Trees. Mountains. Meadows. Desert. All of the lands, as well as many more, lit by the two moons in the skies of Victoria. Beautiful those lands were, though very rarely peaceful. Civil war litters the country of Resiria, between the residing users of the flooding mana known to the island. Warriors, the brutes of the mountains, hold their ground in a treaty with the Rogues of the cities nearby. Together, they target the Magicians, the rulers of all mana, who dwell high in the oldest, most ancient of all forests known none other than the Callad Woods.
Warriors, with their unrivaled ferocity, attempt daily with the help of the Rogues to tear down the mighty trees that hold the Magicians in peace, though fail. The mana in the forest being channeled by the Priests, Clerics, and Bishops, constantly heals... fortifies... the structures of their home, making it virtually indestructible. At that height, even the mana boosted jumping and running abilities of the Rogue cannot come close to penetrating the bottom of their branch haven.
The archers live in isolation in the forest meadows. None dare to approach their territory if they value their own life, for the archers alone tear apart the lands with their own mana-driven powers. Arrows formed of pure mana with the ability to explode on impact. Not much is known about these archers, but for good reason. Anyone with half a brain would stay away.
Mana is everywhere. Mana is everything. It's the life of our world, and to our knowledge, every other world beyond ours. Mana can seal evil. Mana can corrode the land. Mana can even bring the dead back to life...
"Natalia..." I said to myself as I stared out to the ocean below the boat, "You told me so little... Why couldn't you tell me more?" I lifted my head slightly to glance upon the horizon. It was a beautiful day that day. The sun was shining bright, the sea was calm, and the air smelled of pure delight. I was sitting alone at the front of the bow, soaking up the sun, when suddenly there came a shrewd voice calling out from behind me.
"Captain!" I turned my head to see my first mate, Briggs, at the wheel of the ship holding a telescope up to his eye. "El nath lies roughly thirty-some miles, north-east. Shall we pull in?"
I kept my bright green eyes on him. Though I was the captain of this crew, I did not enjoy being the one to make all of the decisions. It made me feel like power was going to corrupt me. But that was a constant thought. What was really on my mind was the bothersome sound of the boats unusually loud creaking. I knew it was an old ship, but had it been so old that the wood had begun to rot? It was a risk I couldn't ignore.
"Aye." I withdrew the bandanna holding back my lengthy, ragged, black hair to let it taste for itself the freshness of the air. "Stop in El nath." I looked down to the skull design imprinted onto the fabric and sighed. "Our ship is old, Briggs. I feel it's time we leave her behind."
"No!" Briggs' voice shot at me sharply, "What about Natalia? What if she shows back up and finds out we abandoned her ship?"
Natalia was a very special woman in my life. According to her stories, I was a runaway child whom she took in and raised, just like Briggs, though I always felt that there was something more than just that between us. Sadly, I had no memories of the years before Natalia. I didn't even know how old I was. The bandanna I wore was all that was left of our Pirate leader, aside from her ship, 'The Baron'. I never liked that name, so I renamed it not too long after she left. 'The Natalius' was her new name, and has been in our crews possession for little over a year.
"Natalia will understand, Briggs." I stared back to the sea and watched it pass as I continued talking. "She only wished for our safety, which is why she kept us hidden on her ship and isolated in that port stuck on that forsaken island, Resiria." The more I thought about it, the more enraged I became. I blamed those savages for the disappearance of our beloved Natalia, though could never muster the courage to confront the clans of the island. Instead, I took all of her children on board and left the port in hopes of finding her.
"Aye..." The disappointment in Briggs otherwise regal voice seemed more uneasy that day. I guessed it was probably because he was almost as close to her as I, but I could never really be certain with him.
I stood up from my comfortable position on the bow to feel more of the breeze as it rushed through my raggedy clothes and tan leather coat. It was warm that day, but El nath was the land of ice and snow. Being so close was brisk and chilly; made for a good reason to walk around for a bit before getting off the ship.
"Besides, my friend, I have a much better ship in mind. One that even Natalia would praise us for claiming." I waved my hand to the side and began walking the deck when he responded.
"Oh? And what ship might that be, Captain?"
I paced my way up the stairs elegantly with my fingertips skimming along the smooth wooden handrail to the top, where I leaned against the side as though I'd been a punk child. "Do I have your word that you'll follow me to the end? For Natalia?"
Briggs shuddered as he turned his head to face me, his short, white, spiky hair seemed to grow even more white. He obviously knew I was aiming for something big if it would even impress Natalia.
"I'll take that as a yes." I knew he would follow me no matter what happened, but I enjoyed having people reassure me sometimes. For a dramatic effect I pushed myself slowly off the wooden guard rail and walked in front of the wheel to see the look on his face. I leaned forward, sliding my bandanna back over my head, and slammed my hands onto his while darting a look straight into his young brown eyes. An ear to ear grin ran across my face as I saw his own grow pale. "The Balrog ship!" I hissed quietly to him.
His pupils became non-existent the moment he heard the words leave my mouth. Sure, it was explainable. The Balrog air ship was probably the most destructive vessel in the skies, according to Natalia, but through my logic it was a much better tool to hunt down our beloved captain. However, there was another reason for my desire to obtain such a feared ship. I wanted to end the wars in Resiria. I wanted my home to be peaceful and harmonious. Pirates, though we are, still live together with fellow mana users, and monsters alike.
Briggs was shaking under my hands. It was kind of unusual to me. He was my fearless first mate, but at the mere mention of the "demon ship", as some called it, he became a frightened little Meercat. "Kind of bold, Captain." He said with a chuckle, trying to hide his evident fear of the ship.
"Ah, dear friend, you and I have no memories of our childhood, but you know me what seems inside and out." I laughed a little to try and lessen his stress.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Briggs returned the laugh.
"Absolutely nothing. Now the rest of the crew might not go for it, so I have to ask if you're prepared to be my back-up Corsair." Corsair was the term we used for the highest class of Gunman on our ship, and Briggs was second only to me. As well as Gunmen we had Fighters, which we better termed as Brawlers, Infighters, and Marauders. I didn't become captain for nothing. I was easily the best of both, thanks to Natalia's tutelage.
