Greetings dear friends, fellow fans, and cookie monsters. I am your humble and gracious author frosty. Cliche name, no? But they are the easiest to remember. This is my first attempt at a Slayers fanfiction, and therefore please forgive any mistakes you may see that I have not. Spelling isn't my best subject, but most of the time I pass it, so I have corrected any mistake to the best of my ability. With that in mind, let's move on to the story itself. This will be taking place after the first season of Slayers NEXT, which means it is taking place after the whole Alfred and Seyruun event, but before the gang meets Auntie Aqua or Gaav. So, needless to say, Try and Revolution and their events will have no influence on this work as of yet. Now, why have I decided on such a timeline you ask? Very simple, for this story I need the Chaos Dragon and the Hellmaster alive. I will be rewriting the ending of Next and then will continue on into Try and perhaps Revolution, considering of course I have enough support from the lovely ...^^
The reason why I created this fanfic is because, while I searched through the wilds of the Internet, I could barely find anything on the Dark Lords, The Gods, Ceipheid, or Shabranigdo. These are characters which I have become most interested in, particularly the two major gods, Shabranigdo and Ceipheid. I consider those two to have the most influence on the Slayers world, but you hardly ever hear about them. I wanted to know about them and their subordinates, during the War of the Monster's Fall, the relationship between them all, and of the events of the War of the Gods and the Monsters, which was the last time Ceipheid and Shabranigdo fought eachother in their own forms. Since I could find no story to satisfy me, I decided to make my own. This story will eventually show what I believed went on in the regime of the Dark Lord, his mind, and his eternal fight with Ceipheid. Now take note, I have never read, nor had access to, any of the novels or manga. If there is a contradiction in my writing conflicting with the manga, it is most likely because I did not know of it. This story is ANIME-verse only. Now if you have any tips or little known facts that would help me with this work, I would be most grateful.
Well, now that I've established the basic point, let's get on with the story!! I'll reveal a little bit more about my plan and the characters with each chapter, but until then, enjoy!
This story is currently rated "T", but be expected to change.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Slayers, and I am not making profit from this in any way. This is merely for fun.
Chapter One: A Whisper on the Wind
The air had been calm as spring had slowly made its descent into the mountain range. The last traces of snow only visible at the peaks of the great pillars of earth, now mostly obstructed by thick, puffy clouds. The sun shone bright as ever, giving life to the awakening vegetation and the animal's coming out of a winter wind had given up her fury for the day, resigning only to the occasional breeze across the valley below the mountains, a bright green stretch of land just outside the lovely little town of Vrupur. A mountain town just like hundreds of others, with small farmers, cattle herders, smithys, and an occasional mercenary. The town wasn't large enough for it to merit a sorcerer's guild, but it did have a local wild bunch that liked to think of themselves as Robin Hoods, only instead of giving to the needy, giving to themselves. However their ruckus came and went, just as with all things in the town of Vrupur. All in all, the little mountain village was nothing special; the only perk it had was its lush, green valley.
That was five minutes ago, anyway.
The loud whoosing sound, coupled with the ground shaking so hard the mountains trembled, and of course, the dazzling light display that a mushroom cloud creates, might have altered the 'normal' processes of life just a people in the town had no idea what was in store for them, though citizens of the Kingdoms of Seyruun and/or Zelphia could have given them a hint, had any been present. Battlecries and yells of pain were still a fair distance away, but the wind carried them closer to the ears of the Vrupurn residents. Some villagers looked up in worry or concern, others gathered together and spoke in harsh whispers amongst eachother, but most kept on about their business, though their steps was noticably quicker and jerky.
It had been a hell of a week for this once 'normal' town already;what came next would just be the cherry on top.
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"FIRE BALL!!!!"
