(A/N) Seeing as this is my first try at this, could you kind readers please read and review it for me? I really want honest opinions from all of you good people. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading my fanfic just as much as I am enjoying the process of creating it.

Disclaimer: Ragnarok Online is owned by the Gravity Corporation. Most the characters in this fanfic either belong to my friends or are of my own creation. There will also be a few characters that will come directly from the Ragnarok Online world (such as King Tristan the Third).
Tears for the Fallen

Chapter One: A Fruitless Search

Joyful laughter gently echoed across the plain of the calm summer's day that had presented itself this fine afternoon. The sun held high in the sky and was never once shrouded by a cloud. This area outside the eastern gate of Prontera was always a welcoming spot for the two young swordsmen that rested themselves against two closely knit trees, who were busy taking a break from the training they put themselves through in Mandragora Forest. Lunatics, porings, and other small creatures that they had long since graduated from fighting went about their seemingly careless lives, ignoring the two for they were all peaceful little creatures. One of the two boys busied himself by watching a pair of thief bugs fight over a small crystal that he tossed over their way as the other swordsman chuckled lightly at this action.

The swordsman, who had stirred up the thief bugs, turned to his companion as he heard the laughter. His bright azure eyes held a rather menacing, yet serene glint as his short, white-blond hair blew gently in the breeze. The other swordsman gave his friend a nod of approval, letting his dark gray hair fall gently over his dark gray eyes.

"You never cease to amaze me, Thane, with how easily entertained you can be," The gray-haired swordsman said softly, still laughing softly at the way Thane had looked over at him.

"I just like to admire nature, Kyson, you know that," Thane replied.

"Admire!" Kyson said in a false shock, jokingly, "You mean torment, don't you? Some crusader you'll become one day..."

Kyson said the final words of his statement with a large grin on his lips, all of them obviously dripping with sarcasm. Thane picked up a small pebble and tossed it at his friend in rebuttal to the comment.

"Well, when I fail at becoming a crusader you drop your dreams of knighthood and become a merchant!" Thane yelled, jokingly as well.

Kyson laughed and nodded lightly, rubbing the spot on his head where the pebble had hit him even though it hadn't hurt. The whole merchant joke had been a running insult between the two young boys for quite some time now. They both had nothing against merchant class, but they felt that their jobs were just rather... dull.

The laughing in the field grew quieter, echoing slightly until it finally ended altogether. All of a sudden, Kyson's eyes blurred as he sat with Thane... only to be replaced by darkness.

There was a dank smell in the air as the area around him slowly came into view as he slowly awakened. The light was dim, lit by torches and beams of light that streamed through the cracks in the ceiling. Kyson could feel his body lying on the ground, feeling rather winded from what he now recalled as a heavy blow to his abdomen with the back end of an axe. His ears rang from the blow his head sustained from hitting the rock and dirt floor. As hearing and vision finally came back to perfection, he heaved himself off the ground only to be met by a woman shouting his name.

"Kyson! Ky!" she stopped as she saw him stand, "Thank Odin you're okay! Now help me over here! I can't keep this firewall holding forever you know!"

Wiping the bloody wound on his head with the back end of his left gauntlet, Kyson gripped his claymore in one hand as he turned and saw the woman who had been calling him. She held and Arc Wand, a staff of great magical power, in her left hand as she held her right palm out towards a Fire Wall she was continuously keeping ablaze. Her short blue-gray hair, as well as her wizard's robes danced wildly from the magical essence protruding from her very being. Turning her head toward him rather violently, she grit her teeth and stared at him with her sharp light-gray eyes.

"Now would be a good time for you to help me, Mr. Knight!" she yelled.

Giving his head a quick shake to fully steady himself, he gripped the sword with both hands as it had been designed for and began to concentrate. He could feel his muscles lose the aches and pain in them and his body began to feel as light as a feather. Breaking into a run, he opened his eyes and held his sword at the ready.

"Turn off the wall, Celi, let me finish this..."

As quickly as he had said his words, Celina gave him a rye grin and lowered her hand and staff. Kyson gallantly broke through the now faded wall of fire and came face to face with the enemy that she had been courageously fending off all this time...

"Orc Zombies... How I loathe thee..." he hissed.

Celina, with her grin still shining, eased herself onto a rock to rest; seeing as she was drained of pretty much all of her energy. She silently cursed herself for not being able to slaughter the hordes like she had always been able to, but something this time was just… different… They just didn't seem to stop coming.

Kyson set a heavy glare upon the group of undead orcs that were standing just a few feet in front of him; trying to pierce their bodies with nothing more than his deep gray eyes. Celina's Fire Wall had kept them from coming any closer because, as it seemed, they finally learned that contact with a wall of that magnitude meant instant "death" for them. The orcs slowly advanced toward the knight with their battle-axes brandished high in the air, ready to cleave in his skull without a moments notice. There were about 12 of them at the moment, easy prey for a knight of Kyson's caliber.

The first orc of the group let loose a battle cry and rushed forward, his eyes glowing red as he slashed downward at the smaller knight in front of him. Seeing the axe heading toward him from above, Ky raised his claymore and blocked the blow at a slant; letting the axe glance off as he swung deep into the orc zombie's side and let his blade go clean through his opponent, separating the body at the waist.

"One down..." Kyson whispered to himself, as the two pieces of orc fell to the musty, stone ground.

The orc in the front of the pack having been dispatched, the three directly behind him all converged on the knight with their axes swinging. With a quick and nimble back flip the knight dodged the triple-attack and waited for their next move. The orcs began walking toward him at their slow but steady pace, with their bodies remaining in a horizontal line as they came.

"As I always said, these things are too easy..." he said with a small grin.

Waiting for them to get a little closer, but not close enough for them to reach him with their weaponry, the knight held the flat of his blade in one hand and the handle in the other. The claymore began to shimmer as the orcs got right into the spot he wanted them in. Reclaiming the sword's handle with both hands once again, he slashed horizontally at his foes. At first, you'd have thought that he would have missed, but right after the slash had been completed there were three more orcs with their torso's separated from their lower halves. The invisible energy he had accumulated within his blade had been released and had instantly "killed" the three undead menaces.

"Eight to go..." he said to himself, keeping track of the kills in his head.

As Kyson readied himself to attack the remaining eight orcs, who were sticking together in a tight pack, a large bolt of lightning shot past him at an amazing speed and incinerated the group.

Kyson jolted around to see Celina holding her staff which was steaming at the tip. She was catching her breath, but had enough time to flash him a quick smile before the moans of more orc zombies filled the air. She had used the very last of her energy to cast that spell, and now she was completely drained for the time being.

Celina ran over next to Kyson, fear showing in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"Ky, they just keep coming! This mission's over; we'll have to find my brother later! There's no way we can survive down here any longer..."

She looked away from him, for she was embarrassed by the tears slipping from her eyes. Kyson, returning his claymore to its sheath, wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and hugged her softly. She shuddered from his touch but wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close; resting her cheek against his mail-covered shoulder.

"We have to report this situation to Prontera immediately," he said in a comforting tone.

Kyson gave a quick look around them and sighed. There were orc zombies everywhere now; all waiting to sink their axes into their soft flesh. Celina was now trembling in fright from having no way of protecting herself. All she could manage to do was hold him closer as he slipped a butterfly wing out of the pouch on his left side. Tightening his hold on her and closing his eyes, Kyson crushed the wing in his palm to magically teleport them back to the safety of Rune-Midgard's capital city.