Legend of the Kokoro
Episode #11: Inspiration
By Dreamcatcher

“The poem that I’m about to read is entitled ‘A
Quarter for the Homeless,’ which was written by one of
my students last year,” Mrs. Rose announced to her
seventh period class. She was currently teaching her
College English course. Mrs. Rose could tell that most
of her students were squirming around in their seats
slightly, anxiously waiting for the bell to ring so
that they could leave her classroom. Among the few
students that were paying close attention were Rowen
and Roxie, who were patiently waiting for their
teacher to start reading the poem. Mrs. Rose cleared
her throat for a moment before she started reading:

“ ‘A quarter for the homeless. Homeless man on the
side of the road. Road to nowhere. Nowhere but that
one cold place. Place where I can dream. Dream about
the days of gold and women. Women now only pitch coins
in my cup. Cup of coffee these days is like the Rolex
I once had. Had it all but now it’s gone. Gone is a
nice word for nothing. Nothing is what she left me ten
years past. Past is where I wish I was. Was it all
something I could have kept. Kept pushin’ a little
further until I broke. Broke is my title these days.
Days when I find shelter under a newspaper. Newspapers
knew it was gonna happen. Happens that no one told me
though. Though I lost it all I am not depressed or
sad. Sad would only be wasting what I do have. Have
you got a quarter for the homeless?’ ”

“That was an excellent poem, Mrs. Rose,” Roxie
confessed. “Thank you, Roxanna,” Mrs. Rose replied.
“Can anyone identify the technique being used here?”
Rowen’s hand immediately went up in response to Mrs.
Rose’s question. “Yes, Rowen?” Mrs. Rose asked. “That
particular author used the wraparound technique, which
involves starting the next line of a poem with the
last word from the previous line,” Rowen explained.
“Very good, Rowen,” Mrs. Rose replied. “I have one
last poem I’d like to read to you before you leave
today. It’s called ‘Map to Forgiveness,’ which was
done by another one of my past students.” Mrs. Rose
picked up a second piece of paper from her desk and
started to read from it.

“ ‘There was a shortcut at I’m Sorry. I must have
missed that turn. I traveled down the long and windy
road of Stubbornness instead. I traveled around Circle
of Stupidity, got lost on the Avenue of Pride. I
didn’t see the detour at It’s My Fault. I was looking
for the sign that says It’s Yours. I missed the sharp
right at Forgive Me, and ended up on the Highway of
Pain. I got off the exit at Remorse, and traveled
through the town Too Late. There was a shortcut at I’m
Sorry, but I must have missed that turn.’ ” Mrs. Rose
paused for a moment as she looked up at her class.
“What do you believe the author was trying to express
in his work? Anyone?” Mrs. Rose noticed that Roxie had
her hand raised. “Yes, Roxanna?”

“I believe that this poem could be the author’s way of
apologizing for something he might have done in the
past,” Roxie revealed. “He could have done something
that resulted in losing a good friend and it probably
took him a while to realize that it was his fault, and
not his friend’s.” “That’s quite a conclusion you came
to, Roxanna. Anyone else?” Mrs. Rose asked the class.
Just then, the bell rang, ending the class. As
everyone got up from their desks and started to gather
their belongings, Mrs. Rose announced, “We’ll continue
this discussion tomorrow. And don’t forget, your
poetry assignment is due at the end of the week. Feel
free to experiment with the writing techniques we went
over in class. Have a nice day, everyone.”

“This is probably going to be our easiest assignment
ever,” Roxie admitted as she and Rowen left the
classroom together. “Writing poetry is a piece of
cake. Don’t you agree, Rowen?” Rowen was completely
silent, lost in his own thoughts. “Rowen!” Roxie
shouted, bringing Rowen back to reality. “I’m sorry,
Roxie. What did you say?” Rowen asked. “Don’t you
agree that this poetry assignment is going to be
easy?” Roxie repeated. “Umm...yes, Roxie, of course.
Piece of cake,” Rowen muttered out loud as the two
friends continued walking down the hallway to their
lockers...

“I absolutely abhor poetry!” Rowen confessed to Cye
and Ryo. The three friends were outside on the soccer
field, all dressed in T-shirts, sweat pants, and
sneakers. They were all working on their pushups,
along with the rest of the teenage boys in their
Physical Education class. “Save the chitchat for the
locker room, Rowen!” Coach Zettler shouted. “Sorry,
Mr. Zettler. It won’t happen again,” Rowen quickly
apologized. Coach Zettler walked in front of his gym
class and blew his whistle. “All right, everyone! I
want ten laps around the soccer field! No cutting
around the corners of the field or you’re doing extra
laps! Now go!” Some of the boys groaned as they all
got up and started to run around the soccer field.

