Sterkenburg Cranach is a tired man who has lived a tiring life. He wanders the earth, looking for purpose and finding none. There are no kings or queens for him to serve as there used to be. Unwilling to let go of the life of a knight, he keeps hoping to find a knightly purpose for which he can live. Princess Meruru is no longer a princess, and with the transformation of Arls, royalty has been wiped from the face of the earth. Sterkenburg continues to try and track down Gio, the former king of Arland, but he has become even more elusive than before. Not even Sterkenburg's elite pigeon force can manage to track down the wily man. To make matters worse, the self-proclaimed knight no longer has his apprentice, Gino, to worry about. The young man has grown, and while he cannot surpass Sterkenburg himself, he is as close as anyone can get. Reluctant as he was, Sterkenburg let Gino go to learn on his own. He had been taught all that he could learn from a mentor, even one as skilled as Sterkenburg. And so, the self-proclaimed knight spends his days wandering and looking for something that will satisfy his knightly desires. He has no idea how close he is to finding it.
Sterk found himself walking down a long, thin gravel path surrounded by wilting flowers and withering trees. What's more, the trees had hints of gray. Even the grass and flowers were turning gray. The path led to a small town, the largest building it housed being about the size of a middle-class house in Arland. The self-proclaimed knight held, in his hand, a long sword with an ornate silver handle. The blade was sharp and glinting in the red light of the sun. It was the evening, and Sterk had been traveling for five hours straight. On his journey, he had walked through the Trombe Plateau. It had been greatly developed due to Meruru's efforts. It was now a thriving colony powered by wind as an attempt to test how well the power of the wind could be harnessed. It was going well. He had then left the Plateau and found himself in a barren wasteland of gray. Nature had faded into the plain and dismal color, and even the native monsters had grown ashen-colored. While they were no less pathetic (Sterk was able to dispatch them with a single blow), it was troubling how the land, which was normally so full of greenery, could become so depressingly barren. This was where Sterk found himself, taking shelter at the strangely-located town. He reached the gates and looked ahead, his face covered by his hood. He was regarded with cold suspicion by the town's guards. That was unsurprising. What surprised the self-proclaimed knight was that the miniscule town had any guards at all.
"My name is Sterkenburg Cranach. I mean you no harm."
"Prove it. Take off the hood." Sterk obliged. The two men guarding the town stepped back, their eyes widening. Sterk's face was outlined by creases caused by worry and stress. He had piercing brown eyes that seemed to rip a hole through whoever he was looking at. His mouth was contorted into a frown, worry lines defining the downward slant his lips took. That, coupled with his tall, muscular appearance and intimidating sword made him quite a sight.
"D-Disarm yourself. Give us the sword," one of the guards said out of fear. Sterk sighed. He had long gotten used to people's reactions to his scary face, but it still annoyed him.
"If that's what it will take," he said, tossing the blade over the bars of the gate. However, Sterk needed no weapon to display his tremendous strength, not that it was necessary to let the guards know this. The more frightened guard kept backing up slowly, picking the weapon from the ground, but the other guard looked at Sterk with recognition.
"Hey...what did you say your name was?" He asked.
"Sterkenburg Cranach."
"Sterkenburg? You mean the Sterkenburg? The wandering knight?" The self-proclaimed knight straightened his posture and stared ahead proudly. While scary, he was undeniably handsome, carrying himself like a true knight.
"Self-proclaimed knight," a third guard snickered. Sterk snarled. The impudent guard walked from behind a nearby building. He was followed by a woman with light brown hair, ridiculously large glasses, and a clipboard with multiple pieces of paper attached that she held with one hand. She had a black pen in her hair. Sterk's attention was caught by the fact that the woman's other hand was in a sling, pulled up to her stomach.
"Be quiet, please," she said with gentle firmness. Sterk walked up to the bars, which she opened. The scared guard ran away, but the woman called him back.
"Wendel, please return our guest's weapon," she said. He looked torn, but decided to obey the woman, who was evidently his superior. He tossed the sword to Sterk with some effort, who caught it with one hand, swinging it so that it faced away from the woman who was now rather close to him.
