Chapter 1: Exiled
I took a step forward and fell to one knee; I knew the branches of the magical tree would hold me, but I didn't care anymore…there weren't any good reasons to live.
I stood up and patted the dust off of my tattered cloak; I wanted it to stay clean, but even in my current state of mind I knew it just didn't matter, I would be found, and eventually I would be caught.
A small shadow dashed to my side and my partner Echo darted from the sky to my shoulder.
"Fox, there's one on their way" The green dragon said as he sat on my shoulder
I didn't respond, instead I stopped and waited.
"You there! I am looking for a man-" A voice called out to me from behind.
I started to turn around and the man stopped talking.
"I see…"
"Then Fox, Exile of Dark Knights…you are now under arrest, come with me and we won't need to fight" The man said with a calm voice as he held up a scroll.
"Fly" I whispered to Echo as I held out my hand and a spear rose from the ground to meet it.
Echo took flight into the air and I charged at the man. The man ran backward and threw several stars at me. I swung my spear and knocked some of them out of the air, but I was still hit by a few. I finally closed in on the man and with firm footing on the ground I enveloped myself in a beam of light and forced the man backward into a tree, where he hit his head and fell unconscious, after the short battle Echo descended onto my shoulder again.
I looked into the man's face, and in his peaceful expression I could see that of my friends…Nitro, Rag. D-.
I fell to my knees and spat blood onto the ground, but a few drops landed onto my brown cloak.
"You should take off the cloak, it only makes you look like a criminal" Echo teased
"I am…" I said as I turned around and continued to progress. It wasn't the time for jokes, that time had been gone ever since I watched Raillin die.
"Raillin ran forward into the Black Mage's lair…somehow he knew what was coming, but the Black Mage had to be stopped, and he was the only one who could do it" I said to myself as I walked forward with my eyes closed.
"I snuck in behind him, I had only seen this place in my dreams…but I stopped, I could feel something happening"
"I entered the Black Mage's throne room and watched it happen. 'This is over!' Raillin said as he dropped his spear Fairfrozen and became encased in ice as the spear shattered on the ground. When Raillin broke free he had the claws of a dragon, the wings of a dragon, and a prehensile tail made of ice. A holy glow enveloped Raillin and he charged forward…I looked at his target, and it was the Black Mage himself, his very presence pained me, a deep pain that didn't affect my body…but my spirit." I monologued
"Fox…the more you remember that event, the more it'll hurt you" Echo said mournfully
"If I forget, then my reason for being who I am will vanish" I responded quietly
"The reason for being who you are will never vanish" Echo angrily replied as he held onto my cloak with his feet and into the air, ripping the cloak off of my body, revealing my Dark Master Sergeant and my Dark Commodore Pants.
I ignored him and continued to recollect what happened exactly as it happened. "I watched the Black Mage put his gloved hand through Raillin's chest with no effort, then throw him aside as though he were nothing. I ran forward to Raillin's side and tears welled up in my eyes. 'Raillin!' I exclaimed…but only the Black Mage and Raillin were there to hear me. 'Whatever happens, remember what you've seen, and ascend higher than I have, let nothing stop you, follow your heart, and remember your…' Railin turned his head to the side against the stone floor and closed his eyes. I finally stood up with hatred in my eyes and my spear in my hands and I charged at the Black Mage. Instead of fighting me he swung his arm and spattered Railin's blood onto my clothes and he vanished. In an instant several people entered the Black Mage's lair and looked at Railin, then me." I finished.
I stopped walking then opened my eyes; I was at the Ellinia station headed to Ereve, I paid the Piyo Kiriru three-thousand mesos and boarded the flying boat to Ereve.
I rubbed my hand through my thick and unruly blond hair and took a small green potion out of a small bag on my side, I took a gulp and fell to my knees. I knew those stars weren't normal…they were laced with poison. I didn't resist fainting this time, I dropped the drink and I fell forward into a deep sleep.
"You…killed Raillin" A man said with clenched fists.
"No, I…I didn't" I stammered as I took a step back, the visions of the Black Mage killing Raillin haunted my mind.
"Liar!" The man yelled as he charged forward and struck me down with an axe.
I awoke hours later in handcuffs in front of a large group of people wearing different colored robed, each robe represented their class.