“Mr. Zettler is so strict! How can you stand him,
Ryo?” Cye asked curiously. “Believe me, Cye, he’s not
as bad as you think,” Ryo replied as he, Cye, and
Rowen ran around the first goal post, followed by the
rest of the class. “Not to interrupt, but can we focus
back on my problem?” Rowen asked a bit impatiently.
“Sure, Rowen,” Cye replied as they finished their
first lap. “What I don’t get is how can a genius like
yourself have a problem with such an easy English
assignment?” Ryo asked curiously. “That’s the thing,
Ryo. I don’t know why poetry is so difficult for me,”
Rowen confessed. “I understand all of the writing
techniques that are involved, but when it comes to
actually writing poetry, it’s like my brain freezes up
or something. I’m lucky to be able to pull off a C.”

“Well, if you want, maybe Ryo and I can help you with
this poetry assignment,” Cye suggested as they started
their third lap. “This is a first for me. Normally,
it’s you guys asking me for help with homework, not
the other way around!” Rowen remarked. “Hey, there’s a
first time for everything, Rowen,” Ryo pointed out.
Rowen was silent for a few moments, thinking it over
as they continued running. “Okay, we’ll do that. How
about both of you come over tomorrow after school?”
Rowen asked. “I can’t, Rowen. I have soccer practice,
remember?” Ryo reminded Rowen.

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. How about you both come over
around five tomorrow for dinner?” Rowen asked.
“Umm...sure, Rowen. You’re not...cooking, are you?”
Ryo asked cautiously. “No, I’m not, Ryo. My mother
will be cooking dinner. She has off from work
tomorrow,” Rowen revealed. “That’s very good, Rowen.
No offense to you, but the first and last time you
tried your hand at cooking, we almost died from food
poisoning!” Cye remarked teasingly. “Do you have to
bring that up again, Cye?” Rowen asked a bit angrily
as Ryo tried hard to muffle his snickering. “I’m
sorry, Rowen. I’ll help you out tomorrow,” Cye
apologized. “So will I,” Ryo added as the three
friends finished their fourth lap around the soccer
field...

“What is it, Devaki?” Dulcea asked as her servant
hobbled into her throne room. “Lady Dulcea, I need to
speak to Strata right away,” Devaki revealed as he
bowed to Dulcea. “I need to discuss an important plan
with him.” “Very well, then. Strata, come forth!”
Dulcea commanded. Almost instantly, Strata entered the
throne room. “You called for me, Lady Dulcea?” Strata
asked as he bowed respectively to Dulcea. “Devaki
wishes to speak with you, Strata,” Dulcea explained.
Strata turned around towards Dulcea’s servant and
asked, “What do you want with me, Devaki?”

“I need your help in capturing a rare creature that
will soon be arriving on this planet,” Devaki
explained. “What kind of creature, Devaki?” Strata
asked curiously. “This creature goes by many names,
Strata, but on Earth, it is known as a sphinx,” Devaki
revealed. “A sphinx? You mean they’re real?” Strata
asked out of surprise. “Indeed they are, Strata.
Sphinxes are immortal creatures whose sole purpose is
to travel to different worlds and gather as much
knowledge as possible,” Devaki explained. “Only one
sphinx exists in each galaxy, and the sphinx
inhabiting this galaxy arrives on Earth every one
hundred years. According to my calculations, the
sphinx is due to arrive at Lake Biwa in Japan two days
from now.”

“I see, Devaki. But why do we need to capture this
sphinx?” Strata asked curiously. “As I mentioned
before, the sphinx has a vast amount of knowledge that
we can use to our advantage,” Devaki explained. “This
creature has witnessed several great battles and wars
in its time, including Talpa’s first invasion of the
mortal world. It must have witnessed the creation of
the nine Ronin armors, so it would know the key to
destroying them once and for all.” “If everything you
say about this creature is true, Devaki, it would be
well worth it to capture the sphinx for our own
personal use,” Dulcea admitted. “It will be worth it.
I promise you that, Lady Dulcea,” Devaki confessed.
“All right, Devaki. I’ll assist you with capturing the
sphinx,” Strata finally agreed...

“Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Hashiba,” Ryo replied as he
and Cye started to follow Rowen upstairs to his
bedroom. “It was delicious,” Cye admitted. “Thank you,
boys,” Mrs. Hashiba confessed. “This way, guys,” Rowen
announced as he opened the door to his bedroom and
walked inside, followed by Ryo and Cye. “Rowen, have
you even tried to work on your poetry assignment at
all?” Cye asked curiously as he sat down on a wooden
chair at Rowen’s desk. “Yes, I did, Cye. I’ve been
trying for the past five days, but I came up with
absolutely nothing,” Rowen revealed as he sat down on
his bed, while Ryo sat on a second chair in the room.

