AN-Thanks for keeping up with this story, dear readers! Just a little history note- This story has actually been done for years. I started writing it back when Chronicles 4 and 5 were new, I've just been extremely hesitant about posting it. This is why you haven't seen or heard from any Kamael, and Gracia is only alluded to. You will find some things to be incorrect from where the game is now, as 1. it was merely speculation how things would be for me, and 2. the game world was vastly different back then. If you're new to Lineage 2 within the last expansion or so (and I'll be shocked if you are O_O) this story will be strange for you. :)
Also, make sure you're reading the side stories! While they're side stories, they explain a lot of stuff that's happening in between the main arc installments!
In any case, you can still find my friends and I gaming under these character names in many other MMO's even now, and Haibane is still going strong. :) Look us up sometime, we don't bite. Vlad just may, however...he just may...
-Prologue 1: Gatz Windawood-
It would be nice to begin this tale with something happy. A birth perhaps, or a grand achievement. Sadly, other than a standard childhood filled with average things that one who holds the last name of Windawood would experience, nothing quite ever stood out in Gatz's memories as the thing we're about to recall.
But first, we shall look at the boy to whom we speak of. He is thirteen years old in this memory, and sports short hair the color of rich gold. He has brown eyes, and a pointed chin that was usually seen on Light Elven men, not humans. His eyes are large and point upwards slightly, a common genetic trait amongst the Windawoods.
Most of his life has been spent trailing after his mother, looking after her as she was quite possibly the ditziest creature alive. He loved her dearly though, and found her bursts of childishness comforting.
Living on the outskirts of the Wasteland left Gatz with next to nothing in the way of playmates his age. Although he hesitates to openly admit it in the now, many of his days were spent racing as fast as he could after the tumbleweeds that would blow onto the Windawood manor property. His mother also loved playing dress-up, and would frequently put him in girlish dresses. Never knowing any better, Gatz would go along with it joyfully, happy about his mother's elation over how cute he looked decked out in frills and ribbons.
This went on up until his father employed a poor farming family from Floran to work on the manor property. There was a profit in hunting Monster Eyes, and his father needed someone with the knowledge of how to process the creatures after they were slaughtered. With the family came a boy of Gatz's age with brown skin and strange black hair that shone a bright blonde color.
Naïve in the ways of boys' activities, Gatz eagerly tried to share his ideas of fun with this new person, only to be made fun of immediately for being a 'sissy'. Hurt, as he'd never been teased so harshly before, Gatz withdrew and moped about the manor. The new boy, whose name was Engelbert, began to hang around the older teens that worked the grounds of the manor. The teens were a rough crew, and frequently reprimanded for stealing from the Windawood main house. They encouraged Engelbert to bully Gatz because of the games he played, and soon the gentle boy was coming home with bruises or a split lip.
Brenton Windawood, Gatz's father and brother to Sir Collin, finally took his son aside one day to find out the problem. Disgusted that his son had turned into what he felt was a 'weak waste of a boy', he encouraged his son to stand up to Engelbert. The courage to do so was slow coming, but one day Gatz finally had enough, and got into a fight with Engelbert. Neither one of them won, both equally matched in strength and size, and ended up fighting until they wore each other out. Later on that evening, they both sat on a cliff overlooking the Wasteland, suddenly the best of friends.
They were inseparable after that, and played together every day. Gatz's mother mourned the loss of her own playmate, and took to staying indoors, reading books or daydreaming. So brings us back to the memory now, a bright winter's day where Gatz and Engelbert have just left the manor to play along the outskirts of the Wasteland. It was never cold there, so the boys dressed as one would for summer.
As soon as they were out of sight of the house, Engelbert produced a set of sharpened daggers with a sly grin and gave one to Gatz. He claimed he had taken them from the farmhand boys while they were distracted. Gatz felt uneasy, holding the bronzed blade in his hands. He knew that the farmhands had to have stolen them from his father in the first place, but Engelbert prodded and jeered until Gatz agreed to play with them for a little while.
The boys began to pretend they were the Grand Pirate Zaken and Chief Mate Tillion, thinking they were acting out the fateful night that turned the entire island into undead. Always the selfish thinking one, Engelbert insisted on being Zaken.
The boys clanged the daggers together as if they were swords, and took their swashbuckling play-battle up a ledge to a cliff. Getting into the battle, Gatz never noticed that he was pushing his friend dangerously close to the edge. His friend swiped the dagger across Gatz's face unexpectedly, slicing open the skin under his eye, and Gatz jumped back in shock. Engelbert smirked at him triumphantly for but a moment before the rocks he stood on crumbled from beneath his feet.
Gatz gasped and darted for his friend's hand, but grabbed the dagger blade instead. He released it with a yelp, the blade cutting into his skin. Engelbert's body turned mid-fall, and he landed precariously on the hand that held the blade. From where he stood on the upper ledge, Gatz stared in shock as dark red blood seeped out from beneath his friend and stained the rust-colored dirt a darker color.
The death of Engelbert was a controversy that Brenton worked hard to keep quiet. Engelbert's parents were outraged, and blamed Gatz for his death, not believing that it had been merely an accident. Word spread despite Brenton's efforts, and soon officials from the Lord of Dion and Gludio paid Windawood Manor a visit, requesting that Gatz be handed over to them to be tried as an adult in court.
Knowing that Gatz would never get a fair trial as a pre-teen and just be instantly shipped off to the Execution Grounds, Brenton instead worked with his brother Collin to find a way around Dion and Gludio's legal system. Sir Collin had often boasted of his former colleague and their brother-in-law, Sir Cedric, and the school he had established on Talking Island for people looking to learn the path of the sword. Trusting his brother's word, Brenton sent Gatz under the cover of night to Talking Island, giving his brother full guardianship of his son. He then convinced the officials that Gatz had run away from home upon hearing the news of being handed over to the court, and had met his fate in the Ants Nest. His mother, believing the news, slipped into a kind of dementia and began to believe that she never had a son, and was waiting for her 'daughter' to return.
