AN: I own nothing.
Dezel was standing on the edge of a cliff, his bright green eyes staring at the beautiful world before him. This was the first time Lafarga was taking him out, away from the other wind seraphim. Golden fields of wheat stretched for miles, and the wind tugged at his hair. Animals prowled the ground below, field mice scurried through the wheat, and the birds flew overhead. The vast sky was cloudless, letting the sun shine its full radiance.
Lafarga came to stand beside him, also taking in the view. "Pretty, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Dezel agreed.
"This place is called Pearloats Pasture. We used to hang out here a lot. That is…" Lafarga lowered his voice, pushing his hat down, "Until the hellions appeared."
"Hellions?" Dezel inquired, turning to look at his friend. But his friend had carefully hidden his eyes beneath his hat.
"Yes. I wouldn't mess with them if I were you. They're quite violent and out of control. You wouldn't stand a chance against one."
Dezel nodded slowly. "I understand. I won't do anything rash."
Lafarga let out a snort of amusement. "I highly doubt it. You've always been a troublemaker, right from the beginning."
A faint loped sided grin formed on the edge of Dezel's face. "Yes, I suppose so."
"But that's not the reason I brought you here today," Lafarga admitted. "The truth is, I brought you here to ask you something."
The wind seemed to pick up at that moment, almost to empathize the tension. Dezel drew in a deep breath and asked, "What is it?"
There was a moment of silence before Lafarga answered. "A red haired human asked me to look after his daughter. Apparently his resonance is high enough to see seraphim. But to be honest, I don't want to get involved in human affairs. And yet…"
"And yet you want to." Dezel finished. Lafarga stiffening slightly only confirmed it.
"Yes, I do. This actually might be fun. But then there's you, and I can't just leave you out and about loose in the world. You're still young, Dezel."
Dezel crossed his arms. "So? I can manage fine on my own. Besides, this sounds interesting. Where is this human child?"
Lafarga raised his head. "In Volgran Forest, near the Tintagel Ruins."
…
Volgran Forest had trees that towered over them, blocking out some of the sunlight. Occasionally, Dezel would see a new plant, and Lafarga would launch into detail about it.
"Don't touch those," he'd say. "They're poisonous, and only the animals of the forest can eat them. They somehow developed an immunity to the poison."
Dezel, after a while, eager to meet the human child, grew impatient. They were going at a leisure pace. He walked faster, seeing a dark shape in the distance. He spotted the ruins. Some of the ruins had cracked and pieces of rumble lay scattered on the ground around it. Vines crawled over its hard, rocky surface. Standing a little ways away from it was the human father. Sitting on the ground beside him was…the little human girl.
The father had broad shoulders, and his short brown hair was unkempt. He wore a casual merchants outfit. His hazel eyes locked with Dezel's, seeming to hold him in place where he stood. Dezel began to feel uneasy as the human continued to stare at him. He gritted his teeth. What does he want with me? Dezel wondered, then shoved the thought away. It's nothing. You simply aren't used to humans seeing you, that's all.
Lafarga placed a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon," he urged, and the father's gaze seemed to melt away, making Dezel able to move again. They came to stand in front of the humans, Dezel a few extra inches away from the large human, wary.
"I found her wandering the northern battlefield," he began to explain. The northern battle field… Some time ago, a little skirmish occurred in Glaivend Basin between Hyland and Rolance. From what the other wind seraphim had told him, it had involved the Diphdas–the royal family of the throne in Hyland. Dezel didn't know too much of the details, but there was a rumor that the husband had been killed, and the wife had fled with her unborn child. "I couldn't just leave her there, where she could get killed. So I took her in, but I can't always keep an eye on her. I've got my job as the leader of the Windriders…plus, we're runnin' low on food anyhow."
"So you want us to take care her in your absence, is that what you're saying?" Dezel asked.
"Yes, I'd appreciate it, wind seraphim. I promise I'll get ya something good in return for lookin' after her." he bowed, and it made Dezel uncomfortable. Humans are weird, he thought. I don't get their customs.
Lafarga exchanged a glance with him, and Dezel gritted his teeth, knowing there was no point arguing further.