"Aye... Of course I'll be your Corsair. But what are you gonna do about a Marauder? Wouldn't it only be fittin' you take at least one of each?" Briggs was a thinking man, as well as an ace sharpshooter, but he only thought about practicalities. He was right most of the time, this one being no different. I needed a fellow Marauder at the very least to help us, but I wasn't fond enough of the crew to know what they could do. Hell... I didn't even know more than Briggs and Huckle out of the vast array of crewmen on board.
"I guess I'll have to figure out who would be the best for it... But then that leaves the matter of the rest of the crew..." I too was a thinker, but normally I didn't do too much of it. I was a risk taker and one who lived life in the moment, which often times got us into trouble when we needed to have a plan. Brutality doesn't always get the job done.
"Captain... I've been keeping an eye on the crew for ya, since you seem too focused on Natalia to pay any attention to them... I think one of them has potential."
"Really, now?" I was skeptical, but Briggs was fairly good of an eye, which is why I let him navigate. "Who is he?"
"She."
"She?" Oh the thoughts that ran through my head when he said that. "Okay... Who is she?"
"She's that girl who raided Natalia's wardrobe. The one in the Captain hat."
"You mean the wavy-haired blonde girl with the green eyes and Cutlass? The one who almost looks like Natalia?" I was somewhat angered that she struck such a resemblance, but over time I came to terms with it.
"Yeah. That's her. Hand her a knuckle and let her keep the Cutlass and she could be deadly. More deadly than any of our Corsairs."
That's when I stopped listening to him. "Sorry, Briggs. I have a better idea than just picking one from the lot." My eye was still drawn to her, however, even though I was still talking to Briggs. "We're going to El nath. There're supposed to be fairly resilient monsters in the snow fields, so I say we head out there and see who has what it takes."
"It's your call, Captain."
After that remark I decided that the conversation was over. Just in time, too. I looked out to the sea and saw that El nath's shore was clearly visible, no more than 10 miles away. That meant that it was time for me to get inside the cabin and get ready for landing. I released Briggs' hands and walked quickly around him to the stairs and scurried down the whole flight, using the special trick Natalia taught me to slow decent using mana. Her main specialty with mana was footwork, and me being her favorite I was bound to learn her tricks.
The moment the leather of my boots touched down, however, the Natalia look-alike crashed back into me. I was knocked back slightly, but not very much. I turned then to catch her as she fell, and held her up by her arms. I looked up to see a few of the scruffy crew members laughing, and felt her red hat fall against my leg. She was furious. She tried frantically breaking my hold with flailing kicks and wiggling, but she was too small next to me to get anywhere. I had no choice but to lift her up and turn her to face me to make her stop.
She was lighter than I would have expected, and she was very short. I don't think she actually broke five feet, which was somewhat weird since I was at least six. She still hung on to her Cutlass, but I held her up like a child by the hands, leaving her unable to use it. When I was done with my observations I took a long look into her eyes. They were the exact same as Natalia's... And judging by the rest of her, since she was wearing Natalia's clothing, she could have very well been her, but she was too young. Natalia was in her late 20's and she was still a child, probably just entering her teen years.
Her eyes shut half way, looking annoyed. She knew who I was. We had a couple conversations before, but she seemed to not care that I was her captain. "Are ya just gonna look at me or are ya gonna say somethin'?" She was a little bit snappy for someone so small.
"Ahem..." I cleared my throat to assert authority. "What's the reason for you bumping into me in such a manner, dear?"
Being polite to children such as her made me sick. There was just something about it that made my stomach churn every time I had to bite my tongue from using some sort of profane speech. Sure, we were Pirates, but listening to kids swear really put me in a bad mood.
"Gee, I dunno. Why don't ya ask the jackass brigade of yers over there?" Her attitude was a lot more in your face than I enjoyed, but at the same time she surprised me. She seemed unafraid, both using such language to a superior and of the fact she couldn't fight the hold. Perhaps Briggs was right. Here she is practically foaming at her Captain and she shows no concern.
I looked back to the crowd of five scrappy, unkempt crew members and gave them a violent stare. "Care to give me the story?"
"No thanks, Captain." They all continued to laugh.
At that point I was furious. Their disrespect was a lot different than a young girls. They were full-grown men disrespecting their captain. "Allow me to correct myself." I put the girl down and grabbed the hat at my feet, only to place it back on top of her head, at the same time I ferociously wrenched the Cutlass from her hands and walked menacingly toward them.
There were a few other crew members on deck, all of them guys, who turned their attention to me to see what I was going to do to the idiots. Of course, I didn't want to slay any of the people Natalia took in, so instead I merely used a different mana trick and rushed the movement of my feet rapidly to get to them in a blink. They were gathered around the mast, so there wasn't very much movement needed, at least not to stop in the middle of the group.
I looked at each of them and saw that they were starting to get a little worried. "I'm going to ask you again; Why was the girl thrown into me?" I found myself clenching the Cutlass so hard that it hurt my hand. I wondered then if it was because she looked just like Natalia that I was so enraged.
"She was orderin' us around, Captain." The one closest to me was the first to speak. He had a scar running down his tanned, bearded face, and looked and sounded much more like a typical Pirate than the rest, but he didn't seem to want to go into more detail - Perhaps hiding something.
"And?" I asked simply with a raise and a twist of the Cutlass blade to his throat.
"And she's not our Captain!" He tried to argue.
If only the crew hadn't disrespected me, my next actions might never have happened. "Really now?" I looked back to her and pulled my head back as a signal for her to come over. She did, hastily, with an 'in-your-face' smile shooting at the jerk. I looked back to him and smiled. I rotated the handle so that it was held by only my finger and lowered it down to her. "Here." She snatched it out of my hand before I could even finish. I shot her back a look and shot it right back to my target. "I believe she's your new captain, mate."
The look on his face was one of distinct shock. I guess he couldn't believe that I would make a little girl his captain. "As of this minute, you are to listen to her, me, and Briggs. Disobey her orders, no matter what they may be, and I will see to it personally that you go for a nice little swim with the Skele-Fish."
"Captain! Do you even know her name!" The man was obviously trying to make a very valid point. Even I couldn't argue that it was somewhat foolish of me to make a captain out of a girl I didn't know the name of. Still, I wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily.