And thus, Gatz Windawood became his own cousin, as Sir Collin secretly adopted the boy without him knowing. The Gatz Windawood that was the son of Brenton Windawood was dead, and people believed that Sir Collin had an illegitimate child with a woman of unknown origin and just happened to name him the same name that his brother had chosen for his son. Sir Cedric raised his eyebrow at this story, but asked no questions and took the boy into his school.
Afraid to stand out, not knowing that the legal officials were no longer on his trail, Gatz tried to mold himself into what he thought everyone else was. He wanted to be liked, and not hated as he had been his final days at the manor. The result was that he made himself practically invisible to everyone, save one knight-in-training named Ryonai.
Ryonai was the closest thing Gatz had to a friend on the island, but the boys were in different classes and didn't see each other very often. Ryonai filled Gatz in on life on Talking Island, sticking mostly to the stories of all the girls in his life. He seemed to be particularly fond of a ten-year old named Komugi, and spoke often of the little flirty panty flashes she'd give him while running past. He tried to hook Gatz up with a classmate of Komugi's by the name of Koyori, but Gatz found he couldn't stand the girl and broke off their half-date before it'd even started.
Halfway through his first year on Talking Island, Gatz began to feel his first pangs of jealousy. Sir Collin seemed to be impressed by a boy in Ryonai's class named Leon. He was older than Ryonai and Gatz, and kept to himself more than Gatz even did. His entire focus in life seemed to be his swordplay. Gatz attempted a few times to be friendly with him while the classes combined for group study, but the only things that would ever come from Leon's mouth would be methods to improve his swordplay. Whenever Gatz would excel at something in his courses, Sir Collin would congratulate him, and then tell him a story of how Leon did at the same test or exercise. Gatz began to find himself compared to Leon more often than he'd like, and began to think bitterly of the teen despite himself.
During the start of his second year, Gatz decided to prove that he could do something better than Leon and excel in the exams that would promote him to the next class. The task was killing Elpys and young Keltirs in the Training Hall's courtyard, something that he'd heard Leon had opted out of for some unspoken reason. He ran about the courtyard, searching for Keltir and Elpy to slay, when he spied one just relaxing near the edge of the courtyard. He failed to notice the brown-haired girl from his class trying to feed a slice of carrot to the beast, and ran it through on his sword in front of her. She had burst into tears at the sight of her would-be friend slaughtered, and taken back into the Training Hall leaving Gatz bewildered and guilt-ridden.
He'd attempted to apologize later that evening after dinner, but when he found her she was standing on a beach with Leon pressed against her back as he led her in proper sword form. The sight of them together left him jealous and angry, and he stomped back to the Training Hall to sulk. He'd been trying to figure out a way to apologize to the girl all day, and it upset him to see Leon there when his perfect chance arose. He stood in the courtyard and recalled that the girl's name was Sharmin. He'd never paid her much attention before, as she sat in the back of the book studies class and kept quiet.
Movement caught his eye, and he looked back to the shore to find Leon running into Einhovant's with his sword drawn. Concern over-riding his judgment when he noticed Sharmin was no longer on the beach, Gatz bolted towards Einhovant's as well. He arrived just as a man with slicked back brown hair wielding a bloody sword burst from the school. He slammed into Gatz, bowling him over, and paused long enough to give him a confused look before dashing into the night.
Gatz entered to find Leon picking up a wounded Sharmin from where she had collapsed onto the ground. "What happened to her?" he exclaimed, running over to her to help lift her. Leon held a hand out and halted him, then lifted her, himself. "Should I go alert Cedric?" Gatz tried again, hovering back and forth behind Leon as he walked out of the school and towards town. Sharmin's head rolled against Leon's chest and she moaned and winced. Her eyes were partially open but glassy.
"Does such a question really have to be asked?" Leon murmured. Gatz froze in his steps and watched him go with large eyes, stunned by his response. Feeling ashamed and embarrassed, Gatz growled deep in his throat and kicked a rock at his feet as hard as he could. He let out a breath of air through pursed lips and ran his hands through his hair before dashing in the direction of the school.
He alerted Cedric, who instantly made all of the students return to their dorms, even Gatz himself. Gatz protested, as he wanted to check on Sharmin's condition, but Cedric wouldn't make any allowances for his decision.
Classes were cancelled for a month, and many students either returned to the mainland to their families or were taken into homes if they did not already originate from Talking Island Village. While standing outside of his uncle's house one afternoon, Gatz saw Sharmin and Komugi walk past on a market run. Surprised to see her as he had thought she'd been taken to the mainland for treatment, Gatz followed after them, and called Sharmin's name just before they stepped into the grocer.
"Oh, hi Gatz." Sharmin greeted with a nervous smile. Komugi glanced over her shoulder at him with an annoyed look, agitated that they were being held up.
"I'm going on ahead, I'll be in there waiting." Komugi said, taking the woven grocery basket from Sharmin and walking inside the store. This left the pair in an awkward kind of silence as Gatz tried desperately to think of something to talk about.
"I uh…didn't know you lived here." Gatz finally managed out.
"I've lived here since I was four." Sharmin responded, tilting her head at him curiously. Gatz kicked himself inwardly as the silence returned immediately after. He didn't know why he was so nervous all of a sudden, Sharmin was his classmate!
"Oh sorry I uh…I didn't know." Gatz mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Sharmin smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder in a friendly manner.
