, so I use magic." He beamed of pride. "BUT, I know every single secret, every single location, and every single power for every single playable character by heart. Even the bad guys. I can name them all from the back of my hand. Plus, I've memorized their basic clothing. I can tell the diff between a Rope Maker and a Monk, a Knight from a Squire, a Wizard from a Warlock. Comes in handy when someone doesn't know who he's talking to…"

Ferb raised his chin. "Like if I could tell that it was a Snitch just like that, sheesh," he grumbled.

"Uh yeah, you should. Their eyes are orange, remember? And their pupils looks like crosses."

Lawrence grabbed some vegetables with his fork. "What about the Seer itself?" he asked. "What do they wear?"

Phineas and Ferb exchanged a startled look before both shrugging. "Actually, he's the only one we don't know what he wears," Phineas said. "Because of the special Seer Stone he or she wears around their neck, they have to wear a cloak over themselves in order to hide their identities and powers."

"Goodness; you boys really do know your video games…"

Linda cleared her throat, catching their attention. "Which is why we will stop talking about this while we're eating," she announced. "Dinner is food and family time; not video game time."

"But when we play video games, we do it together," Phineas pointed out innocently. He was answered by a punch in the shoulder from Ferb. "Ow! I was kidding, Dude!" Phineas exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder gingerly.

While Ferb returned to his meal, Linda continued to speak: "Speaking of family… Phineas, Ferb, your sister and Jeremy are coming over for dinner on Friday, so I want you two off of the video games that day, please."

Ferb shrugged his shoulders while Phineas nodded his head. "We could do that easy," he replied. "We'll probably invent something instead—!"

"—And I don't want any inventions, please."

At these words, even Ferb gave his mother a horrified look. "What?" Phineas gaped. "But Mom, what else are we supposed to do?"

"Homework would be a safe place to start," Lawrence commented.

"But we always finish early!"

"Then I suppose you can sit in the living and chat with your sister and her fiancй."

Phineas was devastated. "Why can't we invent?!" he exclaimed.

Linda wiped her mouth. "I would like one normal dinner with Candace where she isn't attempting to, as she puts it, bust you," she answered. "Every time you guys leave to do something while she's visiting, she gets all hyped up about it and is distracted for the entire evening while attempting to prove to me that you guys do impossible things."

"She doesn't do it all the time!" Phineas argued.

"She does it enough to bother me."

"But Mom!"

Linda frowned at her youngest son. It was not often that Phineas objected, but when inventing was involved, it was the only place he would rebel. "No inventions and that's final," the woman repeated. "You can drop it for a day, Phineas."

Phineas stood his ground. "But what if I come up with some great idea again?!" he asked while flailing his arms about in the air. "What if that happens while we're talking with Candace? I'm gonna lose it if I can't get it on paper, Mom!"

While Lawrence and Ferb had begun to chuckle softly at Phineas' miming of the scene, Linda, just as stubborn as her son, pointed at him. "You can write it down as a memo, but no drawing," she said.

"But Moooommm!"

"For Heaven's sake, Phineas Flynn! Why are you fighting it so badly this time?!"

Ferb swallowed his food and wiped his mouth before replying: "We played video games for so long today, we never got the chance to actually build anything," he explained. "So he's sort of… cracked."

"I DON'T CRACK!" Phineas exclaimed, making his stepfather burst into laughter. "I don't know where you and the others even get that term! I. DON'T. CRACK!"

Linda sighed in exasperation and passed a hand over her face. "I cannot believe you resemble Francis so badly," she groaned. Uncovering her eyes, she looked up at Phineas again. "Here's the deal, then; if you get that antsy, then you can run upstairs and grab your sketchbook. But if you even think of dragging Ferb out to the garage or the backyard or even your room, I will ground you from touching a single pencil or pen in this house for an entire week, Phineas Flynn. I will even empty your room and bags of sketchbooks. Is that clear?"

Phineas was not fond of the idea of being grounded from inventing. He was hardly ever punished, considering he was such an honest and kind teenager. But it had happened once, and that was when he played with a robotic Frisbee in the house and smashed Linda's priceless antique vase. Linda had grounded him from inventing for five days; though it did not sound like enough to most parents, Linda was more than certain that Phineas had gotten the message.

Mainly because he was forbidden to jot down his ideas.

The sixteen-year-old sighed heavily in defeat and sunk low into his chair. "Crystal," he groaned miserably, making Ferb and Lawrence laugh again.

*****

Wow. Mom actually got ticked at you? That's a first.

Phineas made a grimace as he typed his reply back to his sister on MSN that evening. She didn't get ticked, she just gave me a hunkin' big warning. While Lawrence had asked Ferb if he could help him with something on the car, Phineas had gone up to their bedroom, pulled out his laptop and checked if Candace was online. Sure enough, just as they normally did on those few days they had to themselves, his sister was available to talk.

Last time I checked, that was the beginning of being ticked. I KNEW you weren't an angel! LOL, Candace teased.

The sixteen-year-old grinned amusingly. I never said that I WAS an angel, he replied.

But everyone believes it… Mr. We're-Visiting-the-Moon-and-Mom-won't-Get-Mad.

She never did.

Because she never believed me! She always thought you and Ferb were just goofin' around in the backyard!

As Candace continued to rant on about the amazing feats her brothers had accomplished in the past, Phineas could not help but to laugh softly. He still found it amusing that his sister had tried so hard to expose them. The entire time, Phineas believed that they were doing only the most innocent of acts—he had asked for permission before building anything.

You tried so hard to accomplish a pointless act, Candace, Phineas typed. Mom had given us permission to do those things.

Oh, don't give me that, Einstein; if I had tried to do that, she would have flipped. There was a pause before his sister continued. Anyway, how's that crazy game you and Ferb bought? Mom mentioned that you two have been playing it more than any other game you own.

Shyah, Phineas replied. It's only, like, THE best game ever… though inventing still tops it by a mile.

No surprise there. Stacy and I started playing the online version of it a little.

Told you you'd like it.

Yeah, yeah, I know… I like being a Mage. It's fun to blast magic from your finger tips and wands, LOL. What do you and Ferb like to play as?

Ferb's a Knight. He's almost levelled up to being a Blade Master for the King. Bufe's pretty upset that it's taking him this long to even attempt to get as high as Ferb. But Ferb's a master, so there's no surprise.

Ha, no kiddin. What about you?

Phineas paused for a moment, wondering what he would type next to sum up his feelings about his role playing. Sighing, he put his fingers to work. I like being a Mage too, he began, But everyone else thinks I should play as the Seer.

Candace did not reply for a moment or two. Well, why wouldn't you? She asked.

Candy, who would want to play as someone who you KNOW is gonna die anyway? At least with a Mage or anyone else, you get to come back to life.

Дата добавления: 2015-09-30