The Hands of Fate
Chapter 1: The Trio

There are some things in life that humans cannot have. Even though they may wish for it dearly, fate will have discarded that wish and come up with something better; OR worse. For that… is the act of fate.
The day was gorgeous. Birds chirruped gleefully, rivers gushed and bubbled to their own tune, the sun shone so pristinely. But nothing could have prepared Ryou Kyotosan for what would happen to him next.

Deep in the middle of Victoria Island, Ryou lay on the floor, a bloody gash in the middle of his torso. He shut his eyes in pain, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and onto the hard stone surface of the floor of where the Tauromacis and Taurospears resided. He was only attacking a Tauromacis when two Taurospears appeared behind the Macis. He had killed one, but sustained cuts and bruises from the second. Angrily, the Taurospear huffed and roared, charging at the fallen hermit, gaining deadly momentum with every step.

"FIRE ARROW!" A voice shouted from behind the Tauromacis, and as it did, a huge plume of fire charred its armor and fur. Turning around and snorting, annoyed, it charged again only to have another shout of "EXPLOSION!" kill it once and for all.

As it collapsed on the ground, dead, Ryou tentatively opened his eyes, wincing in pain. Standing over him was a group of three third-job magicians, two boys, one with short blue-tinged hair, the other with red-tinged hair, and one girl with beautiful, long, flowing black hair. The girl knelt down next to him and chanted a quick spell, and Ryou became much more comfortable as green light from her hands washed upon his wounds, knitting up the broken flesh and drying out the blood in a matter of seconds. Sitting up, he winced again as a cut on his face was exposed. The girl placed her finger over the cut, and it too knitted itself back together as more green light bathed the injury.

Standing up, he felt rather wobbly, leaning against the cold stone wall for balance. Looking at the trio of magicians, he brought his hands up and made quick fluid movements to them. Confused, the trio shot each other quizzical looks. Ryou rolled his eyes, and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, withdrawing a pencil as well. Writing quickly and handing the girl the paper, the note said,

Thanks for your help. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive. And, just to let you know, you should really learn sign language. The girl looked up from reading the note and gave a mock glare, but also burst out in a laughing fit once she saw Ryou's perplexed face.

Turning to the other two once she had stopped laughing, they gathered into a tight group and whispered to each other, the girl's whispers starting from quiet to loud to back to quiet in a huff.

Once they had finished talking, she turned around and spoke to him.

"Umm, hello mister, um, we wanna ask you if you want to join our party," she said shyly, blushing a soft pink hue spreading evenly across her face. Behind his black mask which covered his mouth, Ryou grinned devilishly, trying not to let it spread to his eyes. Still, he nodded, rather wary of the Tauromacis wandering about, after his bout with the Taurospears. The girl smiled and extended a hand to him. Ryou gripped it and shook it briefly, and then the girl along with the two boys behind her introduced themselves.

"I'm Reyuna, but you can call me Rey. Those two over there are my twin older brothers, Jainus in the red and Tainus in the blue." The two nodded their heads in greeting towards Ryou's direction. Whipping out another small piece of paper and then showing it to Reyuna, he wrote, My name is Ryou Kyotosan.

Suddenly, Ryou's eyes caught a flash of tainted yellow lightning; knowing this not to be a wizard's lightning, he flung two Steelies at a Tauromacis behind Jainus. It reared up in pain and slashed blindly with its crescent-like spear, almost catching Tainus across the neck.

Teleporting backwards, the three magicians bombarded the Macis with all they had, along with Ryou jumping around the Macis and flinging an occasional Steely just to distract the Macis from charging at the trio of magic-users. The Macis roared in pain as a Steely was caught in one of its horrible red eyes.

Staggering around like a drunken man, the Macis swung at the four blindly, unfortunately catching Jainus in the chest, sending him careening into a nearby stone monument. Rey gasped, and ran over to her fallen brother, casting a healing spell while Ryou and Tainus continued to launch piercing attacks with force.

Soon, the Macis's tiny brain told the body it could not handle much more of these attacks, so naturally, the Macis died. With a final feral roar of fury, it collapsed upon the ground with an enormous thud.

Drawing another knife just in case, Ryou and the three decided upon returning to Sleepywood to rest and heal the wounds even Reyuna could not heal. Taking out four return to nearest town scrolls, Reyuna handed one to Ryou, Tainus, and Jainus. Ripping them in half, the four disappeared in a flash of calm blue light.

As the four newly-made friends entered the sauna, Ryou brought his hands together and casted Haste. The trio of magicians felt adeptly lighter and more flexible; Reyuna enjoyed it the most, jumping about the sauna and hanging off the vines, -mostly- causing trouble, although Mr. Sweatbottom didn't do much to stop it.

Once they had healed most of their wounds, they still sat in the sauna, talking with one another; mostly Tainus speaking quietly with Jainus, and Rey speaking with Ryou.

"So…" Rey began timidly, "you're… mute?" Ryou felt a pang of sadness, but nodded nonetheless.