"That's ok; you just moved here recently, didn't you? It takes awhile to get used to a new place. I still remember being awkward my first day in the village." Sharmin said. It was now that Gatz's fourteen year old heart thudded once, very hard, at the sight of Sharmin's smile. It was warm, and it struck him as the prettiest smile he'd ever seen.
"Sharmin, come on!" Komugi shouted from the doorway. "Stop flirting and let's get this over with, I'm hungry!" Sharmin whipped back around quickly, her cheeks pink.
"I'm not flirting!" She exclaimed. She sighed heavily and lifted her long dress from trailing in the dust. "Sorry, I have to go. My sister is evil when she's hungry." Sharmin apologized. Desperation crept into Gatz's chest, and his mind quickly tried to think of a way to keep her attention just a few moments longer.
"I'm really glad you're ok." He blurted out. Sharmin stopped to look at him for a moment with large eyes before smiling warmly again.
"Thanks." She said before walking into the store. Gatz was left staring at her back as it disappeared into the grocer's, a blush plain on his face and his heart thudding.
He was lost in thought the rest of the evening after that. He'd never had a crush on anyone before, but according to Ryonai, one was left with the feeling of wanting to do all sorts of romantic, lustful things to someone. Gatz tested Ryonai's theory and ended up having the maid draw him water for a cold bath. Indeed, he had a sudden, unexplainable crush on Sharmin.
The days went by, and Gatz mulled over his feelings. They only seemed to grow and intensify as the days went on, and Gatz found himself feeling pangs of jealousy every time Sharmin would even smile politely at his uncle. He wanted to possess Sharmin for himself, he wanted her to smile at him, laugh with him, hold his hand and… He smacked his cheeks and forced himself to change his thoughts, not wanting to take another cold bath. After classes were brought back in session he made up his mind; he was going to confess his feelings to Sharmin. Cowardice brought him short however, how was he going to go about doing that? There was only one person he knew who knew how to talk to girls, and the only one he felt comfortable going to for advice; Ryonai.
"Forget it." Ryonai responded one morning as the boys did their exercises before class. Gatz paused mid-stretch to gape at him.
"What, why?" Gatz asked, surprised that his friend would deny him help.
"Just a waste of time, Fish Face is pretty dense." Ryonai said with a shrug, and then began doing crunches. "Why don't you go after Koyori or something? She's girlier and will be easy to confess to in the end."
"I don't like Koyori, she's annoying as hell." Gatz mumbled, glaring at the brown-haired teen. "Just tell me how one normally goes about confessing to a girl and I'll wing it from there." He tried again, giving Ryonai a pleading look. Ryonai sighed heavily and stood straight.
"I'll tell you this much, Gatz," He began seriously, "confessing to a girl like Fish Face is something that not even I've perfected, and I've had ten years of trying." Gatz stared at him, stunned speechless.
"You mean, you also like Shar…" Ryonai shushed Gatz before he could continue by clapping a hand over his mouth.
"You will not repeat that aloud ever if you so value your immortal soul." Ryonai said in a low voice, glaring at Gatz. "If I ever hear that sentence come from your mouth in any form, you will be subjected to multitudes of pain that I can't even begin to spell out for you, understand?" Gatz nodded behind his hand, his eyes large. "Good."
"But why haven't you pursued her if you…y'know?" Gatz prodded again, curious despite himself. Ryonai shrugged and picked up the sweat towel from where he'd deposited it in the grass.
"Up until a few years ago I did nothing but tease her. I guess I kind of blew my chances." He said in a light voice. "No worries though, I've got a multitude of other hot chicks to choose from, so I'm not hurting too bad." He paused and stared into the air with a sort of wistful expression on his face. "I'll probably always be fond of her though; she kinda gets under your skin like that, annoying fish head that she is…" He gave Gatz a thin-lipped smile and clapped him on his shoulder. "Just trust me when I say, it's useless to confess to her. I'm saying that as your buddy, not as a potential jealous rival." He walked ahead of Gatz, who frowned at the back of Ryonai's head as it disappeared into the training hall.
Gatz was irritable the rest of the day after his conversation with Ryonai. If Ryonai didn't have any interest in pursuing Sharmin, then why was it that he was telling him to forget about her? It irked him, but not quite as much as one of the guards forcing him to retrieve his uncle from his favorite hiding place outside of town.
Sir Collin was the governor of Talking Island and notorious for disappearing from his office when there was work to be done. It seemed the students at Cedrics were the only ones who knew his favorite place to hide too; at the base of a statue erected an hour of foot travel from town called the Obelisk of Victory. He tried in vain to convince his uncle to return to town, but the older man seemed intent on remaining on his bottom underneath the statue. Fully agitated, Gatz stomped back to town, nearly stepping on the toes of a silver haired Light Elf that looked at him in surprise.
Sharmin bumped into him as he passed Einhovant's after stopping in town and telling Sir Collin's assistant that he couldn't be found. She was frightened, running away from a Dark Elf that was for some reason hiding out inside the darkened mystic's school. Gatz tried to bravely confront the object of Sharmin's fright to protect her, but got his pride shot into the mud by being swiftly compared to Leon. It puzzled him how the Dark Elf knew of Leon, but the effect of the comparison was still the same.
Trying to bandage his pride, he decided to walk Sharmin back to the Training Hall in an attempt to offer some sort of protection. She seemed so discontent within herself, and he restrained himself several times from just grabbing her and hugging her close. A voice spoke up inside his head and urged him to take that moment and confess his feelings to her. Right before he got it out however, Sharmin noticed Ryonai kissing her sister behind the school and swiftly moved to break them up. Obviously angry at being interrupted, Komugi took that moment to fire acidic retorts back at Sharmin, and during such revealed that Sharmin had a long-time crush on Leon.
