After a few hours of walking, a chaotic, yet familiar sight came into my view. A war. People with swords and spears were clashing against each other in a coordinated frenzy. Knowing from experience, I trusted my instincts and calmly entered the fray. Noticing the lack of modern weapons, I collect a sword that had been discarded and was lying on the ground. Surprisingly, as I walked through, there was barely anyone who tried to attack me, and the few that did, were swiftly disarmed without injury, and I would continue on. It was when I was able to see a red haired boy, about 16, the same age as my current body, was within a hill of corpses. In his hand was a short-bow with an arrow nocked and ready to be released. I followed my line of sight to where he was aiming, and it was then that I noticed a silver haired girl, around the same age as the red haired boy and me. There were a few knights around her, seemingly an escort. The boy released the first arrow, which embedded itself in a horses neck, and within seconds, he fired a second arrow, hitting a knight directly between the eyes. Understanding that there was nothing I could do, I stood and watched the spectacle unfold. The girl advanced on the boy, who fired his last arrows towards her, which she simply deflected with her longsword. Deciding that I would investigate closer, I slowly and calmly walked towards the duo, hearing part of the conversation.
"…Eleonora Viltaria. And you are?" The girl asked.
"Tigrevurmud Vorn." The boy answered.
"Are you a noble? Of what rank?" Eleonora further questioned.
"Earl." Tigrevurmud answered simply. This put a smile on Eleonora's face.
"Very well, Earl Vorn, from now on, you belong to me as my prisoner of war." She said cheerfully. It was at this point that I made my presence known.
"Interesting display of skill." I comment to the both of them. Eleonora readies her longsword and looks at me curiously. "Relax, if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have known about me at all." This makes her drop her sword stance, but not her guard.
"You are not of Brune, but not Zchted either. Who are you?" Eleonora asks.
"For now, you can call me Vex. As for where I came from, you wouldn't believe me. But I hope you don't mind that I tag along. Don't worry about a horse for me, I can walk for a couple of days without much rest." I say, walking over and picking up Tigrevurmud's bow.
"And what makes you think that you can do whatever you please?" another woman who approached us asks.
"Because…" Un-holstering my pistol, I aim and shoot a nearby tree branch, breaking it off from the rest of the tree. "I could easily take on all your troops and only earn a couple of cuts, maybe a severed finger or two." I say with a glare, before returning to my neutral expression. "If it makes you feel any better, you can put me in a cell." I offer. A sudden gust of wind ruffles my hair, and I put on a curious expression. "That gust of wind was not natural. I have a feeling you were behind it, silver long-sword." I smile as another gust passes by.
"How did you know it was my sword?" Eleonora asks me curiously.
"From what I have learnt throughout my lives, there is no human who can create that kind of phenomenon alone. And you didn't move at all, so I deducted that it was a weapon. The main hint, was your feat with the horse." I elaborate.
"What do you mean 'lives'?" Tigrevurmud speaks up. I look at him in admiration for the tone in which he asked. He held no malice or caution towards my words.
"Considering you asked without any malice, I will answer your question." I begin. "I have died twice. One when I was 37 years of age, and the other was sometime in my 20's." I answer. "But that is enough about me for now. Where are we headed?" I ask.
"Zchted." Eleonora answered me.
When we arrived in Zchted, Tigrevurmud and I were separated and put in different cells. Due to the time of night, and the pace of the march for me, we fell asleep quickly, letting slumber overcome us. It was within that state that something would change within me.
The next morning, the sound of light footsteps, and the cell door opening awake me. I sit up and look to where the sound originated. In the cell across from me, and watched as a woman with golden hair try to wake up Tigrevurmud to no avail. Before I could laugh at the spectacle, the woman drew her sword and put it into his mouth and began radiating a killing intent. It seemed to work, as she then spoke up.
"- So you finally woke up." She said.
"… Good morning." Tigrevurmud, at a loss for words, greeted her simply.
"It is two hours through the day." She replied coldly. Tigrevurmud then studied her eye catching form, before being threatened. "- If you don't wake up properly, I will skewer you."
"… I'm sorry." He said embarrassed. It was then that I stood up from my bed and walked towards the door.