The birds, squirrels, and any other animal that was unfornunate to be alive and in the woods that day, ran in circles to and fro to escape the evil beast that had arrived only this morning into their home. The ground rumbled as an unnatural force swept through it from somewhere cries and pleadings of grown men followed the minature atomic bomb, along with more explosions, then more begging, and so on and so source of all the fuss could be found about forty feet away from where some chipmunks were hiding in an oak there, standing in a newly created-and still sizzling-clearing, was a girl.
What? Expecting some kind of monster?
Yes, only a young girl stood in the clearing. A young, red-haired girl, dressed in an ornate magenta outfit with several jewels and belts adorning it. A long, black cape with metal shoulder pads completed the look of this young sorceress, who strived for attention-gaining garments to make up for what her natural physique lacked.
And boy, was it lacking.
The eighteen year old-who didn't look a day over thriteen, if you know what I mean-huffed as she stared with crimson eyes at the sobbing and semi-comatose highway thieves lodged into two seperate trees in front of her. The one still awake and crying had all of his rear end smooshed inside the trunk of a weepier-looking weeping willow. His friend who had been the unluckier-or perhaps the luckier, if you think about it- of the two was getting very well acquainted with the bosom of the maple tree his head was stuck in and was quickly losing air.
The still conscious bandit-for now,anyway-kept up his crying and whining to be released, to be shown mercy, to be allowed to live, and all that. It started to sound all like, "PLEASEPLEAEPLEASEWAAHHAHHPLEEAASSEEE!!!" after a while. A rather large vein appeared on the girl's temple as the thief repeated the mantra for the 45th time in five minutes-why she kept track of them, we shan't ever know-and began to grow steadily until finally....
"SHUT UP ALREADY!!"
The man went silent, the wind stopped blowing, and even the earth stopped turning....Then the man began to cry harder.
"Ugh",the young women slapped her hand to her face in exasperation. Perhaps she should try talking to the other one? A quick glance told her he was in dreamland on a honeymoon with the maple tree and she sighed. No choice. "Look pal, I don't know where you get off trying to rob the most beautiful, intelligent, and extraordinary sorceress Lina Inverse, but breaking down crying in the middle of the woods for it? Geez, don't you bandits have any pride at all, or have I finally scared it out of all ya?" she asked with both hands on her hips, looking down at the sniffling highway robber.
"I-I-I s-swear I didn't know i-it w-was you!", the man stuttered, "We were just so desperate to get away from here, w-we w-would have tried to rob an armored guard!",the man took a deep breath to calm what little nerves he had left. Lina raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"Why would you try to run away from a town with no sorcerers, no military, and hardly any defense aside from some irate farmers with pitchforks? Vrupur is known for being full of saps who practically just let their money be taken from them by anybody. It's a bandit dream come true and you want to run away? Sure, right." Her disbelief was on her face as well as in her tone. It was emphasized by the glowing ball of fire appearing in her left hand.
The bandit's eyes widened to such an extent that they looked about ready to pop out of his skull. "It's the truth! My boss and fellow highwaymen were butchered there just a few days ago!! Some foreigner, from over the mountains, had come into town that day and killed them!!", the robber began sobbing again and Lina frowned, the magic in her hand going out like a dying flame.
"Che, yeah right! You're just saying that so I won't turn you into a human torch again." Lina sneered slightly and contemplated doing exactly that when someone cleared their throat behind her. "What is it, Gourry?" the irate redhead didn't bother to turn around to face her companion who had finally decided to come out of hiding once all the comotion had settled down.
Gourry Gabriev was a man of few vices and even fewer brain cells. Standing well over six-foot tall with a body of an athlete, long golden hair, and the kindest blue eyes around, he was certainly a sight to behold. Though when he would open his mouth and ask what color the sky was, the novelty quickly wore off. He fiddled with his thumbs and looked at the red-head nervously before finding the balls to actually speak.
"I don't think he's lying, Lina." he said softly, so as not to encourage the young woman to turn her wrath on him more than need be. He winced when she turned her head sharply to glare at him.
"What?" she said, venom lacing her voice.