"I'm sorry man, I told you that it was useless to try and confess to her." Ryonai murmured to him as both Sharmin and Komugi fled in opposite directions after their spat. He gave his friend a pitying look and patted him on the shoulder. "She's had a crush on DiValmont for years, probably even took up the sword to be closer to him. Don't sweat it though, Leon's leaving with me on the boat tomorrow, you'll have Sharmin all to yourself then so…"
"I need to be alone right now." Gatz interrupted in a low voice. He walked away from his friend and to the edge of the courtyard that overlooked the ocean. He picked up a rock and hurled it into the waves with all of the strength he had. Finding that the exertion felt good, he picked up another, and another. His mind was strangely devoid of all thought, and he only focused on relieving his anger.
Leon and the Light Elf from earlier came walking towards the Training Hall a bit later, and stared at him curiously. The sight of Leon ignited his temper just as it had begun to cool, and he stalked away from them as quickly as he could. He disappeared into the Training Hall and began to beat up one of the sword dummies to calm down. He punched it as hard as he could with his bare hands, the rough rope covering the wood scraping and biting his knuckles until they were raw. He finally exhausted himself after a few minutes, and returned to the courtyard.
The Light Elf emerged from the Training Hall a half-hour later, and began to beat up the tree that Gatz had seated himself against with her sword. Hearing the tree suddenly being chopped to bits with metal startled Gatz, and he froze to his spot, terrified confusion keeping him from moving. A splinter broke off of the tree and pierced his cheek, the pain bringing him out of his stupor enough to look up at the Light Elf in horror. Feeling instantly guilty, the Light Elf seated herself next to him to begin working the splinter from his skin.
Desperate for a female figure to talk to, Gatz opened up to the stranger, to find out what he would do next with Sharmin. He couldn't figure out how Sharmin could still have a crush on Leon after all of those years when he never showed an interest in her in return. Sadly, the Light Elf's response for him just left the situation even more confusing, and he regretted asking her in the first place.
After she excused herself for the night, Gatz sat alone until the moon had fully risen in the sky, lost in thought. He tried to find something good in the situation, and recalled Ryonai saying that Leon was leaving for the mainland tomorrow. His spirits instantly lifted; he'd have plenty of time to spend with Sharmin then! Eager for tomorrow, Gatz pushed himself to his feet, that one simple thing wiping away all of the anger and discomfort he'd felt for the past three hours.
"Ah, Young Windawood, there you are." Cedric's voice came as Gatz entered the school. Gatz froze mid-step and stared at his headmaster with large eyes. "It seems that this letter was delivered to me by mistake from the mainland. I unfortunately didn't notice the addressee and took the liberty of reading it." Cedric handed Gatz a yellow parchment with a broken wax seal upon it. "So I take it Sir Collin isn't your real father?" Cedric asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"What?" Gatz gaped, unsure if he heard Cedric correctly. The letter he held was from his father, saying that his mother was ill and that he needed to visit home. He further went on to say that it was safe, and Engelbert's family had long since moved back to Floran. Nobody left would remember the accidental death, and he was safe from the law.
"Walk with me for a moment, my boy." Cedric said, putting an arm across Gatz's shoulders. He led Gatz through the school towards the dormitory. "I'm a bit miffed at Sir Collin for not confiding this situation with me in the first place. I could've used my connections in Aden and cleared your name without him having the hassle of adopting you."
"Wait…what?" Gatz repeated again, his voice cracking.
"Ah so he didn't tell you." Cedric said in a pitying voice. "No wonder you've been having a hard time living up to everyone's expectations. Legally you're Sir Collin's son now, not Brenton's. To put it bluntly, this means you're next in line for governing Talking Island according to former King Raoul's law, and you have a strict code and set of standards that you must live up to from now on."
The parchment fluttered from Gatz's fingers, and he froze to the spot. Him? A governor? He didn't even know how to coordinate his own wardrobe on a daily basis without looking silly, let alone making decisions for an entire Island!
"Your face looks like Collin's the day King Raoul appointed him to be governor, so I can imagine what you're thinking. I suppose that Obelisk will become your favorite hiding spot as well when you go into office." Cedric said in amusement. "Anyway, my point in telling you all of this is that as a governor to be, you must go out and make a good example of yourself. The first will be going home on that ship tomorrow and visiting your mother." Awareness returned to Gatz's numbed brain and he finally focused on Cedric.
"But I can't!" he said desperately. "I…I have to stay here!"
"And why is that? Are you ill?" Cedric asked, lifting an eyebrow. Wanting to lie but finding he was unable while Cedric held him in his authoritive stare, Gatz shifted uneasily.
"No, but…" he mumbled, but never finished his sentence. His chance with Sharmin was slipping away, and he felt helpless to stop it.
"Good, then I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." Cedric said with a smile, patting Gatz on the back before turning away. "You'll be molded into a great leader yet, young Windawood!" He walked down the hallway, waving to Gatz over his head. Gatz turned and shuffled towards his dorm room. He'd lost all time and chances he had now, Sharmin was in her dorm room and the girl's wing was forbidden for boys to enter. Sighing heavily, he opened the door to his room and entered, feeling strangely exhausted all of a sudden.
Gatz left Gludin as quickly as he could after the boat docked. He was again in a sour disposition. As they were leaving the Island harbor, he'd seen Sharmin standing on a cliff, watching the ship depart. She'd shouted something similar to a confession of feelings to Leon from her perch, but it seemed that Gatz had been the only one to hear it. He tried to pry out of the youth if he knew that Sharmin liked him, and what his feelings in return were, but Leon seemed oblivious to it, and his questions only confused him.
