Thanatos God of Blades
Prologue
Hmm, the mist stirs yet again, the tower keeper Rigolo thought gazing up into the perpetual dark sky; this is never a good sign.
Tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, Rigolo rose from the rock he sat on and took a nervous glance behind him into the abyss. The cave he peered into was a hole of darkness; no sound or light can be seen from either side, but he knew it was a short walk to get through it. Once inside the cave, it seemed as normal as any other cave, if any other cave was devoid of life. A shiver ran down his spine, as memories long past flooded his mind for brief seconds.
We thought we could handle it, Rigolo reminisced, how wrong we were.
A sound of a dying Pungus snapped Rigolo out of his reverie and focused him into his combat ready mode. Through the mist Rigolo could see a group of figures approaching, weapons at the ready, carefully scanning the area. After a few more steps he recognized the gait, armor and class of each member: two Lord Knights atop their respective Peco-Peco, a Champion, a High Priestess, a High Wizard and a Sniper with her falcon perched on her shoulder.
"How is it that you managed to find me?" Rigolo asked the approaching figures.
"I, Roberto must say," said the male lord knight. "It wasn't easy to find this place when we had to go off the ramblings of a madman. But we came for a reason and we are going to see it through."
"Honey, just tell the man what he wants," said the female lord knight giving him a slightly annoyed look. "You must be the keeper Rigolo I assume, we came to-"
"To kick butt and take names of course," said the champion surging forward, "so where is the tower?"
This obviously isn't the normal kind of party, thought Rigolo. "Well it seems you fulfill all requirements to advance to the tower, but be warned: IF, you summon him, you had better be prepared for the worst."
"We all came here with a warning from the Valkyrie," said the sniper petting her falcon, "She said her forefather was bringing down destruction by the hand of Thanatos so we came to snuff it out."
Rigolo browsed the group before him, re-evaluating their strength like he did countless times before. He loosened his grip off his sword and opened his hand. The group all peered into his hand when a bag was placed into it by the wizard being shadowed by the priestess.
"Here is our fare." she said to Rigolo, "Now let us pass and rid the world of this demon."
Rigolo stepped back from the crackle of the Energy Coat surrounding the wizard and counted the money. He nodded, then the bag of zeny levitated off his hand and on reflex the group in front of him all raised their weapons as if to strike. When suddenly the bag flew to the entrance of the abyss and was stopped short as if it hit a wall as a blinding light drew forth from the cave.
"Your offer is accepted, you can now proceed through the cave to the tower on the other side," Rigolo said monotonous, "I wish your journey fair better than mine."
Before a reaction was registered on their faces, Rigolo became incorporeal and melded back into the rock to the left of the cave entrance.
"Son of a…," said the champion, "Did you guys see that?"
"Did you not know Tora?" asked the priestess. "Rigolo was the first lord knight slain by Thanatos when he first appeared. For his failure, his soul was bound to be the towers keeper until Thanatos is destroyed."
Tora looked to the priestess with astonishment, and then Roberto directed his Peco-Peco to the front of the group. He looked them all into their eyes, nodding to each one. He then dismounted, motioned the other knight to dismount as well. Then he raised his left hand on level with his chest and put it forward into the center of the group.
"We all came here so our children will have a better tomorrow," Roberto stated infusing his Glorious Lance with Aura Blade with his other hand. "We made a vow to either all return, or none at all and I for one will not leave any of you behind."
The group in front of him stared into his eyes, searching for any sign of doubt. Tora stepped forward placed his hand on Roberto's outstretched hand and nodded in his direction. The other lord knight smiled and placed her hand on top. The wizard cancelled her Energy Coat then put her hand on top and shortly after that, the priestess followed the example while stifling a laugh as their eyes met.
"Remember when we first met Emilia?" The wizard asked the priestess, "You couldn't even cast a spell quick enough to save anyone and look at you now."
"Well it's all thanks to you bestie," Emilia beamed emanating happiness, "without you I would have never became a priestess; so thanks for that Joan."
The group turned to look at the sniper who pretended to be too busy with her falcon. Then returned their looks with a mischievous smile on her face quickly raised her hand and slammed it on top of them all.
"LETS DO THIS TEAM," she shouted. Then quickly ran into the cave with her falcon flying ahead. Everyone else now sharing her smile, Tora bounded after her, quickly followed by Emilia and Joan. While the two knights remounted their Peco-Peco they exchanged a quick laugh.
"That Rebecca was always up to something," Roberto said nonchalantly. "Me thinks you rubbed off on her my 'dear' Mary."
"Keep talking and I'll stick that spear where the sun don't shine 'dear'," said Mary stifling another laugh. "Oh well I hope Acaelus and his friends will be safe after this, so let's go."
She quickly urged her Peco-Peco forward to catch up to the rest of the group. Roberto smiled and followed suit.
The next day Rigolo rose from his rock and became solid once more. Rigolo becoming solid once again meant that the tower challenge had come to a close. Before he sat down and got into his usual position, he quickly scanned the area for signs of life by extending his soul through the field around the cave entrance. He opened his eyes with a sad look and sat down to await the next challengers.
And so another party has fallen, Rigolo sighed,will I ever be free of this curse?
He once again gazed up into the sky as the mist increased encasing the fields. As the light of the moon was slowly taken away by the increasing mist, a tear fell from his left eye to rest upon a blade of grass as his hope for release waned yet again.
A/N: First story up *fist pump* looking for any and all criticism or thoughts. No idea how long this will be but I'm aiming for under around under 15 (hopefully).
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC who has 2 names (depending on the story), but his net value is around $0.