“You know, maybe if you try clearing your mind of
everything, it’ll help you concentrate on this
assignment of yours,” Ryo suggested. “Do you have any
other homework due this week, Rowen?” “Not anymore,
Ryo,” Rowen explained. “I already finished all of my
homework, except for this poetry assignment, of
course.” “I agree with Ryo about clearing your mind of
everything. What about meditating? Have you tried that
at all?” Cye asked. To his surprise, Rowen didn’t
answer him at all. He was staring out of his bedroom
window. “Rowen? Didn’t you hear me?” Cye shouted
loudly, bringing Rowen back to reality. “I’m sorry.
What was that, Cye?” Rowen asked as he looked over at
Cye.

“You know, Rowen, this is the first time I’ve ever
seen you look vacant!” Cye remarked with a slight
smirk. “I’m sorry about that, Cye. I promise that it
won’t happen again,” Rowen promised. “What’s so
interesting that you decide to stare out the window
instead of listen to us?” Ryo asked curiously as he
got up and walked towards the window. “It’s nothing,
Ryo. You don’t need to get up!” Rowen lied as he
nervously watched Ryo peer through the slightly open
blinds. Ryo noticed that one of the windows of the
neighboring house was directly across from Rowen’s
bedroom window. He gasped slightly out of surprise
when he saw Roxie pass by the window. “Oh, I see what
you’ve been doing, Rowen,” Ryo muttered out loud as he
turned away from the window.

“What has he been doing?” Cye asked curiously. “Looks
like our friend here has been spying on his neighbor,
Roxie!” Ryo announced. “Her bedroom window is right
across from Rowen’s.” “I haven’t been spying on Roxie,
Ryo!” Rowen denied as his face turned beet red. “I
would never invade her privacy like that!” “Then what
have you been doing?” Ryo asked curiously. “Roxie
knows that my bedroom window is parallel to hers.
Sometimes, we talk to each other from our rooms when
we have the time, rather than use the telephone. We
usually just discuss homework assignments and any
upcoming tests we have.”

“So why didn’t you just ask Roxie for help instead of
getting us involved?” Cye asked curiously. “She does
live right next door to you, Rowen,” Ryo pointed out.
“I can’t do that, guys,” Rowen muttered out loud. “And
why not?” Cye asked. “Because...I might have led Roxie
to believe that I’m a decent poetry writer,” Rowen
reluctantly admitted. “Excuse me? You what?” Ryo asked
out of shock. “I can’t believe you would lie to Roxie
about something like this,” Cye admitted. “I know,
Cye. I didn’t mean to lie to Roxie. It just…came out
that way,” Rowen explained. “You are going to tell her
the truth, right, Rowen?” Ryo asked. “Of course, I’ll
tell Roxie the truth,” Rowen assured his two
friends...

“Just a little bit more...” Devaki muttered to
himself. Dulcea’s hunchbacked servant was sitting at a
table in his laboratory, tightening a screw on a pair
of small black binoculars. “There we go. Perfect!”
Devaki admitted as he held up the binoculars and
looked through the eyepieces to make sure it was
working properly. As he looked around the room with
the binoculars, Devaki noticed a large patch of dark
blue metal enter his laboratory. Devaki looked up from
the binoculars at Strata, who was standing next to the
table. “Glad you could make it, Strata,” Devaki
admitted as he got off of his stool. “I have some
tools for you that’ll assist you in capturing that
sphinx tomorrow.” “What kind of tools, Devaki?” Strata
asked curiously.

“First, there’s these binoculars,” Devaki explained as
he handed Strata the black binoculars he was working
on earlier. “Why do I need binoculars for, Devaki?”
Strata asked suspiciously. “I’m only going to be a few
yards away from where the sphinx is supposed to land,
according to your calculations.” “These aren’t
ordinary binoculars, Strata. You see, besides
possessing a vast amount of knowledge from many
worlds, the sphinx has great powers as well. One of
these powers is invisibility, which is what the sphinx
uses so it can observe what’s going on without being
seen,” Devaki explained. “With the binoculars, you
will be able to see through the sphinx’s shield of
invisibility. You will also need this special rope.”

“What’s this for?” Strata asked as Devaki handed him a
long, thick black rope. “This special rope will ensure
that the sphinx will be caught,” Devaki explained.
“Besides invisibility, the sphinx possesses great
strength and would be able to break through normal
ropes and chains. This rope will bind all of the
sphinx’s powers, allowing you to capture it, Strata.
There’s one more thing. You’re going to need help
capturing the sphinx, so bring some of Dulcea’s
arcanes with you to Lake Biwa tomorrow.” “I’ll do
that, Devaki,” Strata muttered out loud as he left
Devaki’s lab with the binoculars and rope...

“Let’s see...I can probably use this quote here,”
Roxie muttered to herself as she jotted some notes
into her notebook. She was sitting at a table in the
school library with an open library book spread out in
front of her. Roxie was a bit surprised to see a tall
shadow coming from behind her. She turned around and
smiled a little bit when she recognized Rowen, who had
a few books under his arm. “Hey, Rowen. What brings
you here?” Roxie asked in a whisper. “I’m just
returning some books that I borrowed,” Rowen explained
as he walked over to the desk and handed his books to
the librarian on duty. “What about you, Roxie? What
are you doing here?”