"Tch. Fine."
The human got out of his bow, and smiled, showing white, gleaming teeth. "Thank you. The name's Brad of the Windriders. And you?"
Dezel remained silent. Why should he tell Brad his name? What did it matter to him? Lafarga, seeing his stubbornness, sighed, and pushed his hat down his face a little. "I'm called Lafarga. And the grumpy one over there is Dezel."
Brad was still smiling as he took Lafarga's hand and shook it. He didn't offer it to him, which Dezel was grateful for. Or maybe he just think he'd bite. Heh, actually, he would.
"Well, I'm off to market. Thanks for taking care of Rose for me. C'mon, Windriders, we got some stuff to sell!"
"Yeah!" they agreed, climbing into a nearby caravan. The horses pounded the ground impatiently. Brad grabbed reins and a moment later they were off, disappearing into the woods.
Dezel turned his gaze to the little girl who was tugging his sleeve. She had short, auburn hair, and beautiful sky blue eyes. She wore a little orange dress, and as he continued to stare at her, Dezel felt nostalgic. Once, when he was younger, he'd been feeling annoyed with how the other wind seraphim were constantly watching over him, treating him like a baby. He got so fed up with it that one night, he sneaked away.
The night was cold, the air whipping against his face. Above, the sky was a sea of stars each one gleaming–each one as equally important and unique as the others. Dezel didn't know where he was going, and he didn't really care. He just wanted to get away, take care of himself, make his own decisions. The bushes rustled behind him, and a millisecond later a hellion pounced on him, slamming its paw down on his chest. It's breath was hot on Dezel's face, and its feral eyes gleamed in the light of the moon. I don't want to die! Dezel thought, fear starting to overwhelm him, washing over him like a tidal wave.
Suddenly the hellion's eyes widened. It let out a bellow of agony, and leaped off of Dezel. A pendulum raked the hellion's fur, torrents of wind attacking it on all sides. And then, seeing it was no match for its opponent, turned tail and ran. "Yeah that will teach 'em a thing or too!" a deep voice said, and a chorus of voices answered him. Dezel struggled to get up, rising to his feet only to collapse again. A large hand extended towards him, and without a thought Dezel took it, slowly rising to his feet. He staggered once, and then seemed to regain his balance.
"Woah, there kid," the man said as Dezel started to walk away. "Where are you going? You took a beating there from that hellion. If we hadn't arrived in time, you'd have been a goner." Now Dezel stared at this man more closely. He wore no shirt, for some reason, but had particular markings on his body. His hair was long and blew in the night breeze. Despite the cold, and being half-naked, the man didn't seem to bothered."Name's Zaveid, by the way." he said in that deep husky voice of his. "And you?"
"Dezel," Dezel answered after a moments hesitation. "Why did you save me?"
"Simple, really," Zaveid replied, twirling a gun in one hand. "I've got a score to settle with some hellions, and I ain't lettin' them get in my way. But I also couldn't leave you to be eaten alive. But don't expect someone to come swooping to your rescue ever time you get in a bind, because sometimes, there won't be that someone. Sometimes, Dezel, you have make the decision on your own. To save a life. To protect someone. Remember that, kid, and don't go night wandering on your own anymore." he ruffled Dezel's hair, and Dezel glared at him. But his anger died away as he saw that Zaveid was grinning, and Dezel couldn't help but smile back. "All right, come on you guys, we've got places to go, things to see and scores to settle! Move out!"
Dezel watched Zaveid take the lead of the small band of wind seraphim all equally dressed and looked as wild as he was. They all gave Dezel a little wave before catching up with Zaveid, running at a speed only those of the wind could. And Dezel, remembering landmarks he passed, made it safely back home to the wind seraphim. He joined the other young seraphs in his spot on the floor of cave, pressing as close to them as possible. Dezel yawned, and closed his eyes, letting darkness envelop him.
Now as he stared at Rose, he was reminded of his younger self. "Duhsil," she said, pointing to some flowers. "Fluhwas!" Dezel glanced at Lafarga but his friend merely chuckled.