"No, and I don't need to. Neither do you. All you need to know is that you don't mess with the little girl in the red hat. Do I make myself clear?" There had always been those times that I had to step up and be a true captain, as much as I hated to. I don't know what came over me, though. She wasn't Natalia, so why was I so damn protective of her? Maybe it was a spur of the moment kind of thing...
He remained silent, and that said it all. At that point I turned my back on him and darted toward the cabin doors. The red hat brushed against my shoulder as I passed the girl, but I gave her no regard. My temper was settled then after I put the pawns in their place, though I couldn't help but wonder -almost obsessively- why I'd gone ahead and made a new captain out of a girl whose name I didn't know.
Just then, I slammed into the hard, wooden, cabin doors and stumbled back. I'd have probably fallen, but before I had any realization that it was happening I was being pulled through the now open doors by my wrist. The only thing I could notice was a red hat bobbing up and down before I was thrown vigorously into a chair sitting by my captain's table set perfectly in the middle of the room. I didn't know what was going on. I was somewhat rattled by my stupidity of running into a closed door.
"Let's get one thing clear, 'Captain'." I could hear her voice, and it sounded angry, but I couldn't quite make out what she was saying. "Just 'cause I look like yer precious Natalia doesn't mean I need yer help dealin' with this sorry excuse fer a crew."
I tried desperately to figure out what she was saying, but all I could do was stare.
"Are ya listenin' to me?"
I didn't respond. I was still trying to comprehend.
"HEY!" That scream of hers was what made it through to me, but just a little too late. Before I could completely come back to my senses I noticed her already stabbing her Cutlass straight down the chair in between my legs, uncomfortably close to a harsh area.
"I couldn't understand a word you just said, but it sounded angry." I was shaking a little after registering that there was a Cutlass blade facing me. "Regardless..." I rushed to clamp her hand around the Cutlass handle to keep her from moving it. She saw through my plan, but she was too slow to stop it. I saw her eyes shrink and her muscles spaz, and I think she saw the same on me. "Briggs may have been right about you." She smashed her foot against my chest and kicked to try and free herself from my grip.
It didn't hurt. "Would you please stop it?" I was starting to have a little fun with her feisty tendencies.
She shot me a look with her lush green eyes that I just couldn't ignore. It was sorrowful, yet angry. Sad, yet furious. It was a signature gesture of Natalia...
It was then that I found myself unable to let go of her hand on the hilt. Everything about her, even the feel of her hand, was the same. She even had the same enticing fragrance.
Her eyes gave me that annoyed look again, and I snapped out of the trance.
"Yer starin' at me again, Captain..."
After a moment I felt that there was some heat coming to my face. "My mistake." I said sarcastically with a strong tug of the Cutlass to free it from the chair. I lowered my head and turned it to the side to rest my forehead on my fingertips. With a slow release of her hand I smiled a small, teeth-bearing smile, as she stumbled back from her own pushing from her foot.
She quickly regained her balance and stood straight. "Yer actin' a little strange, Captain." She sheathed her Cutlass on her belt and leaned to the side to try and look me in the eyes. "Are ya feelin' okay?"
I kind of laughed at this. Up until that point she was pretty arrogant, but then she seemed to be really sweet. I'd say she was like Natalia, but Natalia never gave so much care as to ask if something was wrong. She kept her feelings to herself most of the time, even from me, and expected everyone to do the same.
"Yeah. I'm fine." I wasn't sure about that, though, and I heard it in my voice. No doubt she would be able to hear it too, but what she'd done then was rather unexpected.
I felt for a mere moment what I thought were a pair of lips on the back of the hand resting my head. In the surprise, I looked up to see her standing straight up with a face more red than Merus - The second moon in the sky.
"Thanks." She turned and hurried away toward the doors after faintly expressing herself, but before she ran back outside... "The name's Kyrin. What's yours?" She didn't turn to face me, and the doors were only slightly open, so I was assuming her blush was still noticeable and she was trying to wait for it to go down.
I rose to my feet with a large smile on my face and walked slowly over to her. She didn't even turn to face me then, knowing that I was walking toward her by the very audible boot to wood sound. Given the opportunity, I couldn't pass it up. I grabbed the sides of her hat... "Captain, to you." And shoved it down over her face, threw open the doors, and gave her a playful shove out the door with a slam right after her. I knew that she was going to be furious, though, so I rushed to grab the chair and threw it under the handles to lock the door.
I must admit that I was a playful, fun-loving captain who never really liked to be serious. What I did to her I would have done to most any of the crew on the ship.
"Well... Her name is Kyrin... At least I know that much now, but why is she just like Natalia?" It was a question I couldn't figure out the answer to. I thought that asking myself out loud would help, but it didn't.
Just then I heard the doors being pounded on and Kyrin screaming and cursing me as loud as she could. I chuckled for a moment, until I noticed out my window that we were moments away from landing.
El nath was the land of ice and snow, home to residents such as the monster hunters, mountain climbers, and most famous of all, the four Wise Men. Those four alone were the last known union of all of the main island's mana users. There was Savior, the warrior. Wind, the rogue. Night, the archer. And Alcaster, the magician. To the east lay the seemingly endless, monster-filled, snow field, behind which a massive canyon lead the way to the base of the highest mountain ranges in all of the world. So high that not even the legendary Balrog Ship could reach the top of their peaks.
To the west, a small snow field leading to a cement tower known as Mindela's Tower. That tower lead the way up to the city in the sky, Grandia. A beautiful city held to the ground only by the support of the tower. Nothing could explain how it was possible, but legend has it that Mindela's spirit was so powerful that it held the strength to support the tower and city, even in death.
I, for one, never really believed in those little folk tales, but the truth behind the tower was something worth investigating, but for an other day. Thanks to that little distraction with Kyrin I fell behind. I almost forgot that I'd been planning on recruiting my crew here. I then thought that I should probably discuss this issue with my two vice captains, and immediately turned back around and kicked the chair blocking the door to the side. Just then, as I opened the door, Kyrin came bursting through the opening, airborne and screaming. I thought for a moment she was going to try and dropkick the door down, and somehow I couldn't see myself being far off, since she crashed hard, kicking my table off its legs and to the back of the room while she herself got tangled in the three remaining chairs surrounding it.