“Just doing some reading for our English term paper,”
Roxie explained as she continued writing in her
notebook. “That’s not due until next month,” Rowen
whispered as he sat down next to Roxie. “I know,
Rowen, but it never hurts to get an early start,”
Roxie pointed out. “I finished reading this book, and
I’m just copying down some quotes I plan to use for my
term paper.” “So, what book did you choose for the
term paper?” Rowen asked as he looked down at the open
book that Roxie was copying her quotes from. “It’s
called ‘Brave New World,’ by Aldous Huxley,” Roxie
replied. “I remember reading that book. I found the
author’s grim prediction of the future very
interesting,” Rowen confessed.

“You definitely got the ‘grim’ part right, Rowen,”
Roxie admitted. “For a book written in the 1930s, some
of Huxley’s predictions are starting to come true,
especially when it comes to cloning. I found it kind
of eerie that he would predict a world where nearly
everyone’s an identical clone of each other,
promiscuity and taking this drug they call ‘soma’ is
an everyday part of life, and things that we would
consider normal, such as reading books and having
children, is considered primitive.” “Yeah, I know,”
Rowen muttered out loud as he stared down at the
table. “Umm...Roxie? There’s something I need to tell
you. It’s about this poetry assignment.”

Rowen waited for some sort of response from Roxie, but
he didn’t hear a word from her. He lifted his head to
look at her and gasped slightly when he saw Roxie with
her head lying on the table and her eyes closed. Rowen
quickly realized what was happening to Roxie. “Come
on, Roxie. Wake up,” he whispered as he gently shook
Roxie’s shoulder. Suddenly, Roxie moaned slightly as
she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Rowen.
“Roxie, did you have one of those visions?” Rowen
whispered. Roxie silently nodded her head. “Tell me,
what happened?” Rowen asked.

Roxie glanced over at the librarian, who was sitting
nearby. Without a word, Roxie stood up from the table
and motioned for Rowen to follow her. Rowen quickly
got up and followed Roxie into one of the long aisles
of books. “Sorry about that, but I didn’t want to risk
the librarian overhearing our conversation,” Roxie
revealed. “I understand, Roxie. Now tell me what you
saw,” Rowen requested. “It was Strata, and he’s up to
no good,” Roxie explained. “He and some odd-looking
white zombies are attacking what looks like a sphinx.”
“A sphinx, Roxie? Are you sure?” Rowen asked
curiously.

“Of course I’m sure, Rowen. It looked just like that
stone statue of the Sphinx at Giza, Egypt,” Roxie
replied. “Do you know where this is going to occur?”
Rowen asked. “It’s going to happen along a large lake
west of Ogaki,” Roxie explained. “A large lake west of
Ogaki...Sounds like Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater
lake in Japan,” Rowen muttered thoughtfully. “One
thing I don’t understand is how can a creature such as
the sphinx actually exist,” Roxie muttered out loud.
“I don’t exactly understand it either, Roxie, but one
thing’s for sure: if it involves Strata, it can’t be
anything good,” Roxie confessed. “We better get to
Lake Biwa as soon as possible.” “Right, Rowen,” Roxie
agreed as she followed Rowen to the exit...

“Stand ready. The sphinx will be arriving any moment
now,” Strata announced to the six arcanes standing
below him. He was standing in a tall tree overlooking
Lake Biwa, while the arcanes were hiding behind a row
of bushes. The arcanes were tall, bald ghastly-white
creatures, all wearing dark gray sleeveless robes and
boots. Each arcane was armed with a lasso of the black
rope in one hand and a spear in the other. “Hmm?”
Strata murmured to himself when he saw a dark speck in
the sky through his binoculars. “Is this the sphinx
that Devaki spoke of? Or am I just seeing some sort of
bird?” Strata thought to himself.

Upon lowering the binoculars, Strata realized that the
speck he saw had completely disappeared. He looked
through the binoculars again and found the speck
again. Strata gasped when he realized that the flying
creature he saw was much too big to be a bird. “There
it is!” Strata gasped out of astonishment as he
watched the huge creature land on the shore of the
lake. The creature had the body of a lioness, large
white-feathered wings attached to her back, and the
head of a female human. The human face was tan in
complexion with shoulder-length black hair, golden
yellow cat’s eyes, and a gold band around her head.

“Wait for my signal,” Strata instructed the arcanes as
he loaded an arrow in his bow and aimed it carefully
at the sphinx, who was taking a drink of water from
the lake. With her back turned towards him, Strata
fired the arrow at the sphinx. The golden arrow struck
the ground just a few feet away from the sphinx,
exploding into a ball of yellow light. Startled by the
unexpected flash of light, the sphinx was caught
off-guard and became visible to Strata and the six
arcanes. “Get her now, before she recovers!” Strata
shouted. The arcanes nodded silently as they ran
towards the stunned sphinx, her eyes still closed
tightly.

