MÄR ζ (Zeta)

Prologue: Tabibito no monogatari (The Traveler's Story Prologue)

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!

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Clandic was a small, rural village nestled in the deep mountains. It was so small in fact, it rarely had any visitors and wasn't on any map ever made for MÄRHeaven. They villagers liked this though; it gave them the false illusion of security. But, there were some things that not even small, unknown villages could escape. An epidemic of plague had swept through their village killing off many people and leaving many more without their loved ones.

The village and its people did their best to continue on. They still up kept their little farms, though many of them had to be given up due to lack of workers. Children started to help out at a young age, whether they be part of a family or orphans themselves. The adults did their best to make sure that these orphans and their children were well-cared for and would grow up to be satisfied adults. It was an arduous life, but it was the only life they had ever known.

All this while, the little village remained isolated from the outside world. The second War Games took place, and the chaos it caused stretched across the land, excluding only minor villages like Clandic. There was much devastation and destruction, and a few brave heroes stepped forward, even one from another world. Together, these heroes managed to topple the newfound power the Chess had gained and they fell to the darkness. The land was once more restored to its light.

With the leader's departure, and the disbandment of Chess, the world thought itself safe once more. However, the security didn't last long…it never does. People claiming to be remnants of the once omnipotent Chess ravaged through the countryside as bandits. Kaldea, land of the sorcerers and of great magic, had hastily decided to withdraw all the ÄRMs from MÄRHeaven in an effort to stop their power from being abused once more. The people cried out in fear and anger-what would they use to protect themselves now?

It wasn't too long after that the ÄRMs started to circulate though. Soon, even the most common person could have and use one. These were no normal weapons though…they were fakes, created by an evil mastermind who had been sitting and waiting for his revenge for more than one hundred years. A rogue Kaldean he was, corrupted by the power he had been given. After his first uprising in Kaldea with his fakes, the elder at the time, Babbo, had managed to seal him away, hoping that he and his demented power would never see the light of day again. To make sure of that, he himself was sealed inside a magical item that became an ÄRM in a class all its own. In that form, he had helped to destroy MÄRHeaven during the first War Games, and he helped to save it in the second.

But, no one within Clandic knew anything of it. The ÄRMs had yet to stretch to their distance, and few travelers ever ventured their way. With the fall of Chess though, travel became a little less difficult and soon travelers flocked all over the land, in search of new and rare ÄRMs they had never even heard of. Many people became ÄRM traders themselves. But, none of those people had ever reached Clandic. It was still as isolated as it ever was. And, they wanted nothing more then to keep it that way…

Nnnn

The Bailars had spent generations living in Clandic. No one knew for sure where their family history had started, but the only thing ever recorded by any members took place in Clandic. Their history there dated back more than two hundred years. It was an impressive feat, but even so, they weren't the oldest family to exist within the small, rural village.

The current generation of Bailars consisted of a mother, a father, and two children, a boy and a girl. During the epidemic though, the mother had sadly passed away, leaving her two children orphans. The father? He had been killed before the epidemic, charged with a heavy crime by a drunkard. The drunk, in his blind and wrongful rage, struck the father down with a sickle. The drunkard, too, was sentenced to death for the crime he had committed. But, the father had been innocent.

At the age of only twelve, young Tira Bailar became the head of her family; the only caretaker to her little brother Hisoka. She was a strong-willed and determined girl, and she accepted the responsibility easily and upheld it the best she could. She was well liked by the townspeople, even though she never had too much to do with them. She and her brother attended to what was left of the Bailar farm, trying to make ends meet and not starve when come winter.

Hisoka, now, he wasn't so levelheaded. Having only been seven at his mother death, he still had yet to really understand the whole force it had caused. He was a curious boy and was often causing trouble for his older sister. He liked to pull pranks and go exploring, almost leaving the village to do so several times. Of course, Tira would have nothing of it and sometimes punished him almost too harshly. But, Hisoka wouldn't listen any other way.