Gourry gulped, but continued on anyway. "I don't think he's lying. He dosen't have much of a reason to, at this point," he said gesturing to the thoroughly beaten and disgraced highway robber. "Besides that, have we ever, in all our travels, been attacked by just two bandits?"
Lina frowned as she listened. She had originally thought something was up with that too, but had assumed that it was some kind of strategy to send the two first, then the rest of the bandits would try to ambush after. Well, they had been standing around for about ten minutes with no other robbers in sight, no sounds of swords being drawn, and no foul odor which came with a bandit's presence. Huh, maybe jellyfish had hit the nail on the head this time.
Lina glanced back at the highwayman who looked up at them with glistening and hopeful eyes. She sighed, "Fine. Get out of here before I change my mind." she grumbled, while Gourry beamed and gave the robber two thumbs up.
"Thank you, thank you, thank youthankyouthankyouthankyou....!!" the bandit sobbed as he, painfully, removed himself from the tree and kissed the ground at Lina's feet. Lina scowled outwardly, but inside she was rather pleased that someone was finally showing her the respect she deserved. Even though it was kinda forced......all well, groveling was groveling.
The robber pulled his still snoozing buddy from his own place of punishment-also known as a tree-and put him over one shoulder, while turning to begin his race 'Get The Hell Out Of Here', when Lina's voice stopped him.
"You said that a traveler took out the rest of your gang, right? Any idea who it was, like a rival gang member maybe?" Lina asked, partly out of curosity, and partly out of wanting to know if there was more trouble awaiting in Vrupur. Gang wars weren't uncommon, and they could get pretty nasty. If another gang had taken over the turf, then it made all the more sense for these last few bandits to want to get away as fast as possible. She blinked as the bandit's enitre body frame went rigid, and slowly turned his head to reveal a pale and clammy face with eyes haunted from memory of what must have been something truly horrific. The sheer terror in his eyes made even Lina a little edgy.
"It was a demon....it was a demon..." he whispered, his voice hoarse from the crying fit earlier. But there was something else in the tone, almost as if that phrase had become a mantra of sorts in the mind of the thief. Lina had opened her mouth to say something else, but the thief turned and trudged on as fast as he could while carrying his companion.
Lina opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally closing it for good. Gourry came to stand beside her as they both watched the two bandits disappear into the remains of the woods.
"Well...." Gourry began, knowing he had to say something meaningful, but then forgot it the second he spoke. Lina glanced up at him and scowled, kicking him in the shin as she turned and began walking to their original destination.
"OW! Lina! What was that for?!" Gourry asked as he hopped on one leg after her. He caught up to her, somehow, and slowly placed his sore leg down, wincing all the while.
"I can't believe I let you talk me out of giving that guy his lesson. I mean, do you have any idea what something like that can do to a gal's reputation? Now bandits everywhere are gonna think they can walk all over me so long as they have some sob story lined up and shed a few tears with it." Lina growled out, annoyed at everyone and everything without good reason. She huffed as she continued, noticing the tree line becoming thinner to reveal the valley one had to cross before they reached the town of Vrupur. Gourry looked towards the town and frowned slightly.
"Hey are you sure we should still go to Verpoo after what that guy said?" asked the swordsman as he looked down at the short red-head.
"It's Vrupur and yes, I'm sure." Lina smiled despite herself.'Verpoo? Hah', she chuckled mentally. As dumb as he was, Gourry could always make it cute. Frustrating sometimes, but cute.
"Oh right, sorry. Why are we going there?" Gourry blinked as he noticed the small smile on Lina's face disappear as she gritted her teeth.