The visit to Windawood manor had been emotionally trying for him. His mother no longer recognized him, and kept asking for someone named Condola. It was after one frustrating visit to her room that Brenton took Gatz aside and revealed to him that he once had a twin. His umbilical cord had grown too long and had strangled his sister in utero; she had been born dead.
Being back at Windawood manor, seeing the places where he and Engelbert had once played had been taxing on Gatz's emotions. Learning this new thing drove him into a state of shock. He felt like he was a born killer, and began to doubt his worth as a person. Paying a visit of respect to the manor, Grand Master Ramos of Gludin saw the state the boy was in and reprimanded his father for being so cruel. He told Brenton that his worth had fallen since his wife had grown ill, and he was ashamed to recognize him as a Windawood. He took Gatz back to Gludin and began to privately tutor him in the last of his studies.
Gatz recovered under Ramos' guidance, and quickly excelled ahead to begin his tasks for his first profession. He chose to become a Warrior after talking with Ramos, finding that it suited his personality better than being a Knight or a Rogue. It was a tough decision, as Gatz always thought he was expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, uncle and cousin who passed away while he was young; they had all become Knights and Paladins and were well renowned by all.
His time away from Talking Island extended to two years, and he found his mind wandering back to the tiny Village there, and Sharmin. He didn't think that he still had a crush on her after all of this time, but he was concerned for her well being. Ryonai was right, she did somehow work her way under one's skin.
He began to make preparations to return to Talking Island one morning, and to his surprise ran into Koyori. She latched onto him the instant she saw him, relieved that she was finally with someone familiar again. Gatz tried his hardest to avoid her, but she only seemed to cling harder the more he ran from her.
She decided to accompany him back on the boat, and spent her time chattering at him about gossipy things he could care less of. She spoke frequently of how she was so much farther along in her magic studies than Komugi was. She had made Cleric before her, and planned on rubbing that in her long-time rival's face.
On the boat ride, a drunken passenger recognized Gatz, and made sure to tell everyone that he was to be the next Governor of Talking Island. A strange light fired to life inside of Koyori's eyes, and she latched onto his arm and began greeting people who came to speak with him as if she were his wife. This annoyed him, and he took every chance he could to escape her grip of death.
The instant they arrived at the harbor, however, shouts of distress met everyone on board's ears. Gatz only heard the words 'monster', 'attack' and 'village' before leaping from the boat before it had fully docked. Sword unsheathed, he raced in the direction of the village, worry etched into his face.
He could barely believe what he saw as he came upon the Village. Smoke poured from houses overhead, and he could hear the screams of death and shouts of battle from beyond the walls. Without stopping to assess the situation he charged headfirst through the gates. He blocked an axe blow with his sword the instant he set foot inside of the village. He pushed out of it, and then cut the green-skinned monstrosity across his throat before moving on.
"Sharmin?" he called, but his voice was lost in the shouts and screams. He grabbed a Werewolf by the scruff of its neck as it tried to tear the throat out of an elderly person and stabbed it through its chest. "Sharmin?" he shouted again, dropping the beast to the ground. There was a loud crash and a scream that sounded clearer to his ears than any other noise in the village from the direction Sharmin's house laid, and Gatz raced towards it. His heart leapt into his throat at the sight of Werewolves crawling into the windows. There was another scream and Sharmin's mother tried to launch herself out the window, bloodied and wounded, but was pulled back in before even reaching the window frame.
Gatz took a step towards the house, a look of shock on his face, but stopped as soon as Sharmin ran between the houses. She lacked expression, and was covered in specks of blood. Gatz dashed to her as he realized she meant to enter the home, and grabbed her around her arms to prevent her from seeing what he'd just seen. The rest of the fighters who'd been on the boat came racing in as he struggled to keep her from running into the house, putting an end to the monster's raid.
She passed out after screaming out all of the rage and sadness she felt with knowing that her parents were dead, and Gatz had her and Komugi brought to Sir Collin's house for the night. Not knowing what to do with such a mass of bodies, Sir Collin ordered that they be put in the worst damaged of the homes and burned in one collective funeral service. Sadly, that home was Sharmin's, the state of mutilation her parents had been in too much for anyone to have to clean up. It was a merciful decision on Sir Collin's behalf.
The girls were taken into the home of a woman named Mesella who lived some hours away from the Village. Gatz also stayed with them, trying to make sure they would settle in comfortably. It was during the walks that they'd take to scout the area for Orcs and Spiders that Gatz became aware that his feelings for Sharmin hadn't dissipated in the time they'd been away from each other. In fact, it was as if they'd intensified. There was something about her that he couldn't identify, which left him feeling helpless. He wanted to fix that, and protect her from everything that scared her.
Koyori inserted herself between them not long after the raid, and seemed stubbornly insistent that she'd stay with them as they scouted the area every day. This left Gatz with very little alone time with Sharmin once again, and it frustrated him. He'd purposely run into battle head-first to get as injured as possible, trying to wear the Cleric out from over-healing. Sadly, even while exhausted her will was stronger than expected, and she continued to cling.
One day, several months after the raid, Komugi emerged from the house while Koyori was going through her daily ritual of screeching at Gatz for being reckless, and fired a classic, Komugi-like retort at her. It had been a long time since anyone had heard Komugi be feisty, the raid had left her in a state of lasting shock after realizing her parents were dead and she'd been quiet since moving out of the village. Koyori was instantly distracted, and the girls returned to their classic verbal confrontation. Silently thanking Komugi for taking that moment to recover, Gatz took Sharmin by the hand and led her towards the Waterfalls.