Despite all of this, the little brother and sister were very close. Having been left in the world all alone, they only had each other to rely on. Tira's stubborn streak didn't allow for her to rely on anyone else. She tried to take the entire burden on her own two shoulders. Hisoka was just as stubborn, though he was willing to ask for help when he needed it. Still, he had to fight his sister to take some of the responsibility away from her. But, they two loved each other and would stand tall behind one another until they could no longer do so.

They started every morning pretty much the same during the warmer months. Tira woke up at the crack of dawn to make breakfast then woke up Hisoka shortly after. Together, the two of them ate then went out to the fields to begin their daily work. They finished by lunchtime during which they went into the village to visit and trade with the other farmers. They spent their evening finishing up any work and then Tira would read to Hisoka. It had pretty much always been the same, and today started out no different.

"Hisoka! Get out of bed!" Tira stormed into her brother's room and yanked off his blankets. He groaned and rolled over, trying to hide his face from the light of the rising sun.

"Hisoka!" Tira gave him a hard shove. He rolled out of the bed and landed with a hard thud on the floor. He quickly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Nee-san…" Hisoka frowned slightly as he stood up and brushed himself off. No matter how much they cleaned the dust from the corn they grow always seemed to build up and create a layer of grime across their floor, especially in rooms with windows.

"How many times do I have to tell you to get up before you'll actually get out of bed, mooou! Now, come on! Breakfast is getting cold!" Tira sighed and turned on her heels. She quickly stalked out of the room and went back to serving up their meals in their small kitchen. Their house only had three rooms…two bedrooms and a large room that included their kitchen and their dining room. It was nice and cozy and more than enough for just the two of them.

"You don't have to be so mean about it!" Hisoka whined as he came into the kitchen area. He took his seat at the table and leaned on it with his elbows, waiting for his sister to bring his food to him.

"Elbows off the table," she chastised him as brought his bowl before him. He sighed and did as she said; it was always like this in the morning. Hisoka had still yet to discover how it could possibly be comfortable eating without one's elbows on the table, but Tira seemed to manage to do it fine.

The two of them hurriedly ate their small breakfast in silence. Another rule of Tira's was no talking at the table while they were eating. It was another rule that Hisoka strongly detested, but since Tira was the older one, by a good five years, he could do nothing but obey her. He didn't mind all that much really, though he did wish he could understand her reasoning for making all the rules she did.

Hisoka cleared the table while Tira cleaned the dishes. They switched off on who did which chore, but it really didn't matter as long as it got done. It didn't take them long to clean up and they soon headed out into the morning sunlight. The sun had barely risen above the horizon in the sky.

"I hate getting up this early…" Hisoka yawned as he grabbed a basket and a shovel and went to work digging up some of the finished root vegetables. Tira sighed and grabbed her sickle. She lightly knocked him on the head before she went to do her work on the other side of the small field.

"We need to get this done. There's no other way," she reminded him. He pouted slightly but said nothing. He glanced over his shoulder to watch her walk away. Why did she always have to be right?

They worked through the morning as the sun rose up higher and higher in the sky. After several hours of working, they finally went to take their lunch break. First though, they went inside to clean up. Both of the siblings had blonde hair, though Tira's was much lighter than her brothers. After working though, they were both covered with layers of dust and dirt, making the two of them look almost identical.

Despite the five-year gap between their ages, they looked a lot alike. Tira had blonde hair that was cropped just below her shoulders. She usually wore it back in a ponytail, as it got in her way otherwise, though sometimes, when they went out to play, she would let it go loose. Being not even to her thirteenth year, she was still rather small and tiny. She was above five foot by a little and she was thin and lanky. Hisoka's hair was a dirty blonde that was long for a boy, but it still fell only below his face just a little. He was quite a bit shorter than his sister, but he shared the same thin and lanky look she hadn't quite grown out of. They had the same face shape and the same pale skin. It was their eyes that really helped them stand apart. Though the shapes of them were similar, the colors were entirely different. Hisoka had eyes of a grayish blue; Tira had one eye of a deep sapphire and the other of a radiant amethyst.