"Because I need a BREAK!!!" she screeched, causing several birds to take their leave from the treetops."I need a breather for a while. After that mess with Alfred and those monsters in Seyruun, I decided I needed some vacation time. Zelgadis took off to who knows where again, and Amelia needs to stay in Seyruun for a little bit. Now as we know, it's only a matter of time before we either cross paths with Zel, or Miss Justice springs out of a bush somewhere. Until then, however, I plan to relax." she waved over in the general direction of the village,"That place is called Vrupur, as I have told you one million times since we left the palace. It's a nice town settled in the state of No where, which it is located right in the middle of." Lina spoke slowly and clearly, hoping against all the odds that this would be the last time she would have to repeat herself. Of course she knew better, but there was still hope."Nothing ever happens here, most of the time," she said, bearing in mind the bandit's only-half-believable story,"So we shouldn't run into anything we can't handle, like more monsters." Lina sighed, recalling the affair with Kanzel and Mazenda. That was an event she would rather not have repeated anytime soon.
"Sooo why are we going there?" Gourry asked, Lina's pain and woes flying right over his head. As far as he knew, they had just been walking for the joy of walking, which to him, was becoming less joyful.
Lina gave him a suffering glance before growling in exasperation,"To stay in an Inn and eat so much good food that we can't move. Understand that?" she grinned as Gourry noticably brightened.
"Food?" he asked, all other words being dismissed as not important.
"That's right. And the last one to town is...." Lina suddenly took off like a bolt of lightning,"...the one who has to pay for it all!!" She yelled over her shoulder, laughing as she did.
Gourry stood there dumfounded for only a moment before his brain grasped the situation."Hey! Wait up Lina! You can't make me pay again!" he shouted as chased the destructive red-head into town.
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About 20 miles northwest of the town of Vrupur, a lone figure stumbled, for the hundredth time that day it seemed, on tree roots. They cursed under their breath also, for the hundredth time that day. To any seasoned outdoorsman who happened to take a glance at the figure, it would quickly become apparent that the figure in question had no experience walking on such rough dirt roads or the bumpy forest floors.
The figure would readily agree.
The now muddy black boots, which seemed to snag every branch, leaf, or small twig in their path, were use to the cement of sidewalks and the asphalt of streets. The legs, which were clad in a black material too rough and strong to be the cotton regular travelers wore, trembled under the strain of having to walk for so long without rest. The black shirt was also of a strange material, one probably not ever seen and probably not ever made. Over all the black, the lone traveler wore an almost sheer, silver duster, which cuffed at the end of each sleeve and ended at the back of the figure's calfs.
The young traveler huffed, sweating even though it was a relatively cool day. They were just so not use to this, walking for so long, or for being alone for so long. The curly hair framed the face, coming out of the now lose ponytail. Cold eyes stared through glass spectacles, almost like the ones you would see on aging scribes, but with much more narrow frames and a glass that gave no shine, even under the sun.
The figure stopped, breathing heavily as they leaned against the closest tree, uncaring about the pinch of the rough bark. Slowly, they took out a map from one of the odd-placed pockets in the front of the pants. Unfolding it, they looked it over for several moments. The map had been acquired in the last town they had stopped at, though the figure could not tell you whether the town was ten miles or a hundred feet away from where they stood. They had wanted to stay in the town longer than they had, to see if they could find anyone who knew anything, but......
Things happened.
On that note, the figure frowned and refolded the piece of aging parchment and put it away again. Standing straight and tall, they squinted as they stared into the distance, just barely being able to make out the cone-shaped mountains against the sky. The figure had no sense of direction about the place, but was almost certain that was not the same mountain range they had crossed before reaching the last town.
Giving a deep sigh, the figure kept on if for nothing more than the sake of going on. What else could they do?
There was nothing else to do but go over the next mountain range, as the map said. They had gotten the map because of a rumor, a rumor that there was something over the mountains which could help them. The fact that, according to local gossip, this something didn't exist anymore didn't deter the figure.
The traveler just smirked bitterly;they would take their chances.
After all, they weren't supposed to exist here either.
Thus, the work is done. Hopefully the first of many, but I leave that decision to you. Love it? Hate it? Don't care? PLLLEEEAAASSSEE tell me!!
Reviews make the heart grow fonder. ^^
With much love and adoration,
frosty