Part 1
He knelt before the King of the Cardinal Winds, his six wings folded in close to his back, his right fist closed, and his right arm folded over his chest. He kept his blue eyes downward, fearful that a single glance upward at the godly authority would send him to Hell; he did not know for what purpose he had been summoned, or if he had somehow fallen out of his King's favor- he thought he had done well in the previous battle!- But despite his inner raving turmoil, he kept his tongue and his manner still.
Silence prevailed over the throne room. He closed his eyes, trying to steal his heart into tranquility, but his Lord broke the peace before he could:
"General of the Winds, calm yourself; you have not fallen from my graces. Quite the opposite, in actuality."
The General's heart only raced faster, but against his impulses, he did not raise his eyes, not until his King ordered him to do so.
"Raise your eyes and face me, Wind-Maker."
The General did as his King demanded, looking up into the glowing presence of of white and blue that reflected the sunlight on hundreds of wings; Although he could not see through the haze of light, he could sense that the King smiled upon him.
"You served valiantly in battle today. Because of your leadership and planning, our armies have regained yet another third of the Earth King's territory, and thus we have a vantage point from which to attack Jabberwock and assist the Water and Fire Kings; because of this, I feel that you deserve an reward."
Kanerudo Wind-Maker looked up, surprise evinced in his eyes and the way he held his wings slightly ajar. He heard the King chuckle.
"Your surprise is amusing," he remarked, as a great talon reached down and plucked a crystal out of the Earth. At his touch, it changed from a clear transparency to a gleaming blue.
Wind-Maker watched in a combination of awe and curiosity as the gem was placed before the King of Winds, then became encircled by the symbol of the Tornado attribute: a white circle with three jagged lines in the center, two bending inward towards the middle straight line.
The emblem glew, and the gem in its center was transformed in a blinding flash of light. Kanerudo had to shield his eyes.
"Fuka Windragon! Be Born!"
Yet another flash, and when the General next opened his eyes, he could scarcely believe them. His King smiled.
"Rise General, and receive your reward."
Wind-Maker rose to his feet and gently approached the emblem. Within it, there was now another dragon like himself, knelt upon both knees: her white wings matched her loose dress, the long skirt of which laid ruffled around her, concealing her legs and tail; her blonde hair fell in thick waves and curls, which brushed lightly against her shoulders at the end of her swan-like neck; her fine coat of white and lavender fur was spotless and unblemished; and when she opened her green-blue eyes, they stared right into his.
Kanerudo was unsure what to make of this 'reward'. He looked up at his King for guidence, as did the newly-born Legendz. The dragon King recieved their inquisitve looks kindly.
"Do not be afraid to take her as yours, Wind-Maker," he said, "And Fuka, do not fear him; he will do you no harm."
The General looked down at Fuka and offered her his hand. She blinked at it for a moment, before gingerly taking it with her own. Their claws interlocked, and Wind-Maker gently pulled her up and out of the emblem. Silently, they looked into each other's eyes once again, before Kanerudo knelt before their King; Fuka instinctively followed suit.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said, although he was unsure how greatful he truely felt.
"You are welcome, General. Be kind to each other. Take time to become aquainted, then report back to me if you are satisfied."
Wind-Maker nodded to the Wind King and looked to Fuka.
"Can you fly?" He asked gently.
She nodded. "I...think so."
He squeezed her hand. "Then come with me."
He took off into the clear blue sky, pulling her along with him. Her white wings opened, immediantly taking to the air with a snap, like a flag of victory in the wind. He kept that detail in mind absently as he led her to his residence atop one of the great stone pillars in the Kingdom. Here, the wind was always available to him, and he had an exqusite view from which to spot an oncoming attack, or simply to enjoy the sight of the horizon.
Wind-Maker landed on the moss atop the pillar, and the air produced from his arrival made the white flaps of the General's tent waver softly. As Fuka landed beside him, he realized he was still holding her hand. He blinked at their interlocked digits and slowly released her. Fuka watched their hands part, then studied her claws as if she was missing something. He released his breath in a shallow sigh and moved the flap of his tent aside.
He took a glance back at her, as she now stared out at the horizon and the sun that had started to rest. The wind brushed its fingers through her hair and ruffled the feathers of her white wings. The General looked into his tent, then at the darkening sky, hoping that there would be enough room for two in his shelter. He looked back at her and cleared his throat.
"Would you...like to come inside? It gets cold without the sun." He said, gesturing into his tent.
Fuka snapped out of her trance and blinked at him, then nodded. "I would. Thank you."
He held the flap open for her as she entered, following after her only a moment later. The Wind-Maker was glad to see there was at least enough room for the both of them in his tent, albeit a bit snug. She stood in the center of the moss floor, looking around the enclosure and its few contents: a small table in the back, with maps pinned to the back canvas; a few small chests of blue; a pile of blankets and rugs stacked and folded neatly in a corner; simple things he kept, nothing elaborate or useless.