"Go on," he urged, and Dezel followed little Rose over to a patch of red flowers, where the sunlight shone through the trees. It looked almost like a spotlight on the flowers, and Rose sat down, searching through the flowers. Dezel, ever so slowly, crouched, Lafarga joined them, smiling. This is the first time I've seen him this happy, Dezel thought. Maybe this human was the key to his friend's happiness. He watched Rose pluck a flower and hand it to Lafarga. He smiled, and put his hat on top of her head.
"You're real sweet, you know that?" Lafarga told Rose. A grin spread across her face as she began searching through the flowers again. A minute later, Rose presented Dezel a flower, which was still blooming. He accepted it either way. The blooming flower was…a rose. And his fingers rested by the thorn.
…
And so it was everyday. Brad would return back to the ruins around evening, when the sun was setting on the horizon. Clouds were black as against the blood red sky. Birds took flight, and Dezel would watch them in fascination. Lafarga told him practically about every animal and every plant he knew. Dezel was amazed by his friend's knowledge, deeply engraved in his mind and remembered. He felt a little envious.
The Windriders were a very laid-back merchant's group. They watched Rose play, smiles spread across their faces. Sometimes, Rose would offer him something. Once, she placed some flowers on top of his head, but surprisingly, he didn't mind. Lafarga only laughed harder when Dezel made no reaction to Rose sprinkling grass all over his clothes. He couldn't sense any malevolence from this child, it was like she was the sun herself. Too bright, too pure, and far too strong to ever hold such feelings. She'd laugh, and cry. Often, Dezel would comfort her in the night when hellions and creatures roamed. She'd scream and he'd pull her tightly in his embrace while Lafarga scored the area. But then, one morning, Dezel noticed Brad acting a little off. He wasn't acting as cheery and energetic as he always did. It seemed like something had drained the life out of him.
Before he left, Dezel grabbed him by the arm, pulling him aside.
"What's the matter?" he asked and it came out a little harsher than he intended to, because Brad's eyes darkened.
"I'm just tired, is all," he murmured. Dezel narrowed his eyes and saw the large circles beneath Brad's eyes, the weak smile. "I couldn't sleep well last night. I kept having nightmares. But I promise I'll get a good night's rest tonight," he clapped his hand on Dezel's shoulder. "There's more things you should be worried 'bout than me." he brushed past him, and Dezel felt his hand slip away. There was no stopping him, it seemed. Dezel watched him climb into the caravan, and gave him a little wave. Then he was off, the horses galloping away over the crest of the hill.
Rose had a grown a little taller and talked a bit more fluently since the day they'd met. Now she was able to say everyone's names almost perfectly. "Dezil!" Rose ran towards him, hugging him around the leg. Dezel tried to coax her to let go, but to avail. She'd wrapped herself around his leg like her life depended on it. Only she was doubling over with mirth. Why's this kid got to be so damn cute? he thought.
"Help me, please." Dezel begged, staring at Lafarga, who was only standing a few inches away.
"I wouldn't want to ruin her fun, though," he reasoned. "Besides, aren't you enjoying this as well?" Dezel trained his eyes on Rose, who was gazing up at him with wide eyes. No, Lafarga. I'm not. I…feel terrible, for some reason. It was true. The feeling had been with him for days, and he done his best to endure and hide it. He'd feel utter exhaustion, and collapse. Luckily, it had been happening when Dezel isolated himself from the Windriders for a while in the evening, "taking a stroll" he'd say. It had become more of a stroll to hide a secret, this awful feeling of anticipation, and his stomach churned at the thought. Lafarga must have noticed his sudden change in behavior for he whispered something to Rose, and she took off, to play in her bed of flowers.
"Dezel," Lafarga said. Dezel didn't look up, he just continued to stare at the ground. "Dezel!" he cried more urgently. Still seeing no response, he asked, very softly, "What's wrong?"
…
Brad returned with the Windriders shortly before dusk, carrying supplies as they always did. They unloaded, bringing out some food. Brad strode over and handed Rose, her hands already outstretched, a Mabo Curry Bun. She quickly began to eat it, chewing and nibbling.