The two of them, finally presentable enough to be seen in public, hurried into the village. Today was the first day of the month, which meant it would be the best day for trading. The two of them carried their arms full of goods piled into little baskets. It didn't take them long to reach the central part of the village, where other farmers were already setting up stands with their goods. They moved to the place reserved for the Bailars and quickly set-up the little they had to offer.

In just fifteen minutes, the little marketplace was bustling. All of the villagers were out and around, needing to trade for different foods and supplies. Some of them, for extra money, would even make little trinkets. Tira often found herself in admiration of these things, but she herself did not have the money to spare to get one. Hisoka had several times told her to go and buy one, but she was too stubborn to. She didn't want them to starve for her petty desires.

"I'm going to wander first!" Tira announced after dealing with a couple customers. She was the one in charge of getting their supplies, so she was the one to go scour the market in search of them. She always let Hisoka go and look, too, and usually he did so first, but for some reason, today she felt compelled to be the one to search first.

"Hurry back!" Hisoka called after her. She quickly moved through the stalls, making her way to the ones she knew would have what they wanted. It didn't take her long to find them, and she filled her basket up with the necessary foods and other things they would need to get through the rest of this month.

Tira was heading back when she passed a small shop with trinkets in it. Usually, she would completely ignore them, but a small bracelet caught her attention. It was pure silver and an intricate pendant resembling a wolf hung from its chain. She felt herself mesmerized by it. It was as if she was being drawn towards it…

"Hello, little missie!" the man behind the stall called out to her. She blinked up at him, coming out of her trance. She took a step back. This was not a man that she knew…

"Hello…" she nodded her head slightly. She hesitated for a moment before turning on her heels to leave. His hand fell on her shoulder and he stopped her.

"Now, don't leave so soon! Please, come and take a gander!" the man grinned at her. He looked to be rather young, maybe not even fully into his twenties yet. There were odd paintings on his skin and lots of little scars. She had never seen him before, and she didn't know what to make of him.

"I'm a traveler, and I had never even heard of this place! But, I came here by accident…" the man explained, seeing the uncertainty in her eyes. She nodded slightly, not sure if she really believed his story.

"Right now, there's a great battle going on…well, actually, it's a period of ease between battles. There was a war, two years back. An evil man created a 'game' and used it to take control of the land. You guys are lucky; it doesn't have appeared to have hit you…" the man chuckled slightly, running his fingers over the trinkets he had set out on his stand.

"Ever see anything like this? Tell me, just what do you feel…?" the man held up the bracelet she had been examining earlier. She blinked at him.

"Feel..?" she took a moment to think. It wasn't that she really felt anything. There was just something strange about it, was all. "Um, I'm not sure…" she shrugged slightly.

"It feels like something's tingling, ne? That feeling, my dear, is magic! These trinkets aren't just anything! They are jewelry that is bestowed with magic," the man complained. Tira had to fight to keep back her laughter.

"Magic!? How odd! Certainly, nobody would be foolish enough to sell magic jewelry. What good would it do?" Tira couldn't help but smile. What a queer man this traveler was indeed!

"No, my dear…you don't understand. These 'trinkets' aren't just covered in magic. They are filled with magic and are able to take on special abilities. Like, this one here..." he motioned towards the bracelet, "it allows you to summon a guardian beast. These jewelry are actually weapons, made for keeping people safe."

Tira laughed out loud, "Those kinds of things are just fairytales! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my brother…" she turned to leave. As she walked away, his voice trailed after her.

"Don't be so foolish as to discredit things that you cannot prove…"

Tira smiled to Hisoka when she got back to the stand. He was grinning like an idiot; obviously, they had been doing well on sales. She sat down and he hurried out from behind the stand.

"My turn!" Hisoka grinned as he raced off through the stalls. If he found something he wanted, he would have to come back and get his sister's okay to buy it. He didn't mind this though; he still had gotten a lot of fun things thanks to her.

