Hey guys, OneArmedDragon here with my first fanfic posted on this site!

This is going to be just a collection of Maplestory one-shots, probably all connected but able to stand alone. The idea was inspired by the short pieces of fiction on the Maplestory site that adds actually story (le gasp! Maplestory has a plot now!) to the game, such as "A Cold, Dark Place", "Cygnus Falls", and "The Pride and Fall of Von Leon".

Man, Maplestory's changed so much since the time when there were only Adventurers.

I'm also on BasilMarket and world Broa as Rhosalit, an Aran. You can probably guess what class I love most~

ANYWAY enough rambling! Time for the fic! This is just pure speculation, but I personally liked the idea too much to not share it. It takes place in Future Maple World, same time as Destroyed Henesys.

A Maplestory Fanfiction

The First Champion

Sanare looked on nervously at the fairies around her got ready for battle, picking up spears, wands, and swords as they slipped on heavy chain mail and soft magician's robes. She herself held onto her worn wooden staff tightly, which had been unused for several decades but recently pressed back into service.

Everyone here's had to do something like that, she mused, looking around Orbis. Fairies that used to be content just to sit in the clouds around the town as the gentle wind blew around them had to unsheathe weapons they had never even picked up since their sword lessons of their early days, meant only to provide the basics. They had to, or else the monsters outside of town would have slain them a long time ago.

Monsters that only barely resembled their original pixie forms. Now they had been transformed into giant, hulking beasts with a tattered hat and beady eyes that barely showed the playful malice of the past.

The Black Mage's magic was strong, she sighed again. Even now the breeze carried dark traces of it.

Although she was only a young fairy compared to some of her friends, she had tried her best to help Orbis. A fairy dressed in plate armor flew over to her, a gash apparent on his arm.

"Cut myself when doing sword drills," he muttered, face red even under his helmet.

Sanare nodded and brought her staff up. "Heal," she whispered and drudged up old magic and channeled it into her staff. Green sparks flowed into the wound, sealing it shut and wiping the remains away with out a trace.

The fairy checked his arm and smiled. "Thanks," he said and flew away again, off to practice more.

The problem with Orbis now, she thought, was that they simply weren't trained well enough. They had always enjoyed peace, and now they were paying the price.

"Sanare." She immediately turned to face a fire/poison arch mage, dressed in the robes of one of the generals of the Orbis army. "Get with your party," he ordered. "You're with Battalion 5A-b."

"Yes sir," she replied, but then a thought struck her. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking, but aren't we sending a lot of troops to defeat... A wolf?"

The general snorted. "Not enough if you ask me. Every time that wolf comes, it leaves with a new casualty. We don't have any people to spare, so we have to use everything we can to bring it down. Of course," he gestured to the fifty or so fairies milling around, condensing into groups of six. "I got overruled on the last part."

"I see, sir." He raised a good point. A week ago, a wolf had appeared in town and slew one of the newer recruits. It continued to strike every night, killing a fairy in each attack. People had begun to lock themselves indoors in fear until the war council finally decided to strike back at it.

Sanare herself had only caught a glimpse of the beast, but she knew why the general was so worried. Pitch black with sickly blue markings running over its eyes and sides, most fairies didn't see the six-foot-long wolf until it was at their throats. And before anyone could retaliate, it was gone, running away twice as fast as any of them could sprint.

Sanare broke away from her inner thoughts and said, "I'll be going to 5A-b now, sir."

"Good. Be fast; we head out in fifteen minutes."

She nodded and walked off in search of her party. It didn't take long, since the groups were lined up in order, and she spent the rest of the time talking with the members and got to know them better.

"Forces of Orbis!" A booming voice stopped all other conversation. All heads turned to see the general Sanare was talking to standing in the center of town square.

His eyes swept over the crowd, ensuring that all attention was on him, and he announced, "We stand here today to go on a mission. I'm sure all of you know of the black wolf terrorizing the streets of Orbis as the daylight fades. I'm surer that some of you have even lost close ones to its attacks." Sanare looked around and noticed that a few heads were bowed low, in respect for the fallen.

