Slayers: A Heart of Darkness-Prologue
Disclaimer: I do not own The Slayers in any way, shape or form.
The darkened chamber flickered dully with the light of a dozen candles strewn about it, trappings of a laboratory all around, a metal slab in the center with an unconscious young woman laid out upon it. She couldn't be any older than seventeen, around five foot seven with long, raven black hair…and was currently completely naked. A man dressed in black robes approached the table, a wavy bladed knife in his left hand. He wasn't much older than the young woman, with short blond hair and dark blue eyes that contained a gleam of madness in their depths.
"Soon, my dear, you shall be my willing slave…"
0o0o0o0o0
Xellos sighed wearily, the mazoku currently seated across the elder of a village nestled in the in the mountains north of Seyruun, sharing a quiet drink, though the self proclaimed Mysterious Priest preferred tea himself. The old man was currently explaining to him the existence of a certain mage who lived in a fortress in the peaks above the village, known for stirring up trouble constantly with his experiments.
"One time the bastard had summoned a Brass demon, can you believe that?" The old man shook his head, taking a sip of his ale. "Had to hire a sorcerer to come and kill the damn thing." Xellos nodded, looking convincingly sympathetic. "Don't know what business a priest like you has with such a man, but it's none of my concern." Suddenly the whole building shook violently, a massive explosion sounding from outside. "What in the hell was that?!" Xellos followed him out into the street, frowning slightly at the pillar of black smoke rising from a crevice in the mountains.
"Oh, dear," he began quietly, one lavender eye cracking open a bit, "it would seem your resident mage has made one delightful mess." The elder shot him a glare, evidently not finding the situation delightful at all.
"Are you mad?!" He raved, pointing up at the smoke. "Who knows what that lunatic has conjured up this time?!" He turned away, missing the priest's smirk.
"What indeed?" He murmured, eyes opening to stare up at the mountain. "Seems I won't be bored for much longer…"
0o0o0o0o0
The general-priest looked around the blasted, devastated crater that had once been a fortress; eyes open as he examined everything in sight. The blast had been terribly powerful, almost as if someone had cast the Dragon Slave…but even that would leave behind rubble. There was simply nothing left, not even ash.
"Well, this is certainly a setback," Xellos murmured, not looking pleased. "There's no sign of it anywhere…wait." He crouched down, finding a set of footprints in the dirt outside the crater. "Hmmm, at least one person survived." His eyes drifted shut, his infamous smile appearing on his face. "Perhaps they have it with them." He doubted it, but it was certainly worth a shot. He followed the trail down out of the crevice and into the forest below, scanning the area for any signs of human life…and then he tripped. Xellos, general-priest of Zelas Metallium herself, tripped and fell flat on his face. He got up in an instant, brushing himself off; glad no one had been nearby to witness the event. The mazoku looked down, frowning at what he saw. His eyebrows shot up into his hairline, the only visible sign he was surprised. "Isn't that interesting?"
0o0o0o0o0
Lina Inverse, self proclaimed beautiful sorcery genius and Gourry Gabriev, dumb as a brick sword swinger and her unofficial bodyguard, sat in a tavern in Atlas city, Lina scanning over a letter that had just arrived for them.
"So, what is it, Lina?" Gourry asked, curious as he nursed a tankard of ale, the two already having eaten, the blond man having changed little in the past two years since they, Zelgadis and Amelia had stopped the return of Dark Star. The sorceress, having grown a bit in stature and bust, though not a lot, frowned slightly, setting down the sheet of parchment with a sigh.
"Zel and Amelia are getting married next week," she replied softly, her companion grinning like the idiot he was.
"That's great!" He exclaimed, Lina unable to help herself as she smiled at his enthusiasm. "So, what are we going to get them?" The innocent question had Lina frowning deeply in thought.
"Well, it can't be just any old thing," she murmured, playing with her fork idly. "I mean, it's their wedding…what can we get them that would be good enough?" Gourry looked to be in thought as well, though he wasn't able to come up with anything off the top of his head. The pair was soon interrupted, an older gentleman looking to be in his mid-fifties approaching their table, dressed in fine silks and wearing a gold band on each wrist.
"Excuse me for intruding, but I couldn't help overhear that the two of you are in search of a wedding gift for your friends," he rumbled, his voice slightly dry from age. "I happen to have a map in my possession that may be of some use to you." Lina looked at him, her skepticism evident.
"Yeah, what's it to?" She asked, managing to sound at least polite. The merchant, what else could he be, smiled at her question.
"An ancient ruin in the area, where stories tell a crystal of surpassing beauty is kept," he announced, Gourry and Lina exchanging a look.
"How much do you want for it?" The blond swordsman asked, looking intrigued. The merchant looked to him, producing said map.
"Twenty gold pieces," he replied, Lina rolling her eyes…then Gourry dropped the gold on the table.
"We'll take it," he stated firmly, his tone saying he wouldn't be persuaded otherwise. The old man took the gold and laid the map on the table between them.
"Good luck in your search, then, strangers," he said on his way out, Lina staring at Gourry in surprise.
"What?" He asked at her look, finishing off his ale. "We need to get them a gift, and this crystal sounds like it would make a good one." The sorceress shook her head, sighing in resignation.
"You're pretty set on this, aren't you?" She asked quietly, the blond nodding in confirmation. "Alright, then, why waste any time?" She got to her feet and headed for the door, Gourry following closely behind. "We have a crystal to find!"
0o0o0o0o0
The merchant watched the two leave town, a pleased smile spreading across his wrinkled face.
"Perfect."
A/N: yes, same story just redoing it a bit. Anyway, tell me what you think, even if you hate it. Laters!