He gently tapped her shoulder to let her know he wanted to siddle past. She distraitedly obliged, taking a step back to allow him to move past and sit behind the small table, where his maps and plans awaited him. He used a piece of charcoal to mark specific areas and sketch out battle strategies, paying his guest no mind. She seemed to study him for a moment, before going to one of his chests and opening them, looking through the contents with childish curiosity. She picked up a small dagger, of the Necrom Kingdom. She tilted her head at it. "General, where did you get these?" she asked, running a claw over the hilts of many weapons and blades from the Dark Kingdom.
The Wind-Maker looked up. "Oh, those? Those are trophies."
She looked into another chest. "Trophies?" Her voice became soft and almost blanch.
He raised his head, now looking at her directly with his full attention. The second chest was filled with gleaming gems of different shades of purple...with small silver figures inside of them. She held one of them gingerly in her dainty claws, an expression almost like condolence upon her face.
Kanerudo observed this behavior for a moment as he tried to smooth out a map upon the table. He broke his attention away from her to growl at the unruly sheet of papyrus.
"Damn thing...Will you please hand me four of those?" He asked, extending his hand in her direction.
Fuka placed four gems into his claws and watched with horror as he used them to weigh the corners of the paper down.
"What are you doing?" She gasped.
The General tilted his head. "What? What am I doing wrong?"
She crawled over and gently used the tip of a claw to touch one of the gems. "...These are Legendz, just like us."
He nodded. "Their souldolls, yes."
She looked up at him. "...And you use them to weigh down your paper?"
He blinked. "Yes. They are my trophies. I can use them as I please."
She broke eye contact, her wings and shoulders tense as she clutched her dress. "...But...They're your own kind."
"Would you prefer it if I had left their souldolls on the battlefield? Free to be crushed and destroyed?- When I collect them, what I do is a mercy."
She seemed a bit more relaxed, although she still would not look at him. He sighed and tried to focus on his planning.
"General?" She inquired quietly.
"Yes?"
"...Why was I born?"
He sighed again. "I don't know."
"Am...I also a trophy?"
"No. A reward, according to our King."
"...So I am an object?"
"No. I do not know what your purpose is."
"Am I meant only to fight in Legendz War?"
"I suppose so; that is every Legendz's duty."
"...General?"
His eye twitched slightly in annoyance.
"Yes?"
"Why does our King-?"
"I don't know! Stop asking me questons!" He snapped.
She flinched back like he had struck her. He exhaled his irrations out and closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry. I did not mean to hurt your feelings."
She shook her head. "No, I made a nusiance of myself. I apologize."
There was a short pause as a mutual akwardness settled over the two. The light started to dim, and soon the General could no longer see the map in front of him. He fumbled around for a candle, but his search for light only ended in failure, and two of the four souldolls he had used as paperweights fell off the low table. Fuka reached out and picked them up, crawled over to the chest, and put the souldolls inside. She watched the dimly glowing gems for a moment, running her claws across them like a mother brushing a sleeping baby's cheek, before closing it shut.
Wind-Maker sighed and stood up, stretching. He looked down at the two remaining gems on the table and picked them up. He handed them to her, and she placed them back into the chest. He smiled and cracked his back, then reached into the corner where the blankets and rugs were.
He nudged her with a wing to get her to move from the center of the floor. She pressed herself against a canvas wall as he laid the blankets and rugs down to make a futon to sleep on. Seeing her made him realize that he only had one. He looked to her with an apologetic expression.
"I...only have one of these..."
She nodded in understanding and crawled onto the futon, then laid down on one side and curled up as small as possible. He rubbed the back of his neck in unease.
"...If you like, I could sleep outside, so that you may-"
"No. I am comfortable. You can sleep here. This is your tent." She patted the large space she had left for him.
He sighed and laid down beside her, turning his back to her and folding in his wings to give her space. He felt her shift a bit beside him, as she rested in a more comfortable positon. He thought for a long time in silence, until her serene voice broke through the darkness.
"Goodnight, General."
He blinked for a moment, registering her words.
"...Goodnight, Fuka."
And then he fell asleep.
Hey Legendz fans! This is a small story I wrote after coming up with some drabbles and one-shots I had intended to be non-cannon to my story Legendz: Dark Winds, but I eventually thought: "This is kinda cool! I can turn this into a story!" So...Yeah! I know it looks like a typical "Oc made simply to be shipped with cannon character" type of cringe fest, but please give it a chance! I swear it will get better! This story shall delve into my personal headcannon onto how Kanerudo the 'Wind-Maker' became Shiron and Ranshiin, and will also make much more sense as to how it links into Dark Winds as the stories continue! Please critique and review after a read, if you have the time! I desperately crave opinions to improve my writing! Thank you all so much,
~TheExiledCyborg