One arcane threw his lasso at the sphinx’s head. The
massive creature gasped when she felt a thick rope
tighten around her neck. She opened her eyes and
growled angrily when she saw the arcane holding the
rope that was around her neck. The sphinx quickly
stood up on her hind legs in an attempt to fling the
arcane away from her. Instead, two more arcanes
lassoed both of her forelegs, preventing her from
striking any of them. “Quick, secure the wings!”
Strata shouted when he saw the sphinx starting to take
off in the air. One of the remaining three arcanes
quickly threw his lasso around the sphinx’s wings.

With her wings tied tightly together, the sphinx came
crashing down to the ground below. “We’ve got her now.
Tie her up!” Strata ordered the six arcanes. The
arcanes all nodded their heads as they quickly went to
work. Three of the arcanes wrapped the ropes tightly
around the sphinx’s muscular legs and massive wings,
while the other arcanes attached the loose ends of the
ropes to the ground with heavy metal stakes and
chains. Suddenly, the sphinx let out a loud, shrill
cry that sounded like a combination between a lion’s
roar and a hawk’s screech...

“This is definitely the same lake I saw in the vision
I had earlier,” Roxie admitted as she stepped onto the
sandy shore of Lake Biwa. “It’s been so long since
I’ve been here last,” Rowen, who was in his sub-armor,
muttered aloud as he gazed out at the body of water
spread out before him and Roxie. “You’ve been here
before? When was that?” Roxie asked curiously as she
looked at Rowen. “During the long battle against Talpa
and his Evil Dynasty, the spirit of the Ancient led me
here in order to discover the spirit of my armor,”
Rowen explained. “Ironically, this is also the very
place where the others solved the last verse of the
poem I told you about, revealing my location in outer
space.”

Roxie was about to say something when she noticed some
slight movement on the opposite shore. “Rowen, look!
Over there!” Roxie announced as she pointed at the
other side of Lake Biwa. “It has to be Strata,” Rowen
muttered thoughtfully. “We better check it out. Hang
on, Roxie.” “All right,” Roxie replied as she wrapped
her arms around Rowen’s neck. In just moments, a
hollow sphere of dark blue light encompassed Rowen and
Roxie and lifted them a few feet in the air. Roxie
tightened her grip around Rowen’s neck slightly as
they rocketed across the freshwater lake, just inches
away from the water’s surface. “There he is!” Rowen
announced when he recognized his evil clone on the
opposing shoreline, standing next to the sphinx that
Roxie described from her vision.

“Tighten those ropes!” Strata ordered the arcanes. As
he watched the arcanes pull the black ropes even more
taunt, Strata spotted a small dot of dark blue light
coming from the lake. “Hmm?” Strata murmured to
himself as he turned around and stared out at the
lake. Strata looked through the binoculars and scowled
angrily to himself when he saw who was in the distant
orb of dark blue light. “It’s Rowen of Strata, and
that annoying kokoro of air is with him. I don’t know
how they discovered our plan, but they won’t live to
stop me!” Strata quickly dropped the binoculars,
grabbed his bow, and fired a bombardment of arrows at
the dot of dark blue light.

“Rowen, look out!” Roxie shouted. Rowen looked up and
saw the several incoming arrows heading towards him
and Roxie. “Hold on!” Rowen instructed as he used his
willpower to steer the orb of dark blue light back and
forth, avoiding most of the arrows. A few arrows
barely nicked the orb, but that didn’t slow down the
two friends. “Let’s see them try to avoid this!”
Strata muttered angrily as he loaded another arrow in
his bow. “ARROW SHOCK WAVE!” “Oh, no!” Rowen gasped
when he recognized the massive blast of yellow energy
heading towards him and Roxie. From the shore, Strata
watched as his attack apparently found its target,
resulting in a huge explosion and a massive column of
water rising high above the surface of Lake Biwa.

“Ha! They’re finished!” Strata admitted boastfully
with a sinister chuckle. He abruptly stopped laughing
when he saw the dark blue orb emerge unscathed from
the column of water. “It can’t be! They shouldn’t have
survived!” Strata gasped out of shock as the orb
landed on the shore just a few yards away from him.
“Roxie, take cover,” Rowen instructed, pointing at the
nearby forest. “All right, Rowen,” Roxie agreed as she
quickly ran over to the bordering trees. “I don’t know
what you’re up to, Strata, but you won’t get away with
it!” Rowen proclaimed as he held up his clenched fist.
“Armor of Strata! DAO INOCHI!”