"Hey, Brad," Lafarga said.
Brad, who had begun to walk away, spun around asked,"What?"
"Dezel would like to speak with you…"
"Hmm? What is it? I told you this morning, I'm going to bed now. I've had a rough day with all that selling and buying."
"I know you have, Brad. You've been doing this for months now. But there's something I've been meaning to tell you. No, rather, ask of you." Dezel said.
"Go ahead, Dezel. What do you wish to know?" the man leaned against a tree, but Dezel could tell he was just struggling to stay awake, his eyelids kept drooping.
"Why did you really take Rose in?" Dezel demanded.
"Dezel, that's a little–" Dezel silenced Lafarga with a glare, and immediately his friend fell silent.
"What do ya mean? I told you my reason." Brad reflected.
"Just answer the question." Dezel ordered.
"I found her in the battlefield. Is that answer really not satisfactory enough?" His eyes flicked to the the left side as he was saying this.
"You're lying." Dezel growled, through gritted teeth.
This time, Brad smirked, coming to step closer to him. Rose cowered behind Lafarga, unsure and uncertain about what was going on. "You know, Dezel, how long have you stared at this world? Have you enjoyed its beauties?" Brad asked. Dezel could feel the malevolence radiating off his body, applying pressure to Dezel's chest and throughout his whole body. It felt like the weight of the world was on top of him. What is he getting at? Dezel wondered. "I almost feel sorry for you. But I'll do you a favor, and spare you the sight of seeing your sin." Brad summoned a staff, and raised it both his head.
"Get back!" Dezel ordered, and Lafarga took Rose and ran. That was the last thing he saw, and he collapsed on the ground. He felt a searing pain near his forehead, and tried to open his eyes. All that greeted him was a great, giant void of darkness. He reached out, hoping to touch something, see something, but the pool of darkness never receded. He cursed at his own uselessness as he heard Brad's choked cry, and already knew what had happened.
A cold voice, carried by the wind, whispered in his ears, "This is only the beginning, wind seraph…" and then it faded and scattered away. The pressure was released from his chest, which meant the malevolence had evaporated. Dezel struggled to rise, and staggered over to where he had heard Brad. He gritted his teeth, balling his fists. How could he have been so powerless? If he'd been stronger, maybe he could have saved Brad from being corrupted. Maybe…if he'd told Lafarga sooner…Lafarga. At least he and Rose had gotten away. What were they going to tell the Windriders? Brad had adopted Rose, taking her in as his own child, earning the title of a father. And being able to see seraphim with a high resonance…
"Dezel! Brad!" he recognized the voices of the Windriders. He heard them run towards them, and someone helped him up. "Oh, Brad…" they sobbed, as they lifted his body. Dezel heard them slowly carrying Brad, going to find him a spot for his grave, as was the human custom for their dead. But then there was one voice, higher and sadder than all the others, sobbing uncontrollably. The person carrying Dezel was walking away from the sounds, the noises, and then realization struck him. The stirring of the wind as he walked…it could only belong to his best friend, Lafarga.
"What are you doing?" Dezel demanded.
"Taking you away from them. Away from humans. I don't want you to become a victim of malevolence and become a hellion like that man did."
Dezel pushed Lafarga away. "You can't decide this for me! I'm staying with the Windriders! They're better than other seraphim back home, if you can even call it that." He spat.
Lafarga placed his hands on Dezel's shoulders, and his face was only inches away. "You're wounded! You're blind, Dezel! That hellion blinded you! I can see it in your eyes. They…they've lost their color, and you can't seem to focus on my face…" Lafarga's voice cracked on that last word. "Please, let's get away from here. This was my fault."
"No." Dezel hissed. "I'm staying. You can go if you want." he turned around and started heading back in the direction of the Windriders, but Lafarga caught him by the arm. "Let go!" Dezel resisted against his friend's iron grip but to no avail.
"We can stay with the Windriders. On one condition. We keep our distance."