"I would like to apologize for the behavior of my subordinates. They don't seem to understand who they're talking to. Anyhow, I understand that you must be tired and want nothing more than to sleep, but our town has an urgent situation. We would be eternally grateful if you lent us your strength," she said. Sterk nodded.
"I understand. Might I rest before discussing your plight further?" He asked.
"Of course. Follow me," she said. The two remaining guards, as the one named Wendel had run off, walked next to the woman. They led the self-proclaimed knight to a hotel in the middle of town. Around them, children stared in awe at the tall, brown-haired stranger who had arrived at their small town. Whispers made their way around, and soon Sterk was being talked about around the small settlement. Even adults took time out of their day to marvel at Sterk. However, he quickly faded from view as he entered the run-down hotel, ignoring the gossip and stares.
"I shall arrange for you to be given the best room in the house, not that such a promise means very much in this relic," the woman sighed. She was clearly unhappy with the state of the town, and from what Sterk had seen, it wasn't a stretch of the imagination to assume that she was the head of the small settlement. He watched her leave, the two guards hurrying after her. The self-proclaimed knight decided to sit down at a nearby table when he heard a voice that made him cringe.
"Hey, Sterk old buddy!"
Sterk felt a powerful hand clap him on the back and he staggered forward, quickly regaining his composure.
"Could you not hit me like that? It's as if someone threw a large rock at my spine," Sterk groaned. Behind him, a woman clad in a revealing top and a short skirt grinned crazily. In her hand, she held a massive double-edged axe.
"Come on! You're tough, you can take it!" She protested, still smiling.
"Would you really hit someone simply because they could 'take it?'" Sterk snapped. The woman grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry, sorry. It looks like you're just as uptight as ever. When will you ever pull that stick outta your ass, huh?"
"And when will you stop using vulgar euphemisms? If I haven't changed, then the same certainly applies to you."
"You got me there, Sterk. At this point in our lives, we're too old for change. Especially you." At the mention of his age, Sterk tensed, glaring at Melvia with a withering gaze. She didn't react, and the self-proclaimed knight had to give her his grudging admiration for her unflappable demeanor. Despite his annoyance, he quickly recovered and asked the woman a question.
"So, Melvia, what brings you here?" Melvia grinned enigmatically.
"That's a secret. You know, very important business and all that. I'm not sure you're authorized to hear," she said teasingly.
"If you don't want to tell me, then say so."
"I'm here to kill Ouroboros," Melvia said with straightforward honesty. Sterk widened his eyes at the mention of the name.
"Ouroboros?! You mean the monster?!"
"What else would I mean?"
"Melvia, this isn't your ordinary monster, even by your standards. Ouroboros is strong, stronger than your wildest dreams. You can't intend to take him on alone, can you?!" Sterk asked loudly, drawing attention from the people sitting around the hotel.
"Why not? I'm tough," Melvia said simply.
"Tough?! Even with your strength, defeating such a beast on your own is unthinkable! At least allow me to aid you if you continue to insist on such a foolish course of action!" Sterk shouted. Melvia's grin hadn't missed a beat, and it didn't do so now. She kept grinning.
"Sure. It'll be just like the good old days, right? You and I, working together to kick some ass and take some names! Remember when you were training me?" Melvia reminisced. Sterk winced at the memories.
"I don't remember ever training you, although I do remember trying. As I recall, you ignored every one of my instructions and treated me like a backup plan for when things went bad! How many times did I have to bail you out of trouble?!" He shouted, growing more heated as he spoke. Gino was a difficult student, but Melvia was impossible to teach. Nothing he tried teaching her sunk in.
"Don't be like that! We had fun, didn't we?" Melvia tried.
"No," Sterk said darkly. She laughed at his response.
"Jeez, you don't have to get so pissy about it. Try lightening up! A few drinks would do you some good. Can you hold your liquor, Sterky boy?" The self-proclaimed knight didn't look amused at the senior adventurer's joking. However, he was spared having to strain his voice with another lecture when the woman with the large glasses walked up behind Melvia.
"So we're on the same page. I wasn't aware that you intended to take on Ouroboros, although I was intent on asking Sterkenburg to do so. With the two of you working together, things should be easy to settle. Although, if you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you," she said. Sterk looked surprised.
"With a broken arm?"
"I only need one arm to fight." Melvia looked at the woman with interest.