“I’m warning you now, Strata. Only one of us will walk
away from this fight,” Rowen announced as he took out
his bow. “Well, what you waiting for? Let’s get it
on!” Strata retorted menacingly. In just moments, a
shower of golden arrows rained down on both Rowen and
Strata. Roxie, who was watching everything from behind
an old oak tree, gasped slightly when she saw three of
the arcanes sneaking up behind Rowen with their spears
drawn. “I have to stop them before they get to Rowen,”
Roxie told herself as she concentrated on the three
pale creatures. “WHIRLWIND!” The arcanes struggled to
walk through the powerful wind, but one by one, they
each got picked up by the intense winds and thrown
into the nearby lake.

“That should take care of them,” Roxie muttered to
herself. She turned her head and looked at the massive
sphinx restrained by the thick black ropes. After a
few moments of staring at the mythical creature, Roxie
started experiencing feelings of guilt and pity
towards the sphinx, who was struggling against her
bindings. “That poor thing. She shouldn’t be tied up
like that,” Roxie whispered solemnly as she headed
over to the sphinx, being careful to avoid some of the
stray arrows from the ongoing battle between Rowen and
Strata. The sphinx slowly lifted her head when she
heard footsteps approaching and growled a warning.

“Take it easy there. I’m here to help you,” Roxie
assured the sphinx as she reached for the rope around
the sphinx’s neck. She never noticed the three
remaining arcanes sneaking up on her from behind the
sphinx. The sphinx spotted the three arcanes in the
corner of her eye and, using her tail, knocked the
arcanes into the water. Roxie heard the screams and
turned towards the lake just in time to see the
remaining arcanes hit the water with a huge splash.
“Muchas gracias,” Roxie replied as she finished
untying the rope around the sphinx’s neck and started
working on the rope securing the sphinx’s left front
paw...

“Had enough, Rowen of Strata?” Strata asked
sarcastically as he panted a bit, with numerous beads
of sweat running down his face. Both warriors were
starting to show signs of fatigue. “No way!” Rowen
proclaimed in between gasps of air, his face soaked in
perspiration. “I’ll never give up to the likes of
you!” Suddenly, Rowen noticed a massive shadowy figure
standing behind Strata. “What the...” Rowen murmured
under his breath as he took a few steps back. “What’s
the matter, Rowen of Strata? Giving up already?”
Strata asked sinisterly, unaware of the huge shadow
standing behind him. He withdrew an arrow from his
quiver, loaded it into his bow, and aimed the arrow at
Rowen’s unprotected face. “Prepare to say goodbye to
this world!”

Before Strata could fire his arrow at Rowen, he
suddenly felt the presence of something standing
behind him. He turned around and gasped loudly when he
recognized the sphinx, completely free of her
restraints. She was staring down at him with anger
burning in her golden yellow cat’s eyes. “Oh, great!”
Strata muttered angrily under his breath as the sphinx
lifted one of her massive paws. Before she could
strike him, Strata teleported away. “This isn’t over,
Rowen of Strata! We shall meet again and finish what
we’ve started!” Strata’s voice echoed. “I’ll look
forward to that day,” Rowen muttered out loud. He
heard large footsteps and saw that the sphinx was
approaching him. Uncertain whether the creature was
good or evil, Rowen cautiously reached for an arrow
from his quiver.

“Rowen, don’t hurt her!” Roxie shouted. Startled from
hearing Roxie’s voice, Rowen stopped what he was doing
and looked up at his friend, who was sitting behind
the sphinx’s massive head. “Roxie, what do you think
you’re doing?” Rowen asked suspiciously as Roxie
climbed off of the sphinx’s back. “It’s okay, Rowen.
She’s on our side,” Roxie revealed as she approached
Rowen. The two friends looked back up at the sphinx,
who was sitting on her hind legs, like a cat would.
The sphinx bowed her head deeply and spoke in a deep
noble voice, “My thanks to you, Rowen of Strata, for
saving my life.” “You...you can talk?” Rowen stuttered
out of astonishment. “Of course I can, Rowen of
Strata,” the sphinx replied as she raised her head.

“How do you know my name?” Rowen asked curiously as he
put away his bow. “I recognize the armor that you’re
wearing as the true armor of Strata,” the sphinx
explained. “Although that imposter that attempted to
capture me wore armor similar to your own, I sensed
the aura of evil surrounding it and knew it couldn’t
be the real Ronin armor of Strata.” “How do you know
about Rowen’s armor?” Roxie asked curiously. “Many
years ago, I witnessed the death of an armor shell
belonging to a evil demon and the birth of nine new
armors, including your own, Rowen of Strata,” the
sphinx revealed. “It was shortly after the defeat of
this evil demon by the hands of the guardian of your
world. It was the greatest battle the world had ever
seen between the forces of good and evil.”