I wasn't born mute though, he wrote. Rey read it, and asked, uncertainly,

"Then… how did you become mute?" Ryou debated in his mind whether or not he should tell Rey the truth. But when he looked into her eyes, he saw that she truly wanted to know, and did not want to know just to spite him and laugh at him. Like… the others. Taking another piece of paper out, he began to write, all the while the horrible memory flashing through his mind.

"Come now, Ryou, we'll be perfectly fine! Nothing's going to happen to us." Ryou's mother explained the best she could to a ten-year-old Ryou Kyotosan.

"No, mommy, I just have this feeling someone's gonna get hurt! Please, don't go on this trip!" Ryou persisted, tugging at his mother's arm for emphasis. His mother was about to reply, until his father intervened, gently pulling Ryou from his mother. Kneeling down to Ryou's level, he said firmly,

"Look, Ryou, we are going on this trip whether you like it or not. You and your brother are coming along as well, so pack up and we'll go tomorrow." A small tear dropped out of Ryou's eye as he looked down.

"Yes, daddy," he mumbled. But he was certain something terrible would happen.

-

"C'mon, bro!" Ryou's older brother shouted at him from the boat dock from which they would depart to Orbis. Ryou had been poking at a passing ladybug, but now his brother's voice grabbed his attention. Whipping his head around, he saw the majestic bow of the airship pull away from the fluffy white clouds.

Running up to his parents, he looked on in wonder as the airship landed on a small platform underneath the dock. Groups of dock men ran forward and tied the boat down with heavy metal chains, securing the boat until the passengers were comfortable and the captain was ready to go.

Having purchased their tickets already, the Kyotosans were the first to board the ship. Ryou was looking about the ship in curiosity; after all, he had never been on a boat quite like this before. No, unlike the boat from Maple Island, this one sported many more different features to it.

After he had finished looking around and such, and admiring the bright colors and clever build of the boat, only three more passengers boarded the ship, a Crusader, a Ranger, and a Priest, sitting secluded from the rest of the family, not wishing to bother them.

Soon, Ryou felt the boat half-shake as the dock men removed the chains holding the boat down. He felt an engine from inside the boat start, and almost immediately, they were off.

Quickly entering the cabin with his brother, he noticed his parents were not with them. In dismay, he climbed back up the ladder, peeking out from the cabin door to check if they were out there. And indeed, they were, along with the Ranger, Crusader, and Priest. Dressed in their battle gear, with weapons drawn, in a battle stance, as though they were expecting something.

Suddenly, there was a furious roar that shook the boat. More roars clamored in, shaking the boat heavily, so hard that Ryou half-expected his legs to break off. But Ryou was scared. What was happening outside? Peeking out a bit more; another rock to the ship sent him pushing against the door, causing him to fall out.

Getting up quickly, he swiftly hid behind a large cargo box, glancing out from behind it. He saw his dad flex his claw arm, and his mother ready her Dragon's Tail. And then, the chaos began.

Two large, winged creatures shot out from a malicious-looking ship, and they hovered in the air beating their massive, leathery wings. Releasing a roar that pitched the boat back and forth, the beasts reared their heads up and screeched into the sky. Black bolts of infected lightning gathered at their clawed finger-tips, but before they could release their ferocity upon the passengers, Ryou's mother jumped into the air and slashed across one of the winged brutes, appearing at the other end with a flash of orange. Turning around, she used that skill again, this time slashing across its face and successfully killing it. Letting out a single howl of defeat, it fell from the sky, and plunged into the sea, where the demons of the ocean would soon devour its body and leave nothing but empty bones.

There was once again a shriek from the malevolent Balrog ship, and another Crimson emerged. Once again, the two beasts began charging that black lightning again, but before anyone could interrupt, they released the blast of lightning upon his mother.

Ryou almost cried out in alarm, but there was another flash of fierce orange, and he saw his mother had emerged from the blast unharmed, save for a few cuts. Although, when he looked back at the Balrog, it wasn't there! Only one was left, and it shrieked into the sky again, echoing across plains of land down below. This time, his father joined the fight, swinging his arm lightning-fast towards the last Balrog, releasing two Ilbi stars which cut through the Balrog with surprising ease. It howled in pain, and lashed out at his dad, but there was a sudden burst of blue and his father was much farther away from its black claws. Soon, the Ranger and Crusader stepped in, Ranger shooting from afar, using a manner of techniques such as Arrow Rain, as he came to know, and a four-arrowed attack aptly named Strafe.

The Crusader, on the other hand, had to be much closer to the Balrog, yet his attack power was great. Five orbs of energy spun around him in a seemingly endless circle, while a huge ice-blue tiger erupted from behind him and let loose a deafening, feral roar of rage. The Balrog hissed as black blood began to run from its ears. But the Priest was the one to finish the final blow.