He'd been thinking for a long time on how he would confess his feelings to Sharmin. He was determined to get his feelings across to her this time, no matter what. If she was truly as dense as Ryonai claimed she was, then he had the perfect way to let her know how he felt.
They sat underneath the Waterfall on a moss-covered rock, their conversation drifting towards Komugi and the insecurity Sharmin felt when compared to her. Gatz slowly inched closer to her as they talked, and to his delight she didn't seem to notice or mind. Hearing a noise behind them, he glanced over his shoulder to find who else but Leon himself killing spiders on a path some distance away from the falls. Cursing all of the luck, Gatz took that moment right then to take Sharmin by the chin and kiss her. It seemed to do the trick on letting her know his emotions, because she looked at him in surprise as he pulled away.
Feeling cocky because he'd laid claim to Sharmin, Gatz stood and confronted Leon. Sharmin reprimanded him for the insults that came from his mouth, and Gatz's heart fell as he realized his kiss had done nothing to sway her own feelings towards him, she was still as stubbornly rooted in her feelings for Leon as she'd always been. He left the Waterfall without a word, leaving Sharmin alone to reunite with Leon.
Depressed, Gatz decided on his walk back to the house that he could never match up to Leon in Sharmin's eyes. He bit back tears of humiliation and began making preparations to leave. Sharmin returned with Leon and two Elves, one the silver-haired Elf he'd seen before, and a new Dark Elf he'd never met.
After dinner he began to finalize his packing, and much to his surprise Sharmin emerged from the house to inquire why he was packing. Gatz made it clear that it was Leon's presence that was causing him to leave, and tried to convince Sharmin to come with him. She declined, claiming it was because of Komugi, but in his heart of hearts, Gatz knew it was because of Leon. He stole another kiss from her before leaving, hoping it would change her mind. She didn't budge however, and Gatz left without even a backwards glance.
Koyori was waiting for him down the path, and convinced him to let her come with, saying he needed a Cleric if he was going to rush headfirst into battle. The idea of staying with her for any extended period of time made him uneasy. He didn't feel like fighting her that night, however, and consented for her to accompany him.
They began to travel about Gludio and Dion territory together, strength training and running errands for townsfolk to make money. Gatz was restless, he felt like he should be doing something of importance, but didn't know what.
In the year that they traveled together, Koyori managed to convince him that he needed her in a way that was more than just a travel companion and healer of his physical wounds, and coaxed him into sharing a bed with her. He would never openly admit it, but the attention of a girl was more comforting than trying to increase his skill and strength, even if that girl was Koyori. His mind was focused completely on Sharmin each time they slept together, however, and more often than naught, Gatz fought back the childish urge to weep in grief over not having her.
Not being able to stand being around Koyori for much longer, Gatz separated from her in Gludin and began his tasks to prove himself worthy enough to become a Warlord. He liked the feel of a spear better than dual swords, and eagerly dove into learning how to wield one. The tasks would take him nearly two years to complete, but he wanted to get a head start just to be free of Koyori's controlling nature.
After nearly completing his first task, Gatz took a detour through the Fellmere Harvesting Grounds as he'd never been to the place before. While wandering about one foggy early morning, he happened across Sharmin lying half dead in the short grass near the Ruins of Agony. She'd been poisoned by what looked like a spider, and was in bad shape.
After force-feeding her some antidote, Gatz carried her to a broken-down house to try and nurse her back to health. A battle of wills took place within him while in her presence again, and he succumbed to her desire for closeness with someone and finally shared a bed with her. She was delirious from the poison, and Gatz was instantly riddled with guilt after all was said and done, as she probably didn't even know it was him.
Knowing that Koyori would come looking for him soon if he didn't hurry back to Gludin, Gatz carried Sharmin towards Windy Hill, hearing that there had been a small farming community there once. He happened across a house and left her outside the door, praying that the person inside would find her and care for her.
Time seemed to pass different for Gatz after that. Every day was slow and difficult to get through. He grew increasingly irritated with Koyori and wished to be rid of her despite the intimate nature of their companionship that continued even then.
While taking a curiosity detour through the Sea of Spores, they were caught by the Arachne Orfen, but later rescued by the silver-haired Light Elf. He learned her name was Narlafayn, and ended up confiding his guilt over leaving Sharmin alone with her. Again her advice was not what he wished to hear, but it made more sense this time. She was traveling with Ryonai and a group of Dark and Light Elves that he learned were part of a clan Ryonai had formed not long after becoming a Knight. Ryonai convinced both he and Koyori to join, and they became members of Haibane.
Gatz and Koyori accompanied the group back to the Elven Village, then set off on a mission with Ryonai to retrieve medicine needed to cure an Elven woman of Spore Sickness. After retrieving the medicine, they separated from the group to find work in Dion. Not long after entering the town, Gatz saw Sharmin again for only a moment as she disappeared with a Gatekeeper spell. Hearing him call Sharmin's name, Komugi emerged from the church.
He learned that Komugi and Sharmin had been separated for months, due to some strange circumstances. A Dark Elf named Valimos had latched on to Komugi for reasons that weren't divulged to Gatz, and insisted on accompanying the group. They found that Sharmin had gone to Oren, but none of them had the money to get there right away. So began an impatient detour into Breka's Stronghold, where they hunted Breka Orcs for mercenary money.
By the time they did make it to Oren, several weeks had passed, and Gatz feared Sharmin had moved on. After a depressing search through the city and not finding her, he and Koyori began to make plans to move on.
Amari met up with them in the town several days after their arrival, and delivered a message from Ryonai requesting all members of Haibane make their way to Heine. His spirits crushed over not finding Sharmin, and having nothing better to do, Gatz packed up and set out with Amari and Koyori.