Tira leaned against her hand and watched him leave. She was pondering over what that strange man had said. He had said that those rings and bracelets had contained magic. Could that actually be true? She had never heard of anything like that, but then again, she never heard much of the outside world. The feeling that bracelet had given off though had her wondering if he had been telling the truth.

What bothered her even more than that though was what the man had said about a war. Had a battle really gone on? She didn't like to think so. Even though she felt safe within the confines of their village, she wasn't foolish enough to believe it would remain that way forever or that they were invincible within these walls. Her father had been killed, her mother had been taken by disease; there were things that not even secluded places could escape. Everywhere you went, there were still humans. And, with humans, there were mistakes. But, also with humans, there was hope.

One of the people from the village came up and broke her from her daze. She went back to focusing herself to the task at hand. She had to make sure to make and get enough to let them survive for the rest of this month.

After a couple hours, Hisoka finally returned, just as the marketplace was closing up. Tira frowned at him, a little upset with having to close up the stall all on her own. Though there wasn't much to do, since they had sold most of what they had brought, she had to deal with taking the stall down and filling the baskets with what she had gotten today.

"What took you so long?" Tira asked as he got close enough. The grin across Hisoka's face simply got wider.

"I heard an awesome story, nee-san!" Hisoka exclaimed as he helped to put the final pieces of the stand back away. She blinked at him.

"Oh?" she already thought she knew what he had heard. There was no doubt in her mind that he had run into that strange man selling magical jewelry. Hisoka just couldn't keep himself away from that kind of thing.

"Yeah! It was about this great war and a hero from another world!" Hisoka grinned. Tira frowned. She hadn't heard the whole story, but it was starting to sound rather ridiculous.

"Anyways, I've gotta tell you it! So, this man named Phantom…" Hisoka begin. His story took the entire way home and most of their time finishing up their daily chores to tell. It was a strange story indeed, but after it was finished, Tira found herself very worried for the first time in her life.

As she tucked Hisoka into bed, he grinned up at her, "Ne, nee-san…one day, can we go on an adventure together? Let's go save the world!"

Tira gave him a small smile and moved to the door, "Yes. One day, we will leave this village and find true adventure…"

As Tira left the room and made her way to her little bedroom across the way she felt a tear slip down her face. Why was she suddenly feeling so miserable…!?

Nnn

Four years passed with not another word about the strange man and his even stranger stories, but he lived in the back of the Bailar siblings' minds, haunting them all the while. And, during the fourth year after, their whole world was turned upside down.

Hisoka wandered too far to the edge of the village and was captured. Tira tried to save him, but it suddenly seemed like he had become a different person. He had lost the luster in his eyes and all of his emotions were gone. It was as if he had been reduced to a stoic doll.

That day, as she watched him get torn away from her, the blood streaming down her face and the flames of the burning village rising behind her, she vowed to stop at nothing to get him back. And, with that vow, she took her first step into the real world. She entered into the land known as MÄRHeaven…

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Translation notes:

Nee-san: big sister; shows friendly relationship but still has respect

Mou: sheesh; literally: just a sound to express annoyance

Ne: right; literally: just a sound used to get attention or ask opinion

W00t! So, I had some people pestering me about this since they knew I had started this a looong time ago. So, I got a little bored today while working on Zos Kias (sorry my baby!), and ended up finishing up and fixing up the prologue for this XD (used to be first chapter…). So, I'm not stopping my Tsubasa fic..in fact, I'm going to try to finish that one first. But, I just felt like getting this out and into the open.

Why Zeta? I have no idea! But, if you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too. But, I'll tell you this right now…I do NOT do OcXcharacter pairings. I do not believe in mixing OCs with characters (especially if it breaks a candid pairing, or one I like). So, sorry for those fans of Aka-chan…she will NOT be paired with Alviss in this, as much as you people keep doing XD (though they will meet!). Thanks for reading!