“She’s definitely telling the truth, Roxie,” Rowen
verified. “Our armors were created from Talpa’s armor,
along with the armors of the four Dark Warlords, by
the Ancient. Until his death, he was the guardian of
our world.” “His spirit still watches over you, Rowen
of Strata, along with the four other Ronin Warriors,”
the sphinx added. “I even know of the kokoro that
resides inside of you, Roxanna Rodriguez.” “How do you
know about all of this?” Rowen asked curiously. “I
visit your planet every one hundred years. During my
visits here, I collect vast amounts of an item that I
consider to be of great value,” the sphinx explained.
“And what is that?” Roxie asked. “I collect
knowledge,” the sphinx revealed. “I’ve witnessed many
of your planet’s historical events over the
centuries.”

“Do you think that maybe that’s why Strata and those
strange creatures were trying to capture the sphinx?”
Roxie asked Rowen. “That’s a possibility,” Rowen
agreed. “I’m sure that Dulcea could find a way to use
that knowledge to her advantage.” “Excuse me for so
abrupt, but I must be going now,” the sphinx
interrupted as she stood up on all fours. “I shouldn’t
stay here. That imposter might come back for me. Also,
I must explore your world and see for myself what has
changed in a hundred years.” “We understand,” Rowen
replied. As Rowen and Roxie started to walk to the
forest, the sphinx shouted, “Rowen of Strata! Before
you go, may I have a word with you in private?” “Well,
I don’t see why not,” Rowen replied.

“I’ll be waiting by the main road, okay, Rowen?” Roxie
asked. “All right, Roxie,” Rowen agreed. As Roxie
disappeared into the forest, Rowen approached the
sphinx and asked, “So what did you need to speak to me
about?” “In exchange for your heroic deed, Rowen of
Strata, I wish to give you something,” the sphinx
revealed. “Thanks, but I can’t accept anything,” Rowen
declined. “All I have to offer you is the knowledge I
have gathered over the centuries,” the sphinx
explained. “Before I leave, perhaps I can offer some
advice on a certain problem you’re experiencing.”
“What problem?” Rowen asked, although he knew what the
answer was going to be. “You seek inspiration, don’t
you, Rowen of Strata?” the sphinx asked.

“Yes, I suppose I do,” Rowen reluctantly admitted.
“There is no shame in that, Rowen of Strata,” the
sphinx told Rowen. “Over my numerous visits to this
planet, I have seen many great literary and scientific
minds struggle with their works due to their conflicts
with inspiration, such as Albert Einstein, William
Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, and Leonardo daVinci.
Inspiration is a very strange thing. It affects
different people in different ways, and also comes in
many different forms. To some, inspiration may be a
place, a fond memory, a cherished possession, or even
a person that they deeply care for. Rowen of Strata,
you need not look far for your inspiration, for it’s
much closer than you think. Do you understand now?”

“I do understand some of what you’ve told me, but not
all of it,” Rowen revealed. “In time, you will
understand everything I’ve told you. I’m afraid I must
leave you now,” the sphinx announced as she stretched
out her wings. “Before you go, can I ask you
something?” Rowen asked. “Certainly,” the sphinx
replied. “How are you able to observe all of these
historical events without being seen?” Rowen inquired.
“I have been blessed with the power of invisibility,
Rowen of Strata,” the sphinx explained. “There was
only one other time when I have been seen by mortal
eyes, and that was almost five thousand years in a
country called Egypt. Until we meet again, Rowen of
Strata.” With that, the sphinx took off in the air and
soon vanished before Rowen’s eyes...

“How dare you fail me, Strata!” Dulcea shouted
angrily. She was sitting in her throne, with Devaki
standing by her side, staring out at the five Ronin
clones in the room. Dulcea’s eyes were focused on
Strata, who was standing in front of the other Ronin
clones, with his head bowed down in shame. “My
apologies, Lady Dulcea. If Rowen of Strata and the
kokoro of air hadn’t intervened…” Strata started to
explain. “Silence!” Dulcea interrupted loudly. She
looked over at Devaki and asked, “Is it possible to
track down that sphinx, Devaki?” “I’m afraid not, Lady
Dulcea,” Devaki reluctantly admitted. Dulcea’s
expression turned grim as she looked back at Strata
with her piercing dark violet eyes. “Get out of my
sight, Strata! I’ll deal with your punishment later!”

“Yes, Lady Dulcea,” Strata replied solemnly as he
turned around to leave the room. As he passed the
other Ronin clones, Wildfire remarked, “Way to go,
Strata!” “You have made a disgrace of yourself, not to
mention the rest of us!” Halo added with a hint of
venom, with Hardrock and Torrent snickering
sinisterly. “Stop it!” Dulcea commanded loudly. The
Ronin clones immediately kept quiet upon hearing
Dulcea’s words. “I’ve had enough of your childish
bickering! I want all of you out of here, now!” Dulcea
ordered. All five Ronin clones silently nodded their
heads as they filed out of the throne room...