Ignoring what happened, I called for Briggs, who was already on his way down the stairs. I looked back to see my overly aggressive Kyrin stuck on her back with her legs and arms wound up in the legs of the chairs.
"Normally I'd help you out of that, but I need you to sit still for a few minutes." I smiled down to her as she glared furiously at me.
A few moments later, Briggs waltzed in to the chambers and stared curiously at the tangle on the floor.
"Don't worry about her. We have a plan to discuss." I walked to the other side of the room to grab my previously drop-kicked table and an old, hand-painted map of El nath. "Take a seat." I gestured toward the chair I personally kicked out of the way to keep Briggs out of danger with Kyrin's fury, even though I jokingly set the table back up right over her on the floor.
"Aye..." Briggs was a little confused about the girl on the floor, but he should have known about what happened just minutes before. I guess he just wasn't used to me being so lenient. He pulled up his chair while I stood and unrolled the map.
"You asshole!" Kyrin screamed from under the table.
"Quite a little mouth on ya', girlie." Briggs had no idea what he'd just invoked. With what little I really knew about Kyrin, I knew at the very least you should never call her 'girlie'. I was right. With a flurry of incomprehensible swears and painful sounding slams on the floor, Kyrin managed to work her way to a bite, but she got the wrong person.
I wish she'd not been so blinded by rage then, but it was too late. Her teeth were sharp as nails, and digging deep into my leg. I yelped in pain and tried shaking her off, but she was like a Cerebes; once those teeth sink in there's no way out.
"Okay..." I whimpered with tears filling my eyes. "Our plan is to send the crew out into the snowfield east of El nath to kill some Jr. Yeti. Depending on their skill I might recruit them on my mission to commandeer the Balrog Ship." I was still whimpering, but I'd started to get used to the pain. "Kyrin..." I dragged her out while she stayed clamped on my leg.
She turned her eyes to face me and growled, tightening her grip on me.
"I need you to help us out with our mission." I gave her the sweetest smile I could manage with beads of sweat forming and her gnawing my leg off.
She spat out my leg and kept her eyes fixed on mine. "Hand me that knuckle hangin' above the window and ya got yerself a Super Brawler!"
I looked above the window and remembered that Natalia's knuckle was hanging carelessly around. I shot her a look, however, of shock that she'd even ask for such a thing, but looking down at her face made me remember that Natalia would kill me if it was her asking, and somehow I thought that Kyrin would do the same.
I sighed a heavy sigh as I dropped my head, ignoring that Briggs was trying to tell me not to do it. "Fine... But if anything happens to it, it'll be your head." I wasn't very intimidating when I was in pain, so she probably took that legitimate threat as a joke.
"Okay." She sounded kind of agitated. "But if ya don't get me outta this right this second it'll be yers." She was giving me that increasingly common face, and tone, of annoyance.
I couldn't ignore her. She made it almost impossible. I knelt down and started to help her out of the tangle as I instructed Briggs to go outside and inform everyone of the plan, but I hadn't really expected very many to follow me on such a perilous endeavor. For that case, I was planning on leaving my motley crew the ship they'd known as home for years and leave them to live for themselves. It looked then that I had at least two companions for my plot.
As soon as Kyrin was freed she jumped to her feet and kicked my kneeling self to the side to grab the knuckle, which she didn't hesitate to throw on. That particular knuckle was her exact size, and was a fingerless-glove style with steel spikes on each of the knuckles. It was expertly crafted by weapon forgers on the continent of Kilicka, so there was no mistaking the quality for something cheap.
I noticed that she was staring long and hard at it. I guessed that I probably wasn't ever going to be able to rip it off of her after she'd gotten it on, but I was expecting that.
"You took such good care of it..." Kyrin whispered so softly that I could barely even hear it.
"What?" I had to ask to make sure I heard her right.
She shook her head and pulled it to her chest as she turned to me and blushed slightly. "Nothing." She turned to see it again. "I just can't get over how good it looks." She smiled innocently and closed her eyes. For some reason she was calm then, as if the knuckle was soothing her rage.
Kyrin was a confusing little girl. I wouldn't dare say that to her, but it's become a constant thought over the past few minutes. She had more mood swings than Natalia, that was for sure.
I turned to face the window in my cabin, only to be greeted with a blanket of pure white beyond it. We were finally arriving after several weeks of travel, and I was entirely too eager to get out and begin my plans. I noticed that Kyrin had started to watch me out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't quite get it. There wasn't much to watch. I just ignored it and turned around, asking her simply if she was ready to go. She replied with nothing more than a yes, and quickly ran out ahead of me as I followed casually behind. My heart was racing at the thought of my plans, and I couldn't seem to calm myself.
The crew had already been given the word from Briggs, so whether or not they'd join was their own problem now. I gallantly strolled through the doors of my cabin with a smile broadly etched upon my face. At that moment, we landed on the shore of El nath... If you could call that a shore. It was snow and ice. Somehow the water around it stayed calm, but the rest was glacier-esque. "Oh well", I thought, "The only one not dressed for the occasion is Kyrin who seems to be doing..." I took a quick glance at her, and to my surprise she was shaking. I sighed with a smile and took off my coat and placed it around her shoulders. She shot me back a look of surprise, but smiled sweetly, but then threw out a quick "Took ya long enough to start actin' like a man."
For some reason I wasn't bothered. I think I was still too excited to care. The crew, however, had given me a slew of different remarks as I made my way over to the plank at the front of the ship I'd been resting a short while before, varying from "I knew you were suicidal, but really?" to "Finally! We get the ship we worked so hard for!" Truth is, however, none of them did a damn thing to earn even a meal. Typical pirates, I'd say. None of them seemed remotely interested in helping me, but in my opinion it was better that way. There was more time to focus on the task at hand rather than saving their sorry asses every few minutes.