"That is why we are preparing for battle here today. You may think that using this much force to bring it down may be excessive, but when so many lives have already been taken, nothing is too much.

"Let me make something clear: killing this wolf will not solve all of our troubles. It will not rid us of the Black Mage's forces that even now are at our door. But we must not fall into despair!

"It will be a step! Slaying this wolf will mean the residents of Orbis can sleep easy at night! We will have hope for the future, hope that Orbis will one day be strong again!

"Forces of Orbis, we stand as a part of a greater whole! We stand as one!"

Cheers rose up from the audience, but even as fairies screamed their approval and spirit and hope for the town to hear, many faces remained in icy silence. They had been hearing promises of victory without fulfillment for far too long now. They had long since been lost in misery.

And Sanare? A dark cynicism had begun to creep over her heart, but she tried to keep her belief strong. It was the only way she could survive the situation that Orbis was in.

Still, the general was satisfied with the response from his army and ordered, "Very well! We will split off to search for the wolf! Please, notify the other groups when you find it and we all will running to your aid.

"Battalions 1, 2, 3, and 4, search the north, east, south, and west respectively. Battalion 5, search Orbis itself."

"Yes sir!" the mass of fairies replied, and started to split off in the ordered directions.

A ranger tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, let's go," he nodded towards the rest of Battalion 5, which already was patrolling the perimeters of Orbis.

Sanare said her thanks and ran off to catch up.

The leader of 5A-b, a recent Shadower with his wings tucked inward for greater stealth, stood up from his hunched position and sighed. "Over here there's nothing too," he reported. "5A-b, move to the next position."

The party complied and journeyed to the next street. They had gone through fifteen streets so far, but the roads of Orbis were large and many, with dark nooks and crannies that a wolf of darkness would enjoy.

Sanare checked around a corner and was greeted with nothing of interest. Perhaps that was a blessing, she pondered. Not many would be able to stand against the monster alone, after all.

The fairy next to her sighed as her search turned up with nothing. "You think that wolf is even here?" she asked her. Her face was pulled onto a disapproving sneer even as she adjusted the crossbow on her back.

Sanare had to think about her answer before she replied, "It could be that it's hiding in the city somewhere. If it is, it's our duty to find it. Besides," she added, "We have the rest of Battalion 5 helping."

The sniper let out a scornful sound. "That's going to help in this town. Did you see how many back alleys, abandoned clouds and whatnot there are here?"

"Yes." That was true; after living in Orbis for 36 years, she had an idea of the complexity of the town.

"Hmph," she grunted. Then her gaze drifted upwards. "Hey... Has anyone bothered checking the boarding platforms?"

"Huh?" Sanare looked at the floating structure in the sky. "I can't say anyone has. After all, no one has been through there ever since the Black Mage started his conquest..." Her voice trailed off, remembering the crowd of adventurers, old and new, that used to fill the building every day. "I think everyone's forgotten about it."

A smile grew on the sniper's face that didn't promise anything good. "Then why don't we take a look?" she suggested.

"What?"

"You heard me." She leaned in like she was sharing her darkest secrets. "Why not ditch the group and check it out?"

"No."

"C'mon! You're no fun!"

Sanare sighed. "Just tell the party leader about it or something."

"You know those army guys! They take forever to do anything!" She waved her arm around at the scene of everyone searching around. "I mean, look how long it took for them to deal with some stupid wolf!"

...Well, she did have a point there.

"You know, I'm going to go whether you join me or not," the other fairy frowned.

"What! That's... that's suicide!"

"Eh," she replied. "Probably that the wolf's not there. Still, couldn't hurt to check, right?"

"I-it could hurt!" Sarane exclaimed. "Very much! That wolf's killed..."

But the sniper wouldn't take it. "Whatever," she snorted and opened her wings. Before she could object further, the other fairy flew away.

Sarane stood in stunned silence and cursed under her breath before running to the party leader.

"That idiot!" the leader swore as he landed on the boarding platform, with the rest of the party close behind. He kneeled down to examine something.