Dezel, seeing that this was probably the best compromise he got get, surrendered. "Fine. If that's what you want. We'll observe…and travel with them." And in that dark void, a image of Rose flashed in his mind. He could see her growing up…and then he erased the thought. Now was not the time to worry about the future. Now…was the time to pretend they never existed, to become the Windriders silent shadows, forever following, forever watching…
…
One day, as Dezel and Lafarga were observing Rose, who had just recently started helping the Windriders, the cool breeze was interrupted by a sudden heat wave. Dezel, who was still trying to adjust to being blind, stood still, feeling the wind currents all around him. He wasn't particularly good at it yet, Lafarga was still training him. But he longed to see the world again, crystal clear as it had always been for his life.
"A fire seraph?" Dezel inquired, and Lafarga nodded, little shifts in the breeze to signify the movement. "What are they doing, all the way out here?"
Lafarga crossed his arms. "That, I don't know. But she looks like she seen a ghost."
"Are you suggesting we talk with her?"
"I see no harm in doing so."
Dezel suppressed a sigh, and turned away from the Windriders, who were loading things into their caravan. Rose carried a small wooden box and handed it to one of the Windriders, who smiled and patted her on the head.
The fire seraph was standing at the edge of Volgran Woods, her hands clasped together and staring at the ground. She had long silver hair that ran down her back and a intricate red dress. When she saw Dezel approach, she glanced up, her eyes darkening. "If there is something you want from me, wind seraph, ask now." her voice was thick with emotion.
"I just wanted to know what you're doing here by yourself," Dezel said, staring up at the sky so she wouldn't see his eyes.
He felt her stiffen for a moment before replying. "The Age of Chaos needs a new Shepherd. Without him, all hope for this world is lost. I'm going to Ladylake, in hopes of finding him there."
Shepherd…The word rang in Dezel's mind. He'd heard of the Shepherd, once or twice from the wind seraphim back at home. It was said that he was the salvation and the key to stopping the source of all the malevolence–the Lord of Calamity himself. "And why you, of all seraphim?" he asked.
Dead silence greeted him except for the slight stirring of the wind coming from the fire seraph. After a few moments she said, "Because it is my duty. I traveled with the previous Shepherd, and yet, I…I can't afford to make the same mistakes. If he isn't found soon, all of humanity may be wiped off the face of Glenwood." All of humanity? Dezel wondered, fighting his rising panic as he immediately thought of Rose, and the Windriders. No. I won't allow it.
"I never got your name," he realized.
"My name is Lailah…and you?"
"Dezel." he answered.
Lailah nodded. "Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, Dezel. I have higher spirits now. I…I believe I can find the Shepherd at Ladylake. I hope we may meet again one day."
"Yeah. I hope so too."
…
Dezel and Lafarga traveled with the Windriders, day in and day out. They watched Rose grow up from a little girl, to become the new leader of the Windriders. She handled the responsibility surprisingly well, and the Windriders seemed like a family to her. They were always constantly worried and caring about each other, and when times were rough, Rose would lighten up the mood. She'd grown up so fast with little understanding or comprehension as to what happened to to late Windriders leader, Brad, who had fallen victim to malevolence.
The days passed and Dezel could never be happier. They traveled far and wide, to Hyland and back again. He'd learned to read the wind perfectly now, he no longer needed Lafarga's help getting around. It used make him feel so useless, relying on someone else for sight. But now, he was grateful for his disability. His ability to read the wind was incredible, he detected a rabbit almost halfway across Pearloats Pasture. His other senses had strengthened while one had withered and dulled. He could picture the world in his mind's eye, and everything he had seen with his sight still intact was still in memory.
One evening, Dezel and Lafarga were standing at the crest of a hill in Pearloats Pasture. Rose and the Windriders were heading into the Rolance's capital city, Pendrago. Lafargra stood, with his arms crossed, as they watched them. "I really, really enjoy traveling with them…" Lafarga said. The words seemed to warm Dezel's heart. His bangs had grown over his eyes, which Dezel didn't mind, since he couldn't see out of them anymore anyway. "We're so lucky." Yes, they were. The fact that Brad had introduced them to the Windriders, Dezel thanked him for it. The past years of his and Lafarga's lives had been nothing but pure happiness.