Kyrin followed at my side, and when I looked at her she seemed to be glaring with a menacing smile at the motley band of idiots that were giving her a hard time. I couldn't blame her. I'd have done the same if I had been in her shoes. I did wonder what the crew would be doing from then on without me to lead them, but I didn't give it much thought as Briggs had shown up in the line with a sack of food and mana potions, and a little extra money to afford an INN for a couple nights on account of the crew taking over the ship.
With Kyrin at my right, and Briggs at my left, we took our first steps into the endless sea of white, littered with pine trees and mountain ranges, by working our way around the side of the ship to the bow. At our first steps onto the ramp, the crew started cheering louder than I'd ever heard before. It was a decent insult, but I didn't care. I stopped and turned to them half way down, immediately they silenced, and I gave my final order. "The ship is yours now. However, I want it off this shore within the hour, preferably the second we take our first step onto the shore." And with that, I resumed my stride alongside Kyrin and Briggs, a smile of accomplishment filled each of our faces as our feet first met the snow.
As we walked, none of us looked back, but the rowdy crew stirred up enough noise to be heard for miles. In no time at all, no more than a quarter mile away, we heard the ship take off and guns fire in every direction coming from it. "Good riddance." I said aloud. Kyrin giggled, Briggs chuckled, and I laughed to myself, starting then to feel just how cold it was without my coat. Briggs had a regal type of jacket, Kyrin had mine, and I was walking around in a sleeveless button-up vest.
"I suppose we should start with some sort of practice?" I suggested with a question, as I really had no idea where to go from there. I'd accidentally forgotten the map, so I had no clue where anything was.
"Why the hell would I need practice?" Kyrin snapped angrily as she tightened her grip on the Knuckle.
"Because we're goin' after an enormous haul." Briggs answered her plainly.
Briggs was much better at planning than I was. And I'm sure Kyrin was a lot more violent than I was, too, so I felt like the middle man in this whole mess. Either way, though, I had the raw talent needed to combat the balrogs, so it seemed we were a well balanced team at the time.
"Exactly." I added as I turned to look at her. "If we don't have some sort of plan then we're going to die."
She glared at me with her piercing green eyes as if I'd just insulted her. "Ya really think I don't got it under control?" She hissed.
"Whether you do or don't, I'm not going to chance it. We make no advancement toward our goal until I say we're ready."
"Listen to yer captain, Missy." Briggs added unnecessarily.
"Shut yer mouth, Briggs!" Kyrin was furious, and I could tell she was holding back from attacking. Thankfully I was between the two, but my leg was still a little sore, so I really hoped I wouldn't have to step in.
Thankfully things went quiet after that and I regained my focus on the environment. There wasn't much to see, but it felt nice, despite freezing. Our tracks were left behind us for what seemed like miles, but we hadn't even progressed that far. The town was at least two away from the shore; not a far hike, but it felt a lot longer than it needed to be without a coat.
"Our first stop, however, will be a shop." I noticed the two of them look at me out of the corner of my eyes. "We need to get Kyrin a coat." My own coat on her was dragging through the snow. She was just too short to wear an article of my clothing.
"Yer such a baby, cap'n." Kyrin seemed to calm down at my notion.
"Y'know... You could have taken one of Natalia's jackets while you raided her wardrobe in addition to the jeans, boots, and the half-shirt." I figured I'd try to turn the argument around.
"And you coulda just kept yer jacket, but ya didn't, so quit whinin'."
"You two need to behave." Briggs interjected abruptly before I could respond.
"Yes sir, Briggs." I said jokingly. Briggs was one of my only friends. I was allowed to joke with him like that.
Kyrin was quiet after that, and she just stared at the snow at her feet while we walked. Thankfully, all that talking managed to last us through the trip, as we'd just then taken our first steps into the almost empty town. After stopping and looking around for a moment it became clear why. In the snowfield I'd assumed to be in the east, there were Yeti clearly visible, despite blending in well with the snow. They were uncomfortably close, but to us they posed little threat.
We stopped for a minute, sticking out like sore thumbs in the town, not only for how we were dressed, but by the fact we were outside with the monsters nearby. "Oh well." I thought. "We just need to find a store and get her a coat, then we can get started."
Keeping everything in mind, I lead the slow charge into town looking for a sign with a shield on it. That meant that it was an armor store, and with a sword it meant a weapon store. Briggs and Kyrin followed behind, probably because they had about as much an idea as I did about where it might be, but after traveling no fewer than 20 feet, something new caught my attention from a short distance. There was a hill, short hill, but a hill none-the-less, with a house bearing the insignia from the four main mana users of the main island.
That was when I figured out that inside were the four wise men. So instead of searching for a shop, I silently redirected us to the house. Without a word we trecked our way up the not-so-steep slope and right to the doorstep of the cabin.
"What's this place?" Kyrin asked.
I knocked on the door and quickly explained the story to her in a brief summary.
Shortly after the knock, the door opened, and we were greeted by a young, black-haired man dressed in high quality robing, who instantly took one look at Kyrin and for some reason grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her inside, beckoning us silently to follow.
"Fox!" The man yelled. "We've been waiting for you!" He was still yelling.
Briggs and I obviously heard the boisterous young man when we stepped in, but we also figured out that he was mistaking Kyrin for someone else.
"Who the hell is Fox?" She snapped back. "More importantly, who the hell are you?" She was obviously not happy being touched.
"My apologies, sir." I chimed in before things could get out of hand. "I think you're mistaking us for someone else."
The young man looked at us, and right behind him, sitting at a fine wooden table, were three other men, all seemingly much older than the robed man, all looking at us. One was a bald, muscular man with a scar running down his face, the second was a long, brown-haired man wearing what looked like the clothes of an archer, and the third wore an obvious rogue mask. They were, without a doubt, the four wise men.
"We are nothing more than curious wanderers." Briggs added behind me.
"I thought we could ask a few questions, as we do have a certain... Goal..." I added quickly before anyone else could speak.
The young man dropped his head with a smile. "I always get excited when I hear we have a magician to promote. I just got a little ahead of myself." He looked back up to us, still smiling, and extended his hand. "I'm Alcaster. Pleasure to meet you, I'm sure."
I was a little curious about this. Did he even catch a look at our outfits? We obviously weren't of the same faction as any of them. Maybe they thought we were just normal townsfolk hey hadn't met? I really didn't know what to make of his gesture, but I followed suit and embraced his hand firmly.