They had just traveled past the road leading down from the hilltop fortress city, when they happened across a camp. As they drew closer, Gatz was surprised to see it belonged to Leon. Sharmin lay near a broken wagon, huddled under a blanket. By what he could see in the flickering firelight from the campfire, she looked bruised and beaten.
Leon took them aside and explained in a low voice that he'd found Sharmin lying naked to the north of their camp, in the forest. She hadn't spoken of what happened to her, but it was obvious given the fact that she was unclothed, and the location of some of the bruises on her body. His suspicions were later confirmed as a drunken man in knight's armor approached them later, and demanded that Leon return 'his woman.'
"No, let her rest." Leon said as Gatz attempted to return to the camp. "She'd probably be terrified of even you right now, especially upon waking her up." He put a restraining hand on Gatz's arm, keeping him from approaching her. Gatz jerked his arm from Leon's grasp and covered his face in his hands. He didn't know if he wanted to cry, or shout angrily. Rage began to build within him, and he slid his hands from his face.
"Amari, come with me would you?" Gatz asked, his voice hard.
"Sure thing!" Amari said lightly, instinctively knowing what it was Gatz was to do.
"What are you doing?" Koyori asked quickly, grabbing Gatz's arm. She had seen the way Gatz had been reaction to Sharmin's name whenever someone brought it up in conversation the past few months, and she didn't like it. "It's a bad thing, but don't get involved, let Leon take care of it." She pulled on him, trying to draw him back towards the campfire. Gatz glared at her with all of the hatred he was feeling at that moment, and Koyori released his arm in fear.
"Stay here." He commanded her, and stalked off into the darkness with Amari close behind.
"How are we going to find this guy? We don't know what he looks like or if he's even around still." Amari said logically as Gatz pushed his way through tall ferns.
"Fat, wearing knight's armor, drunk. I think that's plenty of a description." Gatz responded, angrily ripping a fern out by its roots and throwing it. There was a dim flickering of firelight several hundred feet ahead of them, and Gatz's eyes narrowed as they made out the form of a plump man wearing glinting armor, reclining in front of it. "Bingo." He growled.
"Didn't go far from the scene of the crime, did he." Amari said, impressed. Gatz didn't respond and the pair made their way through the ferns towards him.
"Who's there? Show yourself or I'll kill you!" the fat man said, jumping up as he heard them approach.
"Just a couple of travelers looking for a place to rest for the moment." Gatz answered, stepping into the range of light.
"So we weren't going to just kill him quickly and then move on? Well that stinks." Amari whispered. Gatz stiffened as he recognized the man's face. His name was Montavious, he'd been the town drunk back on Talking Island. He'd always eyeballed and made rude catcalls to Sharmin before, but he always figured Montavious did that to all girls. His rage built and he clenched a fist, wishing he'd done something to silence the man back then.
Montavious regarded them curiously for a moment before pulling himself up to his full height. "Fine, you can sit on your kiester here for a minute, but leave your weapons out there. I don't trust nobody."
"What, you're going to go along with it?" Amari hissed, shocked as Gatz laid down his spear. "What did we come here for then, just to spank him for being a bad boy? Gatz, c'mon!"
"I don't need a weapon for what I'm going to do to him." Gatz replied in a low voice. He made his way back over to the knight and crouched in front of the campfire, pretending to warm his hands.
"Cold night." Gatz said in a conversational tone. Montavious regarded him curiously for a moment before sitting back down heavily. He didn't seem to recognize him, and for once Gatz was happy that he'd never stood out back on Talking Island.
"Yeah, it'd be warmer for me though if that idiot hadn't gotten in my way." Montavious said, taking a drink from his mead bottle. Amari joined him at the campfire with a surprised expression. Gatz swallowed hard, trying to control his temper.
"What do you mean? Someone steal your travel pack? You could go into Oren and stay at the inn for cheap and be warm." Gatz offered. Again, Amari was impressed by the way Gatz controlled the temper in his voice to where he sounded like a friendly traveler making pleasant conversation. Montavious responded by laughing shortly into his bottle as he took another swig.
"Don't need no bed and blankets like some rich pretty boy. I'm a real man; all I need is a sharpened sword, a bottle of good mead and a warm body at my side. I have the first two but there's a pretty boy at a camp not far from here keeping me from my third. That's my property; she loves me, not hi..." Montavious never got to finish his testosterone speech as Gatz launched himself at him, pinning him to the ground with his hands at his neck. "What are you doing you idiot! Let go!" Montavious strained. Amari stomped on his arm as he tried to lift the bottle and crack it against Gatz's head. The arm cracked beneath his boot, and Montavious let out a gurgling yelp of pain.
"You…you raped Sharmin." Gatz said, so full of rage he could barely find his voice. "What in this great world makes you think she'd ever love scum like you?" He squeezed harder, Montavious' head turning purple. Montavious' eyes widened at Gatz's words, and he began to struggle. He somehow found strength and pushed Gatz off of him roughly.
"Oh I see, that pretty boy sent someone after me to do his dirty work. I see how it is, can't even fight me man to man." Montavious spat.
"Can I kill him now? Really, one spell to the gut…" Amari asked, helping Gatz stand. Gatz didn't respond, and pulled away from Amari as Montavious drew his sword and ran at them with a shout. Gatz pulled a burning branch from the campfire and wielded it like a sword, ready for Montavious' next move.
"On second thought, maybe you're right. That little slut couldn't even keep herself pure for me!" Montavious continued, spitting once. "I was the first to bang her out of my buddies and she wasn't even a virgin, how humiliating is that? I ask for so little and she goes and sleeps with pretty boy back there…"
Gatz snarled in rage and swung the branch before Montavious finished talking, cracking the man upside the head and causing him to drop the sword as his hair caught on fire. He dropped to the ground and began rolling. Gatz lifted his sword and held the point underneath the larger man's nose as he lay panting on the ground once the fire was out.