"Yeah. I'm truly grateful." He ever so faintly smiled as he spoke, just for a moment. Then they ran down the hill to catch up with the Windriders, who had just entered Pendrago.
A man came to greet the Windriders, and he was dressed fancily. Dezel and Lafarga stood back, in the shadows of a building. "And of course, I want to bring the Windriders under Rolance's wing. You're the greatest in the land." he was saying, and Dezel wasn't surprised that he'd heard of their exploits. The Windriders were truly the greatest.
"But…engagement to you Prince Konan?! It's like a dream!" Rose replied, clearly awestruck and amazed at the same time. Dezel felt suppressed anger boiling inside of him. A tidal wave of black darkness swamped over him, and then it felt like that darkness had spread outside of him…or maybe he was just imagining it. But this wasn't what he wanted. Not at all. He wanted, he admitted to himself, for Prince Konan to be removed from the picture entirely. He'd known Rose and the Windriders for so long…how could he give this up? What had been these last past years of his life? Something merely insignificant, that he'd wasted time on?
"I'm sorry to see our journey end…But all's well that ends well." Lafarga was trying to be optimistic, for his sake. But it was futile. His words felt like nothing more than rain drops. No. Dezel spoke to the darkness. I don't want this to end. If this journey ended, what was he to do? He couldn't go back to his old life, not anymore. The Windriders had to survive. He'd find a way, he had to…
A little bit later, after the Windriders had scattered over the city, Prince Konan came out to talk to one of the guards. "Don't let up out there!" The guard didn't budge. "Go!" he ordered, and the guard took off. Rose appeared, seconds later, coming to stop in front of Konan.
"Prince Konan! The captain is missing!" she told him, her voice ever so slightly giving away to despair.
Konan merely blinked, a cruel smirk spreading across his face. Dezel could feel the malevolence, the overwhelming pressure on his whole body. He took a step forward and hissed, "Get away from her right now!" he commanded.
"Hmph…who are you to order me around?" Lafarga asked, switching to a cautious stance, one foot back and ready to flee if need be. "He's…He's already a hellion." He knew that! And yet…to think that that prince was only centimeters away from Rose…
"Huh? Who are you talking to?" Prince Konan asked, clearly directed at the seraphim. Of course he'd known they were there…"You all smell so…so delicious! It's driving me wild!" He grinned, gazing at them with hunger in his eyes, his pupils undiluted. All? What is he–
"How could he have completely turned into a hellion in such a short amount of time?" a voice inquired. A seraph jumped down from where she stood on the wall, touching the ground gracefully. She had purple hair in ponytails with velvet eyes and little clothing covering her body. Dezel gritted his teeth at her.
"Your Highness! What is this nonsense about killing the first imperial prince?!" a familiar voice demanded. It belonged to Eguille of the Windriders, Rose's second in command. He was striding towards Prince Konan as he said this.
"Guards! The traitors are here!" Prince Konan ordered. Immediately the guards behind the prince rushed forward and grabbed Eguille by the arms.
"A trap, huh…You sick lunatic!" Eguille spat as he was taken away.
"How can this be?!" Rose demanded. Dezel noticed that the purple haired seraph had a devious grin spread across her face, her eyes narrowed, and her eyes brows knit.
"It appears that Brad, leader of the Windriders, has murdered the prince. He is already in custody of the Pendrago city guards. All other Windriders are likewise under arrest." W-What? That's impossible! He died, didn't he? This must be somebody's idea of joke! There's no way…. Prince Konan signaled for his guards to go forward.
"Understand?" the purple haired seraph said behind them in a mocking tone. "It's all because Prince Konan became a hellion, and at the urging of his hellion greed, sought to eliminate all hindrances."Wait...this voice...no, her voice. I've heard it somewhere before... An image flashed in his mind of Brad, who suddenly had summoned a staff. How had he managed to materialize such a thing? That was because...that was never really Brad at all. The Brad Dezel had spoken to that night, had been someone completely different. His odd shift in his speech, something that Brad would never say...all of it...had been an illusion. Fake. The whole scenario had been conjured up by this seraphim! And he'd been played for a fool.