"I don't give out my name, sir, but amongst my crew I'm known as Captain." I had a feeling it might have been a mistake to give him that information, but looking at him just gave me the feeling it didn't matter.
"A pirate, huh?" He was still friendly and didn't seem to change his tone at all.
"Yes, sir. Behind me is Briggs, and the girl is Kyrin."
"Where's the rest of you? Off raiding the village?" He was still smiling.
"No, sir. We sent them off the second we arrived on the shore." Something didn't feel quite right then.
"Well that's good." He released my hand and walked over to the table, which gave me a quick moment to glance around.
Next to the chair Kyrin had been set in, there was a bookcase stocked full of old looking books. To the right of the front door was a fireplace. In front of it, a couch, an armchair, a few lanterns, an area rug, and a second arm chair against the wall, so it looked just like a place to congregate. Where the men were sitting seemed like the kitchen of the home. There was an old wood stove, the table, cupboards, and other miscellaneous wares.
"You did say you had some questions, right?" He took a seat at the last chair surrounding the table. "What about, might I ask, Captain?" He still had that smile.
I glanced to the couch and polite asked to take a seat. Alcaster gestured us to do so, so we all sat accordingly. Kyrin bound for the armchair farthest from them, Briggs took a seat on the couch, and I took a seat near him while gesturing for Alcaster to take a seat with us. He smiled and relocated himself to the remaining armchair.
The way he carried himself and how he acted made me uneasy. He was too nice... Something about it just felt off. It could have just been my years of living with the crew that made me feel like that, but this sort of kindness felt different... Unnatural... I did my best to shrug it off, but there was just a lingering sensation that grew the longer we stayed. I wondered then if Kyrin and Briggs felt it, too, but I needed to ask my questions.
"Indeed, sir." I smiled back uncomfortably. "First off, we're searching for someone."
"Oh really?" His smile held its place.
"Have you seen a somewhat older lady who looks almost exactly like her?" I pointed to Kyrin who glared back.
Surprisingly, his smile faded. "I'm sorry, but I don't recall having seen someone like that. Perhaps a name?" His smile quickly returned.
"Natalia." I completely dropped my smile, trying to figure out if he was telling me the truth after seeing that smile of his fade.
"No. I'm sorry." He placed his hand on his forehead and looked me in the eyes. Something happened then; something bizarre. I knew he was lying. I'm not quite sure how, but there was a feeling in me from just that one look.
"Oh well..." I sighed and looked away.
"Anything else?" He quickly threw in.
"Of course." I replied. "We're from the main island of the four mana clans. The civil war has dragged on for as long as I can remember, and we want to put an end to it."
"That can only be decided through the people, and leaders, of the island and their clans. It started mainly because of a conspiracy. Once, the clans were united, as we four have remained, but eventually, the Dark Lord, leader of the Rogue, felt that Grendel, the leader of the Magicians, was plotting to extinguish their particular power and any knowledge of it. He believed Grendel feared that power and went straight to the other two clans to ally themselves and end the Magicians. The Archers and Athena, however, wanted no part of it. They still remain a neutral clan and have no desire to be involved with any other clan, including the falsely accused Magicians. The Warriors, however, were always hungry for battle, and gladly took on the task of destroying the Magicians. Their battle with the Magicians, however, has been centuries old; the battle of might versus mind, as people would say. After many failed attempts at reaching the height of the Magicians forest haven, the Warriors quickly grew enraged with the Rogues and turned on them, seeking a mindless battle. Grendel and Athena, as far as I know, are still on friendly terms, and still aid each other when needed, but otherwise, the mana users have since been separated."
"That's a pretty simplistic outline of the situation..." I chuckled lightly.
"However..." He looked down into the fireplace. "There is one group of them now, aside from us, who've joined together. Fox, Hawk, Zidane, Jeska, Dread, and Jin. Two Magicians, two Warriors, and two Rogues."
"How did they do it?" I asked in slight disbelief.
"They were brought together as a whole by a Magician named Rein. He is presumed dead, though his body has yet to be found. Rein was a true legend amongst the Magicians, as was Fox, his sister. They were special in many ways, though the most interesting is their origin. It remains unknown. They were found in the Cursed Sanctuary in the center of the island by Grendel, but otherwise, their history is a blank. They were infants then, however, so it's not like they were hiding anything." He took a quick pause. "But I digress. Rein was a man who loved everything. He could never bring himself to harm another living human. From what I know, he was made famous as the one who saved the lives of the enemy. Though that normally wouldn't be enough to sway many, especially the ones he did, he was quite the talker. I heard he managed to change the assassins into his allies just by explaining his past and upbringing under Grendel, and convinced them he was not a power hungry leader, contrary to what the Dark Lord believed."
"So I assume this was recent?"
"Somewhat. This all started about two years ago. The group has been living with the Magicians, who are all mostly peaceful."
"So two years together and still there's been no change in the war?"
"The clans exiled the strays who sided with the enemy. They couldn't return even if they wanted to."
"If that's the case, then what can we do?"
"There's very little to do. The best thing we can do right now is sit back and wait for their group to make a move and show that they aren't in the least bit scared, or intimidated by the other."
"I see..." I gathered all the information I needed. All I needed to do then was meet up with the group and try to join them. Perhaps they would understand my plan.
"That's all I know on the situation for now, but do you have any other questions?" He was still smiling.
"Yes, actually. About the Balrog ship. Do you know where it might be?"
"It's been attacking the air ship between the continents. Looking to take it down?" He laughed lightly.
"We're looking to take it over in order to search more effectively for Natalia." I didn't return his gesture.
"Ah... She must be important to you, eh?" He slowly shifted around in his seat.
"She was our captain. Disappeared a little over a year ago. We want to find her."
"I wish you luck, sir. But before you depart, I have a favor to ask."
He caught me off guard with that notion. "What would that be?" I raised an eyebrow.
Alcaster got up and paced his way over to the window overlooking the snowfield, and the mountains behind it. "There have been a few problems with the monsters nearby lately. It seems they've decided to try to take over the town by slowly moving inward, acting like we wouldn't notice. We four, however, have to wait for Fox's arrival, so if you could please dispose of the creatures it would be much appreciated."