"Can I spell him now? Pleeeeease?" Amari begged like a child, his own temper lit from Montavious' words. Montavious looked at Gatz in fear, whimpering deep in his throat.
"Because only lewd words work with you, let me spell it out for you clearly." Gatz began, panting in anger. "Sharmin…wasn't a virgin because she's mine, get it? Not Leon's, not anyone else's, but mine." Montavious' eyes widened with his words, and his lip began to tremble at the look of murderous rage on Gatz's face.
"Well, that was more than I needed to know…" Amari stated, turning away with his hand to his head.
"You…you're that Windawood brat…what would Sir Collin say if he saw you now…?" he whispered. He whimpered loudly as Gatz nicked his chin with the sword tip to silence him.
"How many?" Gatz demanded angrily. When Montavious didn't answer, Gatz nicked his chin again. "How many men were with you?" Gatz demanded louder.
"Three! There were three besides me!" Montavious cried, the sword hitting bone.
"Where are they now?" Gatz asked, his arm trembling with anger. Montavious let out a blubbering whimper, tears springing into his eyes.
"I don't know, they ran away once they sobered up. Said they were ashamed that I talked them into sharing my woman." Montavious sniffled. Gatz growled loudly and grabbed Montavious by the tunic peeking out of his armor and lifted him with surprising strength.
"I told you, she's NOT YOUR WOMAN." He snarled. He threw him with one arm, and Montavious fell backwards onto a log that he'd previously been using to sit on.
"Ok this pissing contest is getting really boring. So she's your woman, let's just kill him already!" Amari whined. He had retrieved his staff from the ground and had his arms folded around it.
"No, killing him would be too good." Gatz said in an even voice. He turned away from Montavious in thought, and the knight relaxed, thinking him safe. Gatz growled again and swung Montavious' sword quickly, bringing it down and cleaving the knight's left hand off. Montavious howled in pain and failed, blood spurting out of the wound and speckling Gatz's face and armor. He pulled Montavious up to his feet as the man doubled over and began to cry. "Run and maybe you'll live." Gatz said darkly, pushing the man towards the forest. Montavious looked between him and the smirking Dark Elf before clutching his bleeding wrist to his chest and dashing into the woods. "Count to ten and then do whatever." Gatz told him.
"In separate numbers or a multiple that equals ten?" Amari asked intelligently.
"Whichever pleases you more." Gatz shrugged, turning away. Amari grinned darkly and held his hands in front of his chest.
"Ten." He said after reciting a quick multiple. He chanted a wind twister spell and launched it at Montavious' retreating back. It cut through his armor and laid him flat on his stomach. Amari watched for a moment, but Montavious didn't get up.
Gatz sunk to the ground as Amari cracked his knuckles in satisfaction, and doubled over, covering his head with his hands. He began to sob loudly and rocked slightly, ashamed of himself for leaving Sharmin alone in the first place. The more he thought about how just that one thing of taking her with him when he found her ill all those months ago could've prevented this entire thing, the harder he cried.
They finally left Montavious' camp near dawn when the sounds of a traveling party met their ears. Not wanting to face any sort of law as it appeared they'd just attacked a harmless drunk, they retreated back towards Oren. They approached Leon's camp first, and Sharmin stood as they appeared in the morning fog.
Gatz stared at her for a moment, breathing in shaky breaths as he resisted the urge to cry upon seeing her again. He wanted to hug and protect her still, but he was still ashamed of himself and too eaten with guilt to even step into the camp area. He still recalled Leon's words from the night before, and didn't want to see her afraid of his touch. It'd break his heart even more to see her recoil from him.
"Gatz…what have you done?" Sharmin breathed, noticing the blood that still decorated him. Gatz looked away from her, feeling not worthy enough for her concern.
"What needed to be done." He replied, and then walked away from her and into Oren. Koyori gave him a harsh verbal spanking as soon as she saw him again; angry that he got involved in something that she felt only concerned Sharmin and Leon. His nerves on edge, Gatz snapped at her to be silent. The suddenly forcefulness in his voice, something she'd never heard from him before, drew her up short and she remained of few words the entire trip back to Heine.
Amari separated from them upon arriving in the floating city, and left with his brother Vlad and a Light Elf friend of his named Aerin for the Garden of Eva. He and Koyori were invited to come along, but he declined, feeling more like sulking to himself than anything. Upon their return, he learned that Sharmin had been down there with Leon, and a strange occurrence happened; a gateway to what appeared to be another world opened up, and Sharmin had been sucked into it.
Again Gatz went into a mild state of shock, and mourned the fact that he could never do right by Sharmin. Ryonai, annoyed with Gatz's constant state of depression, took him out and beat some sense into him. He told Gatz that Sharmin was not completely lost to them, that Komugi was searching for a way to bring her back. He told Gatz that the reason why he always seemed to fail with Sharmin was that he was worrying too much about other people at the wrong times. He assured him that Sharmin would be back, and he's get his chance again soon.
The talk seemed to have some sort of healing quality upon Gatz, and within a few days he left Heine with renewed strength. He returned to Talking Island for a year to learn a bit about politics under his uncle's assistant before returning to the mainland and working as an intern to the Chamberlain of the Lord of Gludio. It was hard to say what Koyori did in that year they were apart, but Gatz would never admit he almost missed her incessant nagging. Halfway through the second year his internship ended, and he was sent to Aden for a political gathering. Koyori was waiting for him in Gludio as he left the castle, and insisted on following him to Aden.
And here is where we leave Gatz Windawood en route to Aden, and move on to the rest of the story.