But why aid Brad? What did it matter to her? Unless... Dezel recalled an older boy, with that same brown hair as Brad, who remained close to the Windriders at all times. One day they'd just found him, and taken him under their wing. His name was Lunarre. And Dezel had a sinking suspicion he was...Brad's son. It made sense, in its own twisted way. Brad had told them one evening, that he didn't just go by one name. He had two. The other...the other was Bartlow. He used it only when he had to, he'd said, and that he had one person who could always call him that. He said he was young, not yet accustomed to the ways of the world and that could only be...Lunarre.
Tch! I can't believe this...what is she getting at? he wondered. Dezel could clearly feel the malevolence radiating off Prince Konan's and his guard's bodies. They pointed their lances at the two wind seraphim. Lafarga glanced over his shoulder at the other seraph. "And by now…I imagine you have already guessed what made him a hellion, have you not?" The seraph's gaze flicked to Dezel. "Him." Dezel's jaw dropped, he wanted to say something, deny that it couldn't be true. Instead, he just closed his mouth and stared at his friend, who turned to face him, his teeth gritted.
Rose sank to her knees on the ground behind them, her face showing clear distraught and disbelief. Konan loomed over her, his shadow falling over her. She glanced up at him. "I might be willing to pardon you, at least…if you'll agree to be mine."
"What?!"
Konan chuckled, "Oh, come now. You'd be the kept woman of the heir to the throne! A greater honor does not exist!"
Symonne smiled, revealing gleaming, white teeth. At that moment, Rose rose to her feet, drawing out her two daggers. Lafarga, already sensing what she was about to do, darted forward.
"Why you!" Rose charged towards Konan, who was summoning powers of malevolence in his hand, ready to strike.
"C'mon!" Lafarga said as he ran right in between them just in time, taking the hit. Rose used that moment to her advantage and slashed him across the chest. Prince Konan staggered backward, and collapsed onto the ground as the hellion was unleashed from inside him. Just in the nick of time, Lafarga got himself caught up within the hellion's final desperate act.
Dezel's mouth opened, but there was nothing he could say, or do to express the overwhelming grief inside of him. He sank to his knees, instantly feeling so lost…so alone. He'd admired his friend, they'd traveled together done many things together…Lafarga had saved Rose back then, and he'd saved her again at the cost of his own life. Why? Why did he have go and do that? The thought circulated in his head, never seeming to let go. Dezel felt as though he was being torn in two, and that Lafarga had left a huge gaping hole in his heart. Lafarga was the only one who ever understood him, the only one who knew him so well…the only one…
"Behold…This is the fruit of your blessing! Do you have any idea what people call this kind of power?" Dezel turned his head in the direction of the seraph's voice. Dezel's eyes widened as she said, "Angels of death." Dezel could say nothing back, his voice wouldn't work. All he felt was pain…eternal, never ending pain, and grief. He turned his head, closing his eyes, accepting the truth. It was…all my fault? He glanced up at the scene before him. Rose stood in front of a swirling mass of purple and black darkness that had destroyed his best friend. Without even realizing it, a single tear slid down his cheek from his left eye, dropping onto the ground below. All…my…fault? He couldn't handle this pain, this understanding. It was all too much…too much for him to handle. Do you want to forget about it? A little voice asked inside his head. I can make the pain all go away…that hellion is the one who killed your friend, ruined the Windriders…focus on revenge. Then the pain will go away…forget these horrible memories. Use her. Use Rose. Make the Windriders survive. And, as if he'd subconsciously decided it, his memories of the incident were locked away in the archives of his mind, where he could only touch the surface of it, but never inside.
…
From that day on, Dezel was never the same. The very next day, he took control of Rose's body for the first time. "We'll become assassins by night, merchants by day. Our assassin group will be called the Scattered Bones. And our new merchant's name will be the Sparrowfeathers, since we can't have more incidents like yesterday if we continue to go by the Windriders." And to his surprise, the Windriders actually bought it. Rose had become his marionette, and he controlled all the strings. Rose denied she proposed the idea at first, but then agreed that it was her own willpower that had made her say that. And the Sparrowfeathers and Scattered Bones were born, light and darkness.