"I'm sorry, Alcaster, but we are too under handed at the moment. We have a large mission ahead of us, and we can't afford to lose much energy." I lied, of course. Something about him just didn't seem right, and I wasn't about to help him, despite giving me the information.
"That's a shame." He said coldly. "Well, if you have no further business, I'd like to kindly ask you to leave. We have a few things we need to do with Fox when she arrives, and it'd be quite pleasant if we didn't have anyone else here for it."
"Of course, sir. Thank you for your helpful information." I quickly got out of my seat and walked over to shake his hand. Kyrin surprised me by staying silent through all of that talking, and Briggs quickly walked her out before she had a chance to make a scene.
Alcaster returned the shake and bid us a final farewell and thanked us for stopping by. In little hurry, we left their cozy cabin and stepped back out into the snow. The door closed behind us as we started walking away. I took a few moments to myself to reflect on everything we'd just found out and began formulating a plan.
"That was boring." Said Kyrin.
"We found out a lot, though, Kyrin." Briggs knew what I was doing, so he jumped in to keep her distracted.
"All I found out was that our effort is probably gonna be wasted." She was quite unhappy with her experience there, it seemed.
We wandered through the snowy roads in silence after that. I, all the while, kept my mind focused on a plan. Eventually, we found ourselves in the middle of what I believed was the shopping bazaar. I noticed the many signs hanging above the doors of the establishments, each with a different symbol. There were a few restaurants spaced by different stores selling weapons, potions, item makers, among other things. I quickly noticed the sign for armor and clothing, however, and rushed toward it as I remembered that I was freezing half to death.
Upon entering, we were greeted warmly by the cashier behind the counter. A nice young girl with a lot of pep, it seemed. "Why is everyone here so friendly?" I thought to myself as I began looking for a suitable coat for Kyrin. I figured I might as well try and complete her Natalia outfit with the signature red coat she always wore, but Kyrin had beaten me to it. Not even two seconds after she'd snagged it, my own coat was throw back at me and she'd slipped it on. Looking at her now, she was the spitting image of Natalia. For some reason, I couldn't look away. I guess it was the closest thing to Natalia there was, and it'd been what felt like a lifetime since I last saw her.
"Captain..." Briggs turned me to the side by my shoulder. "It's rude ta stare."
"Sorry, Briggs." I smiled at him and started walking to the counter again.
After a quick conversation with the clerk about the price of the coat and the monsters around town, we paid the 5 gold it cost and made our way outside again. Though strangely, I found myself watching Kyrin out of the corner of my eye again, and noticed a certain smile on her that I'd not quite seen before. She didn't express her happiness in many ways, but a broad smile was one of them. It was close to the same look she had when she got the knuckle, except a little different. Thankfully, though, I had my coat back and had already put it on before we'd stepped outside, as my attention quickly shifted to the bitter cold.
Now that we'd taken care of that business, I figured we'd try and get a little training in. We turned to the snow field where the monsters were wandering around, though I didn't want to be caught lying to one of the strongest spell casters alive, so I tried to find us a hidden place where we could do our part without being seen. Alcaster was a smart man from the look of things. He seemed to be the one of the four who was able to handle the talking and more of the difficult work. It would have been troublesome if he caught us. It was just then that I realized that something in his story was different from what Natalia told me.
"I just realized something..." I said as we neared the field around the opposite side of the Wise Men's window.
Briggs looked at me. "Did you just realize that his and Natalia's stories didn't match entirely?"
"That's exactly it." I had a feeling he'd have caught on sooner than I did.
"The Warriors and Rogues were allies according to Natalia."
Kyrin looked at us as we alternated sentences.
"According to Alcaster, they're enemies." I held my hand to my chin as I thought more about it.
"Natalia disappeared almost a year ago."
"And it seems that this could have happened within the year, but from how Alcaster described it, it's been longer. At least two..."
Kyrin was surprisingly quiet through the conversation.
"Natalia was always well informed." Briggs added.
"Alcaster lied about not knowing anything regarding her." I turned to him.
"I know, Captain. I felt it." He moved his fingertips to his forehead.
"I think we need to find out through the other party... But they might be hostile..."
"I agree." He paused for a moment. "But there may be a chance they aren't."
I then thought that it could have been a trap set by Alcaster to have us killed off. "Perhaps Alcaster might be planning for us to meet them..."
Briggs nodded. "It would be an easy way to get rid of us. They double our numbers and they have the strongest, fastest, and most intelligent of the mana users, while we are only of moderate speed and power, and compared to the Magicians we aren't even in the same league of intelligence."
Kyrin finally chimed in. "Are ya sayin' yer scared?"
"No, Kyrin." I quickly snapped. "We're smart enough to know when we're outclassed."
"Indeed." Briggs quickly added. "If we meet up with them then we might be in trouble."
"Bunch'a cowards." Kyrin said under her breath.
"I think our best plan of action would be to proceed with caution. Kill only the monsters immediately near us, and when we see their group we make a break for the tower and start climbing." I suggested the idea more to Briggs than Kyrin, since Kyrin would take the hostile action and get us killed.
"The tower is probably where they'll be coming from since the air ship is faster than boat, and they seem to be in a rush, or might almost be here already." Briggs furthered my idea in the hopes of swaying Kyrin.
"Alcaster is bound to ask for the rest of their help in killing off the monsters while he deals with Fox. So with at least one of them gone we'll have a better chance at making our way out of here." I continued.
"I see yer point, but we can take 'em." She started to get angry.
"Whether we can or can't is something I don't want to find out right now, Kyrin." I calmly explained.
"Well, with that being our plan, we might want to stop for the moment." Briggs halted.
Before I even had a clue, we were at the fields edge. Monsters littered the land ahead of us, though they were only Jr. Yeti. Still, they had a possibility of transforming on us, so we had to keep a distance for a short while. We were out of view from the Wise Men's house, however, so we were at least safe where we were. That was the easy part. The hard part was making sure we weren't found and could still keep an eye open for the group. Luckily for us, the plains were separated by a small pine forest nearby, which was parallel to the town. All we had to do was walk a short distance and we'd be mostly concealed. With that in mind, I silently led the way over there, watching the monsters shuffle about no more then a quarter mile away. The other two followed suit, though Kyrin looked more eager to get out there than follow our plan. I was feeling a little sorry for her, but I just couldn't let her be so reckless.