She let out a cry of "Shining Ray!", and a pure angel wielding a sword appeared behind her briefly. A burst of holy light collided with the Balrog, sending it careening into the ocean to join its other comrade.

Ryou smiled; watching these people, especially his mother and father, boosted his confidence.

Suddenly, there was a ferocious growl behind him. Ryou dared to look… and he saw the face of a Crimson, snorting in anger.

He screamed, just as the Balrog grabbed him by the neck, squeezing slowly, denying Ryou access to any oxygen, and pressing thin cuts into his neck. All attention turned towards him, and his mother screamed in horror. The Priest made move to use Shining Ray again, but his father stopped her, not wanting to hurt Ryou by accident.

Getting a glimmer of hatred in his eyes, Ryou's father leapt into the air and, with a shout of "Flash Jump!", was propelled into the air behind the Balrog. Swinging his arm with deadly momentum, more Ilbi stars shot from his claw and sank into the unprotected back of the monster. It bellowed in pain, but did not release Ryou. Instead, it held him from the back of his shirt.

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion for Ryou and the spectators.

The barbaric beast flashed a sharp, black claw, and ripped it across Ryou's neck, splattering blood over the deck.

All Ryou was aware of was his mother cry in rage and despair, while there was mind-shattering pain in his neck area. His vision was getting more blurred by the second, and when his vision began swimming and his appendages felt numb, he knew he was dying. The last thing he felt were a pair of strong arms lifting him up from his prone form on the ground… and then…

Black.

Absolute… black.

-

Ryou's eyes snapped open. He felt a warm blanket covering up his body, and a very numb pain in his neck. He tried turning his head, but found himself unable to do so due to a strange, thick bandage wrapped firmly around his neck, but not to the extent of choking him.

Stiffly, he tried to sit up and remember what happened to him.

The Crimson… His mind whispered the answer to him. A twinge of sadness shot through his heart, but faded away as soon as it happened.

What happened to my parents? Trying to get off the bed, he fell off instead, and landed on the ground with a veritable thud. He tried to groan in annoyance and pain. But the sound never came out of his mouth.

Eyes widening in disbelief, he wondered if he had gone stupid while he was unconscious. He opened his mouth to say something; anything, anything that would tell him he still had his voice back. But again, the sound never came.

Because of the attack of the Crimson, he no longer had the ability to speak.

Ryou finished writing and handed the piece of paper to Rey. He had written slowly and carefully, as the memory coursed through his mind, opening a few old wounds from the past. Rey read his writing slowly, face lacking any emotion, save for a look of shock and understanding.

When she had finished, she looked down at the floor, a rose-colored blush blanketing her soft features.

"I… I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I didn't know. It was rude of me to ask." Ryou shook his head, not wanting to blame her for something that she couldn't have prevented.

It's fine, he wrote. Rey still nodded her head sullenly.

Getting up from his seat, Ryou disturbed Tainus's and Jainus's conversation about Master Grendal and the Ellinian forests. Ryou packed the rest of his things together, and Rey stood up as well.

"Let's go," she muttered to Tainus and Jainus. Exchanging looks with eachother, they rose from their seats, packing up their things as well.

Saying goodbye to Mr. Sweatbottom, they left the sauna in search of other adventures to await them in the passing days.

Ryou looked up into the sky, black scarf tied around his neck beginning to flutter in the tranquil wind. It was almost sunset, and the sky was laced with serene hues of blue and purple, whilst the bottom of the clouds were trimmed with a light, rose-tinted pink. It was almost… satisfying for him.

There were only a few hours left before full nighttime, so the three magicians and single hermit decided to part ways, promising they would see eachother again tomorrow. Ryou had only left with a nod, giving the three a final Hasting, and bouncing away himself.

As he headed back towards his home within the boundaries of Kerning City, his mind drifted off to Rey. So far, he had tried getting her lovely face out of his head, but a single thought of her brought the image jolting back into his brain in a flash. Pausing for just a moment, Ryou leaned against a earthen pillar in the third L Forest, shaking his head slightly, as though the thoughts of Rey would come flying out of his head and smash into pieces on the ground.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. Still, he rather enjoyed her company, and her quiet blushing he was sure she was famous for. He had only met her today, and he had faint feelings for her already.

Ryou felt his Haste beginning to wear away, so he casted it once more, and continued on his way.

Once Ryou had got home to his house, which was just enough for him to live inconspicuously, he quickly changed out of his earth-covered assassin armor, deeming himself to wash the dirt and such off it later. Ryou had decided upon taking a shower as soon as he got home.

Stepping into the shower, he pushed part of the handle to the "H" symbol, and felt more relaxed as the water got warm enough to be comfortable in. For a moment, he stopped, realizing that he had forgotten to take his thick black scarf off.

Gingerly, he unwound it from his neck. Turning back to the shower, he tried his best to ignore the hideous scar laden upon the seemingly flawless, pale skin of his neck.

An empty whisper of regret entered his mind.

… I'm sorry.

Happy Valentine's Day, people.