"It could be worse. Besides, this is probably the most comfortable cell I have ever been in." I say overly cheerfully. This comment caught the attention of the two, but I stop them from asking with my next sentence. "Trust me, you don't wanna know."
"Either way, I am surprised you two managed such a good sleep while the soldiers are shouting for your death." The woman says.
"It's one of my special skills." Tigrevurmud says in a half joking manner.
"Hold back a little then. You both lack tension." She replies angrily. That comment gives me a concern, however.
"That actually concerns me." I begin, surprising the woman. "I should have sensed you before the sound of your footsteps alerted me. And that means my powers are either being suppressed somehow, or the energy required does not exist in this world." I say with a frown. "But that's for me to worry about. Why are you here?" I ask her.
"Eleonora has called for you. Please follow me." She says, unlocking my cell door and making her way out. Tigrevurmud and I quickly follow after her.
"It's nice to meet you. I am -" Tigrevurmud tried to greet the woman, only to be interrupted.
"This is not our first meeting, Earl Tigrevurmud Vorn. My name is Limalisha. It is not necessary for you to remember it." She says in a rejecting tone. I put my hand on Tigrevurmud's shoulder and shake my head to say don't worry about it. As Limalisha directed us through a large mansion, Tigre looked around in amazement. She asked him what he was looking around so restlessly for, but his answer surprised her.
"I am a poor noble. There is no point comparing my small mansion to this one." He said with awe in his voice. In the courtyard, soldiers were vigorously training.
"This place has a good atmosphere." I say.
"That is because this is Eleonora's official palace." Limalisha answered. To me, it was reminiscent of Theed Palace on Naboo, just without the Starfighter hanger. We were then escorted to the training grounds, where Eleonora stood with three armed soldiers by her, out of the 40 present.
"Hm. You came." Eleonora said as she walked up to Tigre and I. She then looked towards Limalisha. "You've worked hard. Still, it took you quite some time to come here."
"I apologise. He did not wake up so easily." Limalisha said. She told Eleonora about the whole sword in the mouth thing, and Eleonora had trouble holding back her laughter.
"Even as a captive, you slept so deeply." She said in amazement.
"About that, I appreciate the bed provided. I think it is the first cell I could sleep comfortably in." I thank her. She nodded and turned back to Tigrevurmud.
"Tigrevurmud Vorn, it's quite a long name for a person of Brune. Does it have an origin?" She asks.
"It is an ancestral name that I was given. If you find it difficult, you may call me Tigre." The now dubbed Tigre replies. Eleonora's face then brightened.
"In that case, Elen is fine as well. I would prefer it if you use that name." She says cheerfully. After some more talk between the three, Limalisha's nickname of Lim was brought up, and it stuck. Eventually I spoke up.
"I hope that I can use each nickname as well. Besides, my name can't be shortened so you already know it as a nickname of sorts." I say. Tigre and Elen both were fine with it, but Lim took a bit more persuasion. After further conversation about Tigre's ransom, Elen told us the reason as to why we were brought here. Elen wanted Tigre to shoot an arrow at a target from 300 meters away, which for most people is impossible, but not for Tigre. As he was given the bow however, both he and I noticed a fault.
"What a terrible bow…" Tigre muttered. The material was hardly suitable for a bow, and the condition of the grip was poor as well. The stringing, too, was badly done. The was also some warping. It was clear that someone wanted him to fail. What impressed me, however, was that Tigre simply shrugged and negotiated that he would only have to hit the target with one arrow, making the excuse that he was not as confident with an unfamiliar bow. Smiling, I watch as he fired his first two arrows, one going short and the other hitting the castle wall far away. But before he shot the next arrow, a black shadow appeared in the sky. Tigre then screamed at Elen to get down and I grab my pistol on instinct, drawing it and shooting at the shadow, the sound of my weapon pierced the air just after Tigre released an arrow, which made contact with the shadow mere milliseconds before my bullet passed through his skull, killing him instantly. We were not fast enough to stop the bolt being shot from the shadow, but Elen easily manipulated its trajectory with a single word.
"- Arifal." Her voice was calm and collected as she spoke. Everyone turned their gaze towards us in astonishment. I holster my pistol and walk back to the cells, thinking about what had just happened. My gun had been taken when I surrendered myself. I hadn't even gotten it back, but I had it in my hand. There was a lot for me to think about.