"She's hot. Sterk, do you think-" She was cut off by a cold hand being placed on her shoulder.
"I suggest you don't finish your thought," the woman said. Melvia chuckled.
"Embarrassed, huh? No worries, I'll shut up. So you want us to take care of Ouroboros?" Consider it done," she replied. Sterk smiled slightly.
"It's been a while since I've fought such a challenging opponent. With two strong warriors by my side, I have no doubts that the beast will be slain," he said. The woman then proceeded to show Sterk to his room, leaving Melvia with the two guards, both of whom looked interested in starting a conversation with her.
"Care for a drink?" One asked. Melvia grinned.
"Another round over here, on these two fine gentlemen," she said. The bartender nodded, and the guards paled.
"My tab's getting a bit big around here. Hope you two don't mind," she said mischievously.
Sterk and the woman rounded a corner and found themselves in a large room with a king-sized bed with well-worn sheets and a single piece of furniture in the room around it, a desk with a reading lantern on it. However, Sterk did see a small bathroom near the desk.
"Thank you for your generosity. I suppose we'll be up early tomorrow to travel to Ouroboros' lair?" He asked.
"No. We need time to plan, so we won't be going right away. I hope you don't mind," was the response.
"Of course. That is the best course of action to take. Good night," Sterk said as the woman began to leave.
"Hopefully you don't find this shithole too unbearable," she muttered.
"Excuse me?" Sterk asked, unsure of what she had said.
"It's nothing, just some musing. Enjoy your stay." With that, the woman left.
"Damn this rotting town..." She said to herself, her voice dripping with malice.
DUH DUH DUH! MY FIRST ATELIER SERIES STORY! I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY LOVE DOING RWBY STUFF, WHICH IS THE MAJORITY (AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE SO) OF MY WORK, BUT I SOMETIMES WANT TO BRANCH OUT, THUS, I WROTE THIS! MY INTENTION WITH THIS STORY IS TO WRITE ABOUT STERK, WHO I ABSOLUTELY ADORE, AS WELL AS EXPLORING THE DARKER REALITY OF ALCHEMY, AS ATELIER AYESHA DID. HOWEVER, I ALSO WANT TO CAST A DARK SHADOW OVER THE ARLAND SERIES UNIVERSE AS WELL, AS IT'S NORMALLY SO LIGHT-HEARTED (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TOTORI, THAT GAME IS SAD!) ADDITIONALLY, I WANT TO TRY AND WRITE FOR STERK. HE'S SUCH AN INTERESTING, UNIQUE, AND WELL-ROUNDED CHARACTER, BY FAR ON THE GREATEST FICTIONAL CHARACTER EVER CREATED (HE'S ALSO THE MOST BADASS BEING TO EVER EXIST). I PUT MELVIA IN THERE AS WELL BECAUSE I'M INTERESTED IN EXPLORING HER RELATIONSHIP WITH STERK. ALSO, SHE'S A VERY FUN CHARACTER WHO IS EASY TO WRITE FOR, SO WHY NOT? ALSO, EXPECT ASTRID TO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN THE STORY. AS FOR THE WOMAN WITH THE LARGE GLASSES (COMICALLY LARGE, IN FACT. IF I COULD ACTUALLY DRAW, I'D MAKE A PICTURE OF HER WITH GLASSES HALF THE SIZE OF HER HEAD), SHE'S AN OC WHO I'M INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING. I DON'T WANT HER STEALING THE SPOTLIGHT FROM THE ACTUAL ARLAND SERIES CHARACTERS, BUT SHE WILL PLAY A BIG ROLE IN THE STORY. HOPEFULLY, ALL YOU ATELIER FANS IN HIDING WILL COME OUT AND TELL ME HOW YOU LIKE THIS STORY SO FAR! SERIOUSLY, PLEASE COME OUT OF HIDING. THE ATELIER SERIES IS CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED AND I NEED TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LOVE IT (AND STERK) LIKE I DO. PLEASE!
AS YOU KNOW, THE STORY TAKES PLACE AFTER THE EVENTS OF ATELIER MERURU, ALTHOUGH I USED A PICTURE OF STERK DURING ATELIER TOTORI AS THE COVER. IT JUST LOOKED SO AWESOME!