Their lives changed drastically after that, and while Dezel ran after her on assassination missions he'd stop to wonder why he'd done it before pushing the thought away. They were too far in, there was no going back now, not ever. He'd get his revenge on that hellion, the hellion who had taken everything away from him. And he knew the best way to do it too. He'd found his armatization weapon, but he couldn't pull of such a feat himself. He'd have to wait, and see if the promised Shepherd came about to aid him…
…
Dezel had heard the armatizations, sensed the dramatic change in the wind current, heard people screaming, the earth rumbling…Dezel focused on the Shepherd's desperate cries of armatization. He'd taken control of Rose once again and arrived at the scene where a hellion was pushing Sorey down. Sorey struggled to resist with his sword, pushing back with all his might. Dezel leaped on top of the hellion, kicking out. The hellion fell back.
"Damn it! Why?" he heard the sound of Sorey collapse onto the ground but when he turned back to look at him, the hellion rammed right into him, sending him flying. Only he back flipped and dodged in time. "I have to get the Shepherd to safety" was his only thought as he grabbed a dagger from a fallen soldier and threw it back at the army of hellions. Then he picked up Sorey, carrying him on his back and running as fast as he could, leaping off the edge of a cliff. Before Dezel could use his windstepping, he heard the sound of lance whizzing right towards him. Dezel turned to look, and it hit him in the face, the mask flying right off and falling down…down…and so were he, Rose, and the Shepherd.
…
Later, after he had released himself from Rose, and Rose had awoken, he leaned against the wall of the Tintagel Ruins. This was probably the last time he'd see this place, Rose planned to move the Scattered Bones and Sparrowfeathers location somewhere away from war. He heard the sound of the Shepherd's footsteps, accompanied by his seraphim companions. "Hey Dezel, there's something I wanted to ask you." The Shepherd said.
"Hmph. Funny you should say that. I'd like to ask you something, too. What's that ability you've got that allows you to be enveloped by the power of the seraphim?" he inquired.
"You mean the armatus?"
Dezel crossed his arms. "So it's called the armatus, huh. So that's it. You think I can get one as well?" he asked.
"The armatus is a fusion of the Shepherd and and seraphim, acting in unison." Lailah explained, clasping her hands together.
"It's a combination of both powers working in tandem. It isn't something that can be obtained." The Shepherd added.
"Hmph. Sounds like a real hassle. But I'll admit, it is strong." Strong enough for me to get my revenge on that hellion… he thought.
"I don't get you. What is it you're after?" Mikleo asked.
"Just weighing the situation. And seeing if it's connected to my personal agenda." He answered vaguely. He started to walk away, but then stopped. "There's one last thing I wanted to ask you. That girl, Rose…do you think she could enact the power of the armatus?"
"It may be possible for her. She does seem to have the latent aptitude for it." Lailah offered.
"Huh." Dezel said, adjusting his hat. So then my plan may work in my favor after all…
"But the way she is now? Not a chance." Dezel turned back to see that it was Edna who had spoken. She was tapping her umbrella lightly on her shoulder. "She may have all the natural affinity in the world, but she denies the seraphim. Who's fault is that?" she asked mockingly.
An image flashed in Dezel's mind, but only for a moment before he discarded it. "Tch." He walked away, he already had the information he wanted and needed.
He'd done it. He'd formed the pact with Shepherd's Prime Lord, Lailah. Now Rose was armatizied with her, and Sorey was ready to take on the Dragonewt. "I've had enough of this, Shepherd!" Dezel shouted across to him. This was it. This was the time to fulfill his desire, the beginning of his path for vengeance. It all started, right here, right now. "I'm done playing around! Now you're going to bring my armatus to life!"
AN: Thank you for taking the time to read this long story! I really wanted to write about Dezel's backstory and his relationship with Rose! I wanted to show how the other characters knew him, but this was never explored. Mainly, I just wanted to explain how Dezel is the way he is when he meets and joins the party.