“Come on, Rowen. You can do this,” Rowen told himself.
It was late at night, and Rowen was sitting at his
desk with a pencil and a blank sheet of paper spread
out in front of him. After a few minutes of complete
silence, Rowen groaned loudly out of frustration and
slammed his closed fist on the top of the desk. “This
is hopeless! I can’t think of anything to write! I
wish I knew what the sphinx meant about my inspiration
being closer than I think.” Rowen closed his eyes for
a few moments, thinking hard about something to write,
but he couldn’t come up with anything. As he opened
his eyes, Rowen muttered to himself, “I just need to
clear my head. Perhaps some fresh air will help me.”

With that idea in mind, Rowen stood up, approached his
window, and reached for the cord to open his blinds.
Before he could finish opening his blinds, Rowen
noticed the lights coming on in Roxie’s bedroom. Roxie
entered the bedroom, wearing a bathrobe over her
nightgown. Rowen watched Roxie as she took off her
robe, hung it on a hook on her bedroom door, and
turned off the lights. “What am I doing?” Rowen asked
himself as he slowly walked away from the window and
back to his desk. “Roxie’s my friend. I shouldn’t be
staring at her like that.” Suddenly, Rowen was
surprised when words and ideas started coming to him
like an opened floodgate. “So, that’s what the sphinx
meant,” Rowen realized as he sat down at his desk and
started writing...

“Nice job,” Mrs. Rose replied as one of her students
handed in his poetry assignment to her. She looked up
at the rest of students and asked, “Who would like to
read their poem next?” “I’ll go, Mrs. Rose,” Roxie
volunteered as she willingly raised her hand. “Go
ahead, Roxanna,” Mrs. Rose instructed. Roxie stood up
from her desk, walked to the front of the classroom,
and turned around to face her fellow classmates. “My
poem is called ‘The Head of the House,’ ” Roxie
announced to the class. She cleared her throat a bit
before she started to read from the piece of paper she
was holding in her hand:

“A man’s head is a house. The brain, the attic, where
memories, locked away, are released by an unexpected
visit. The mouth, the downstairs living room, where
thoughts and good conversation come out and can change
a life forever. The nose, the kitchen, where good
smells arise and trigger tremendous sensations and
thoughts. The ears, the doors, where news and good
company enter your happy home. The skull and hair, the
insulation and roof, where terrors from the outside
are blocked to never enter. The eyes, bedroom windows,
where children gaze at the stars, and contemplate
their dreams.”

“Good work, Roxanna,” Mrs. Rose admitted as some light
clapping filled the room. “Thank you, Mrs. Rose,”
Roxie replied as she handed her paper to Mrs. Rose
before returning back to her desk. Mrs. Rose looked up
at the clock hanging above the classroom door and
realized that there was only five minutes left before
class ended. “We have just enough time for one more
poem. Who would like to go last?” Silence filled the
room for a few moments before Rowen hesitantly raised
his hand and announced, “I’ll do it, Mrs. Rose.”
“Okay, Rowen. Come on up here,” Mrs. Rose instructed.
Rowen nodded silently as he got up from his desk and
approached the front of the classroom. “Whenever
you’re ready, Rowen,” Mrs. Rose told him.

“All right,” Rowen muttered under his breath as he
turned to face the classroom full of students. “My
poem is entitled ‘It Wasn’t Like This Yesterday.’ ”
Rowen took in a deep breath before he started reading
his poem. “No, it wasn’t like this yesterday. The sky
was pale and gray. The wind was cold and flowers
slept, and music was far away. It wasn’t like this
yesterday. My dreams were kept at bay. Today, I found,
to my surprise, the sky an azure blue. The wind was
warm, the flowers abound, and music, loud and true.
No, it wasn’t like this yesterday. Yesterday, there
wasn’t you.” “That was an excellent job, Rowen,” Mrs.
Rose confessed. “Thank you, Mrs. Rose,” Rowen replied.
Just then, the bell rang, ending class for the day.

“For those of you who haven’t read their poems today,
you’ll be going next Monday. Have a nice day,
everyone,” Mrs. Rose announced as everyone gathered
their things and left the classroom. “I enjoyed
hearing that poem you wrote for class, Roxie,” Rowen
confessed as the two friends left the classroom
together. “That was very clever of you to compare the
rooms of a house with certain portions of a person’s
head.” “Thank you, Rowen,” Roxie replied. “I like that
poem you wrote, too. You must have put a lot of
thought and consideration into your work. I had no
idea you were such a romantic at heart.”

“Umm...thanks, Roxie,” Rowen stuttered as he felt his
face growing hot with embarrassment. “I have to go to
my locker. I’ll see you later, Rowen,” Roxie revealed
as she headed down a separate hallway. “Thank you,
Roxie…for being my inspiration,” Rowen thought to
himself with a small smile on his face as he headed
down the hallway...