The blue haired man inhaled hard, then, realizing his lungs were full of water, started upchucking violently.
Confusion and fear danced around his mind, not fully materializing but ever present. Pain all but blinded him, dampening all his other senses as well.
Pain in his forehead where his left eye is, and pain to his right, where his arm connects to the shoulder. He instinctively tried to move his arm to his face, but it did not respond. It could not respond. It was Broken. The bone shattered completely in half.
He brought his remaining arm to his face. He felt something wet. Blood, running all down his face. Cuts and bruises ran up and down his neck and head, the worst being where his left eye should have been. All that was left was a throbbing gash spewing blood like a fountain.
All of his ribs were either cracked or broken. He could feel them now. His leg also, must have been in terrible condition because the pain was searing, but he didn't worry about it.
He knew it was still there, otherwise he wouldn't feel it.
But he didn't have time to worry about his own injuries.
Memories of the voyage came rushing back to the man. Curious about the lands outside the seas, the man had left his home accompanied by his two greatest friends in the world.
"Must find them…."
The man's labored breathing become even more forced as he struggled to his feet, half blind with pain.
"SOREN! RANULF!"
The man's voice boomed, his anguish audible
"SOREN! RANULF!"
The man limped across the sandy beach, reaching for the shining object protruding from the ground.
It was a sword.
Broken in half, and beaten to dullness by the rocks and waves.
Still, with this weapon, the man felt anything was possible.
He had always been able to reach his goals with sword in hand. having one now gave him a small feeling of comfort.
Of Hope
He stumbled farther, barely able to keep his massive frame from sinking to the ground
"Soren….Ranulf…."
Blood loss and fatigue gripped the man like a vice, twisting its dark fingers around him, choking the life out of him
"So….ren…Ran….ulf… ugh"
The man sank to the sand, dropping his weapon in the process, unable to go any farther.
He reached for the sword with his last breath, as if preparing himself to fight death itself.
But no matter how skilled a swordsman he was, death was an opponent even he couldn't handle.
This is the Fate destiny had in store for the great hero Ike.
victor of countless battles, friend to countless people.
This is how Fate willed his legacy to end.
But even with fate, the best laid plans often go awry.
"Curious.. is it not?"
A fair skinned girl sat watching the spectacle with genuine intrigue from a cliff overhang onlooking the beach. She spoke with a cold emotionless expression. She wore dark robes, and had dark circles under her eyes. The eyes were yellow and catlike.
"The man is washed ashore, half dead from his injuries alone, not to mention the bloodloss, and still he reaches for a weapon, drags his mangled body across the beach and presses forward in the name of his companions. Isn't it strange brother?"
The man standing behind her eyed her suspiciously. They may have been siblings, but he never trusted her for an instant. He looked Similar to her. He wore a long kimono, and carried a dangerous wo dao in a sheathe to his side. He was much taller than her, and stalky. His eyes were the same, although his hid an ever deeper malice.
"Yes, quite strange" was his response, although he made no attempt to hide the sarcasm in it
"Now hurry, let's go finish him off. We must kill all survivors and gather their quintessence. This man appears to have a great deal."
The man spoke with the same expression as his "sister"
"but brother, we already killed that cat person. That's enough for one day, Right?"
"what's gotten in to you Luna? With this man's quintessence, we will be one large step closer to achieving our goal. This man's quintessence is comparable to Marquess Pherae or even Marquess Ostia."
"I know, brother, and that's why I can't let you destroy him just yet. Don't you find this man intriguing? Where did he come from? What will he do? How can any normal man have so much quintessence? I wish to see for myself. I want to observe this human. I wish to study him. See how he handles certain situations. And then later…. We can dissect him"
The girl exhibited a cold glee. A sadistic happiness at the thought of putting this traveler through hardships and trials.
"You and your hobbies… so what do you propose we do?"
"for now, I'll tend to his wounds. I won't heal them fully, mind you, just enough for him to still feel the pain. He won't be in any imminent threat, but he'll ache for weeks."
"and then what? You can't just leave him out here. He'd be killed by bandits or wolves and such."
