Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers or anything Related to it, except the three DVD collections ("Slayers," "NEXT," and "TRY") and the DVD of "The Motion Picture," none of which really count. However, as this work is intended only for the twin purposes of 'entertainment' and 'getting the story out of my system,' and I'll never in any foreseeable future or reasonable Alternate Universe get anything out of it, making a big deal out of it would be - pardon my candor - stupid.

P.S. This is my first ever published Fic, so Comments are greatly appreciated.

Slayers: The Starbird Chronicles

Prologue : At the Wedding of Princess Martina mel Navratilova Xoana and the Bounty Hunter Swordsman Zangulus

As the movie-set chapel teetered and fell, bringing the giant emblem of Majin Zoamelgustar down onto the crowd, there were two among them who gave no notice, other than to think how stupid it was to hang a giant, metal medallion on such an unstable wall in the first place. They were too busy investigating rumors they had heard among the crowd of the deaths of two of the five High-Rank Mazoku serving Ruby Eye Shabranigdo; this was in itself a distraction from their initial purpose - locating a certain semi-famous red-haired sorceress who was supposed to be there, and who was apparently the cause of the distracting events. One of the two, a medium-height, wiry man with eyes that looked purple and green at the same time (depending on the light), pushed his center-parted, five-inch-long black hair off his forehead and behind his ears in frustration; the white bangs immediately slid back to their previous positions. He turned to his companion.

"Ah, you said you saw our objective earlier, yes?"

"Yes, but she was with several traveling companions – We'd not be able to get to her." The short, cloaked servant shook his head, and added a rueful grin, revealing his sharp fangs. These were the only trait of his that were not hidden by the shadows; his shadowy, hooded, brown cloak concealed his hairless head, his long, pointed ears, and the mottled grey color of his skin and eyes, all of which marked him as a member of one of the Daemon races.

"Oh well, maybe later. You will investigate these rumors, then check on the... situation up north, no? And see if you can locate her again on the way back. If she's still with others... Well, if this rumor is true, then it's even more important that we find her. I might have to risk it…"

The Daemon nodded. "As you say, master Starbird." The servant's cloak also hid the fact that his upper limbs had more in common with the wings of a very large bat than with the hands of a human (though large, they fit into the cloak's sleeves when folded with the wrist and thumb where the hand should be and the wing-fingers folded back along the arm). These, combined with his sharp sight and superhuman hearing, made him one of his master's best and favorite scouts.

Starbird watched his servant walk to the edge of the milling crowd and into a nearby clump of trees. A rustle of leaves let him know that the Daemon had taken off, in spite of the Invisibility charm he must have cast on himself. Starbird smiled his approval of the Daemon's efficiency; there would be a reward in that when he returned. Then, sighing, he turned and went back to his search. He stayed with the wedding until it broke up an hour later; then left for home himself. As he flew over the forest, he resigned himself to a long wait; even with the servant's exceptional speed, it would be a month before he returned.

He had not, of course, found the person for whom he was looking; though he had no way of knowing it, she had left with her friends while he and his servant were talking...

Author Note: Yeah, not much happened. This is mostly to set the scene and introduce an important Character.

A few points of Clarification:

1. Daemon (Pronounced DAY-mawn, rhymes with "hey, lawn") are not Mazoku. While they are still more-or-less demonic in appearance, if not character, they do not feed off emotions of any sort. They feed off food, just like humans. They also can use magic of all types safely, and usually better than humans; a Mazoku trying to draw on the power of the gods (White Magic) or another Mazoku (Black Magic) will usually be damaged in the process. They also come in many different types besides the Greybat seen here, including the stereotypical red devil and one that looks more-or-less like Dug/Dagu from "Dragon Half" – one of those, named Seth, was my first ever Slayers Original Character... Ahh, Nostalgia... I didn't know the specifics of Mazoku, having only seen the dubbed version of the first series, so I came up with a character who was a demon. Then, when I learned about Mazoku, I had to come up with that whole Daemon thing to explain the discrepancies. Happy memories... Of course, I could have just trashed the character, but what kind of person would I be then? He and the Dragon-Half (not the same as Ryuuzoku-half, for the same reason) character I created at the same time are still active, as it were; I might even write down some of the stories with my band of OCs some day.

2. I don't know if an Invisibility spell exists, or if one would work; However, I used it because (a) people would notice a five-foot-tall grey bat flying at over 60 miles per hour and (b) the guy can't teleport (or do whatever it is that Mazoku do).

Re: 1: Yes, most of my characters are based closely on other characters from other sources (or cobbled together from parts thereof); it's a weakness of mine: I see an interesting character and a place for them in a story develops in my mind before I know what's happening. That would be cool, but I also have a hard time writing the stories down... it's frustrating. The only saving grace, in my mind, is that they get so mixed up that they aren't outright copies; they either look or act different or have different backstories. For example: even Starbird, a thoroughly original Character, is based on an earlier character who has altogether too much to do with "Tenchi Muyo!," and the Daemon was originally a Gray version of Lexington from Disney's "Gargoyles," but I decided to make it different by changing the wings. My goal for this fic is to only use characters that are at least as original as Starbird. I trust I'll be informed if I fail.

^_^;;You prolly didn't want to know all that… Sorry.