"We are the Forth Order, we are the greatest warriors of our classes, Bishop, Arch Mage of Fire and Poison, Arch Mage of Ice and Lightening, Hero, Dark Knight, Paladin" I listened to the leader of the council talk as I looked around. My friends stood behind me, some of them looked disgusted while others looked scared for me.
"You are suspected of killing Raillin, Dragon Dancer of Darkness. He was one of the few masters who has ascended above the council. What do you have to say for yourself?" The leader of the council asked
"I didn't do anything! I watched Raillin die at the hands of the Black Mage himself!" I yelled back
"Then you will prove that you didn't, however, you will be exiled from everything you know and love." The master of the council said as he held up a hand.
A woman with a spear appear in front of me and held out her hand. "I am Lyla, Master of Dark Knight. From this day forward you will no longer be known as a Dark Knight or a master adventurer, the spear that tells the story of your adventurers and the medal that identifies you as a master of Dark Knights are no longer yours."
I looked behind me at my friends who watched as I handed over my spear Stormshear and Master Advenurer Medal.
The woman took my items and vanished., then Ray, the leader of my guild took her place.
"I'm sorry Fox, but you no longer belong to Snowflake" Ray said as he took the guild emblem of Snowflake off of my Black Neos Top.
"Sorry" Ray said then he vanished and Neinheart took his place. "You are no longer the Caastrophe of Ereve" Neinheart said then he vanished.
"Fox, Exile of Dark Knight, leave this council in shame" The leader of the council demanded as he pointed to the door.
I turned around and passed my friends who watched as I left in despair. After I completely left the room everything around me vanished and I was in the floating city Orbis.
I woke up to find Echo clawing my face playfully. "Get up Fox, we're at Ereve"
I stood up with a smile and stepped off of the boat. I walked through Ereve until I entered the Main Sanctuary where Cygnus resided.
I watched as the leaders of the Knights of Cygnus sat down doing paperwork and waited until I was noticed.
"Hey, its Fox" the Thunder Breaker Hawkeye said with a smile. "It's been a while"
"Yeah" I said with a smile back "Now get back to your work"
I laughed with Hawkeye, he always tried to get out of work, he was almost as lazy as I was.
"Foxxy!" Oz, the Blaze Wizard yelled as he jumped up from her desk and tackled me, followed by Irene.
The Night Walker Eckhart and the Dawn Warrior Mihile walked over to me and gave me a handshake one at a time; showing any type of emotion wasn't their specialty.
I waited a while, then I approached Neinheart, Shinsoo, and Cygnus.
"These posters are appearing everywhere, and we still haven't figured out who's offering the reward" Neinheart said as he handed a piece of paper to me.
"Wanted…Fox, Exile of Dark Knights…Reward…2.1 billion mesos" I read aloud
"That's a bit extreme isn't it?" I asked
"Whoever is doing this really hates you" Cygnus assumed.
"This would be much easier on me if I knew who my friends were. After I was exiled I lost contact with everyone I knew" I said as I rubbed the back of my neck
The great dragon Shinsoo stood up and looked down into my eyes. "Then look into my eyes and find your friends."
I looked into Shinsoo's kind blue eyes and I could see everything.
Rag looked around with his Stonetooth in his hands then he smirked, he took off his cape and tossed it to his side, revealing another sword. He unsheathed the sword on his back and he started to glow.
"Now you will what a Champion really is" Rag said as he held a Stonetooth sword in one hand and a reverse Nibleheim in the other.
Nitro jumped high into the air and slammed his white Zedbug onto the ground and forced everything around him to shake violently, before he completely finished his attack he raised his pole arm with one hand and smashed it on the ground and completely tore up the ground.
Ray slid backward and threw a single glowing star into the air, the sky became black and thousands of balanced furies rained from the skies and completely destroyed everything around him. In the blink of an eye the balanced furies were gone.
Dustin waited for the man's attack with his hands in his pocket. The man jumped high into the air and swung his axe.
Dustin smiled "It's something I learned a while back, you completely master the arts of ice and lightening"
A sheet of ice rushed from the ground into the air to block the Hero's attack. The hero jumped back and charged forward, but without his knowledge Dustin teleported behind him. The man looked around and started to turn around, then he suddenly became encased in ice.
I fell to my knees and spat out black blood onto the ground and it splashed onto Shinsoo's feathers.
"Damn…" I said as I fell forward and blacked out.