"Brother, dearest, Have you no faith?"
She asked with an innocent smile
"All the better for you to hide your forked tongue" he thought. She knew the answer to her question.
"I'll go search for more survivors then"
"alright"
The man left so quickly, if she hadn't known he had been there just moments before she wouldn't have believed it.
It sent chills down her spine.
"It's a good thing he needs me"
She shuddered to think of how easily he could, and would, kill her if he didn't.
She jumped from the cliff, and landed on the sand below with catlike agility. For a human, the jump would have been fatal. She was no human.
As she reached the man, she sat next to him in the sand.
She began work on the healing.
It was slow and monotonous, and she became bored rather quickly.
She took the opportunity to admire the man's features.
"Hmmmm, he's cute! Well-built too! Maybe after I'm through with the research-"
"Who…. are you?"
"EEEEEK!"
The man had regained consciousness. Only barely though.
"Oh my! You poor thing! Hold on, everything's going to be all right now"
She couldn't risk alarming him in his state. The slightest struggle could lead to his death, and she wouldn't have that. For now, she would have to play the good natured maiden.
"Oh dear! Oh my! I'm ever so glad I got to you in time! I was afraid I was too late!"
She hated acting like such a goody-goody. It put a bad taste in her mouth.
'Who… are you? Those eyes.. are you… Laguz?"
"Oh… why yes! My name's luna. I'm part of the clergy."
Her? A priest? HA!
"if anything, I'm a creative liar" She thought "Also, what is a Laguz? Did he mean like the cat man?"
"We were passing through, when we saw you washed ashore. Your ship must have run aground on one of the reefs. They can tear a ship clean in two."
"HA! Reefs! I crack myself up!"
"Where… are the others..."
This next part would be difficult.
"I'm so sorry… There were no more survivors…. *Sniff* If only I had come sooner, I could have saved them! *Sob*"
Her mock-sorrow was spot on.
"No… there was nothing you could have done… Soren….. and Ranulf…. I'm sorry I dragged you both in to this."
With that, he slipped back into unconsciousness.
"Even now he worries about his companions more than his own safety? Curiouser and curiouser"
She finished the rest without him waking up again. His concern for his friends left her with much to think about. "Why did this man care about his companions so much?" she wondered. "It just doesn't make sense…."
"Hey! Stop staring off into space!"
Her brother had returned.
"Did you find any more quintessence?"
"No, there was this one measly little brat with black hair, but he wasn't worth killing. His quintessence was pitiful"
"What did you do with him?"
"I left him, he's as good as dead anyway, no reason to bloody my blade on garbage."
"Are you sure that's wise?"
"I could easily ask you the same about this one"
He motioned his still sheathed wo dao to where the young hero lay.
"so what now?"
"Step back"
The man did as he was told. The girl pulled a large staff from her tiny sleeve.
"Always more concerned with appearances than actual ability" the man thought.
She held the staff up in the air.
"Brother, where is the nearest town again?"
"10 miles west"
"WHA-! You're kidding? Dammit!"
She lowered the staff, and once again rummaged around in her sleeves. This time she pulled out a small purple sack, tied together with a red lace. She removed the lace, revealing the shining silver powder within.
"That stuff is expensive"
"I'm sorry, would you like to carry him?"
The man remained quiet.
She took a small pinch of the dust, fastened the lace around the sack, and replaced it within her robe sleeve.
Dust and Staff in hand, she started chanting a powerful incantation.
The dust turned golden, and fell from her hand, surrounding her and the staff in the center of a golden whirlwind. The chanting grew louder, and the whirlwind grew more violent, until at last she shouted the final word of the incantation. There was a blinding flash of light, and then the young hero was gone.
"Great work… now let's go, we have much left to do."
The man turned to walk away and the girl turned to follow
"indeed…"
She turned back to where the stranger was lying mere moments ago
"You'll be hearing from us again, Traveler. I wonder how long you will be able to entertain me"
Her lips upturned into a twisted smile.
"I'll be looking forward to it, ahahahaha"