CHAPTER 2
Finally, we had a set plan to follow. Kyrin was displeased, but Briggs seemed quite happy with our new found direction. We'd been sitting in the trees for around an hour, being completely left alone by the monsters in the field, which had Kyrin a little antsy, wanting more and more to do something. She was a lot like Natalia, as I noted before, but she was still different. Natalia had a sense of patience, where Kyrin didn't. She also had a little more respect for those of status, where Kyrin didn't. I didn't think of it until then, but I should have asked Alcaster a few more questions, but it was too late. I had no idea of what the Balrog ship's main mode of attack was, what kind of weaponry it had aboard, how many men there were to deal with... Nothing at all... All I knew was that it was a flying ship that seemed to be a major disturbance in the skies...
I had been sitting down in the snow where a dry patch had been, and I'd been watching the field carefully to make sure we didn't miss Fox and her party, or our opportunity to get a head start on them to keep our paths from crossing. However, after staring out there for so long, I had to take a break. I looked to Briggs, who had been watching the field as long as I had, except he'd been across from me hiding himself from the view of the field behind a tree, which made him have to look around it, but he didn't seem to be tired at all, though having spent most of his time on our ship navigating it didn't surprise me.
"Briggs, I need to take a break. Keep surveying the area." He didn't do anything more than give me a thumbs up, which meant that he had it covered.
With that confirmation, I took a good minute to rest my eyes. In that short minute, I thought about Kyrin, who'd been sitting to the side of Briggs and I. Then seemed like a good time to see what she could really do. I opened my eyes and looked to her. To my surprise, she staring at me.
"Kinda uncomfortable, right Captain?" She said with that annoyed tone and look on her face.
"Well, I was going to let you go have some fun, but now I'm not so sure." I shrugged and closed my eyes, shaking my head with a smile.
"What?" The moment I finished my sentence she had rushed over to me, kneeling and grabbing at my vest, though it wasn't in anger. When I opened my eyes she was giving me the cutest puppy-dog face I'd ever seen, and her grabbing at my vest was more of a beg than anything.
Somehow, I couldn't help but give in. "Alright." I said. "Only for a few minutes, though. We can't risk getting caught." I had to grab her hands to keep her there to listen to me. She agreed without an argument, thankfully. I think it was probably her boredom that lead to her behavior then, perhaps desperation.
The moment I let go of her hands, she grabbed mine and pulled me out to the edge of the trees close to where the field began.
"You wanted to see what I could do, right?" She asked smiling happily.
"That was my plan, yes." I was somewhat uncomfortable with this side of her. She seemed like someone entirely different.
"Alright." She giggled and skipped out into the field, weaving her way past the monsters until she was completely surrounded.
That alone was strange. She didn't look at me, and she seemed just too friendly. I had little time to think, however, as she was quickly progressing out of my sight. I was almost about to go in after her, but just as I'd placed my hand on my sword, I noticed several of the monsters fall, and seconds later a few more after that. I couldn't see precisely what she was doing, but she was apparently tearing them apart, judging by their falls. Two more, then three, the hat atop her head became visible, bobbing about as she moved. Two more fell, and that cleared all of the obstruction between us. Her cutlass was drawn, and her knuckle was red. She herself had manage to stay clean from the look of everything.
I was personally impressed by her. I hadn't expected her to be much of a fighter, despite her attitude, but she was doing a decent job of quickly slaying all of the white balls of fur in her direct area, rather silently, in fact. Her height compared to them made it easy for her to hide and move undetected, as she proved just then. Perhaps she would be useful to us after all.
She'd made quick work of the Jr. Yeti in the area, and even waited for them to transform into full grown Yeti, which some had done, but the others I'd assumed to have stayed dead, as their flesh and fur disintegrated, as all monsters do when they die. That in itself was another mystery I wished to explore, though for another day. What I'd seen her do then was more than enough to prove she was well capable of handling herself in trouble, but how she dealt with the Yeti made me wonder a little, as she dropped her cutlass and charged full speed. I watched carefully as she ran, quite elegantly, into the fray, holding my gun and waiting for her to get into trouble, but she leaped, high, and punched the seven-foot monster square in the face with her knuckle. It disintegrated as it fell back, and she landed firmly, dodging the oncoming smash from one of the four remaining by doing a quick roll to the side, then she jumped onto its arm and punched it.
In writhing pain, the Yeti flung her off at a high speed, which she'd used quite well, since she was launched at one of the others. With her speed, she drove her fist straight into its heart, and it vanished instantly. I saw then that the severity of the death, and how soon after the blow it disintegrated, determined how long it had to live. Basically saying that if you were to slice off its head then it would fade instantly, but if you were to stab it and wait for it to bleed, it could take a while.
"Interesting..." I said aloud to myself. My attention quickly regained to Kyrin as she planted yet another death strike into the head of one of the two remaining Yeti. Left with one, it had been assumed that she was far more skilled than I gave her credit for. In a dramatic fashion, she slowly walked toward it. That Yeti was the one she'd hit in the arm, and it was still in severe pain. She smiled at it, and as it tried to smash her with its undamaged hand, she moved to the side, and with all her might delivered one final blow into its side, which I believed had collapsed its ribcage and caused such tremendous internal injury that it faded near instantly. She smiled happily and walked back to us, picking up her cutlass as she did.
"Now that didn't take long, did it?"
"Not at all..." I replied. Just at that moment, I noticed her eyes. They were blue...
"And it's all out of my system." She said as she passed me. "I'll be good now. Promise." She turned back and smiled, but my eyes stayed fixed on hers.
I forced a smile in return and stayed silent. Something was definitely wrong. Kyrin wouldn't have said anything like that, or talk like that for that matter. Her speech was clean. There weren't any combined words like 'Outta', or 'din't'. It was like Briggs and my speech... Clean... Reformed... "What's going on?" I though to myself again and again, unable to draw a conclusion.