Sanare was close by, but not close enough to see what had attracted his attention. She slowly landed and looked over his shoulder but immediately wished she hadn't. A large red bloodstain decorated the floor there, along with a few traces of a gray liquid that had the color of rusted silver.

It wasn't hard to tell what had happened. "The wolf's here," she whispered in fear. "It got her."

The Shadower stood up with a stony expression and then turned to face her. "Contact one if the generals," he ordered. "Tell him that we found the wolf, but with a casualty."

"Yes sir." She held her head down and covered an ear, her preferred position to send a whisper. "General, this is Sanare of Battalion 5A-b with a message."

The general's voice came into her head shortly after. "This is General Dux. Proceed."

"We found the wolf. However, we had a casualty: a sniper in our battalion is either badly injured or already dead."

"…Understood." Sarane was impressed by his calm reaction. "Where is your position?"

"The main boarding platform."

"Very well. Sanare, tell the party leader to proceed and slay the wolf. If it's too much, fall back and wait for us. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Yes sir." Sanare ran to tell the Shadower about the orders. He listened and nodded.

"Alright," he replied, and then switched to whispering to the party. "Battalion 5A-b, prepare for confrontation with the wolf. I repeat, prepare for confrontation!"

Sanare stood by in nervous anticipation as the wind blew towards her, as if trying to push her away, far away from this place...

"Sanare," the leader said. She snapped out of her trance. "We'll need your support to make it through this. Are you ready?"

An unsteady gulp. "As ready as I'll ever be, sir."

"Good enough."

Their footsteps echoed loudly throughout the empty halls of the boarding platform. Everyone was antsy; the tension in the air was nearly palpable.

The Shadower led the way, following the trail of blood through the gates and paths that made up the platform. Sanare was at the rear of the pack, and she gripped her staff tightly like it was her lifeline, which it very easily could become.

Her breath caught as they emerged into the platform that used to bring people to Victoria Island. Dust covered all of the surfaces and everything seemed to be falling apart.

Everything, except the black wolf that stood in the center of the platform, half-hidden in the deep shadows. Even from her position she could she the blood on its claws.

The Shadower crouched down and readied his dagger. "Party, are we ready?" he whispered.

Four replies followed, all of them, "Yes."

The leader's eyes narrowed, but as he got ready to spring towards the black wolf...

"Good job, Ryko." A voice cut through the darkness as a hand reached out of the shadows to rest on the wolf's head.

Everyone in the party froze.

"It seems my pet did his job well," the voice continued and then scoffed, "Is this really all of what Orbis could muster up?"

The Shadower unfroze and growled, "Who's there? Reveal yourself!"

An evil chuckle, then a foot stepped out. "If you so desire. However..." His face slowly came into the light. "You do not stand a chance against me."

"...!" Sanare knew the person. White hair swept into peaks. Tan skin told of a life full of traveling. Strong hands grasped a giant pole arm. He was...

"Aran?" she whispered. No, it couldn't be true, the hero who had stood against the Black Wings, fought to keep the Seal Stone of Orbis out of their clutches, opposed the Black Mage with every fiber in his body...

His face pulled into a thin smile. "So, you know me."

Shock overtook her. There was no doubt who that was now... But as she looked closer, she noticed his armor was black, adorned with glittering spikes, and a great cape made of shadows flowed from his shoulders. And his eyes... Where the whites used to be, now there was only a dull black with steely cyan irises that shone like the coldest ice.

A Dragon Knight next to her had an expression of surprise rivaling her own. Then he muttered, almost under his breath, "The Black Mage... Did he... Like Empress Cygnus...?"

The words echoed around the room, and they sent a chill down Sarane's spine. Everyone had heard of what had happened to the Knights, and now...

The pole arm master gave another wicked grin. "Perhaps. Aran, first Champion of the Black Wings, at your service."

The leader was stunned, but soon readied his dagger again. "Boomerang Step!" he shouted and dashed forward, faster than anyone could see with his weapon poised to kill...

Aran sidestepped the attack as it went whizzing by and leapt forward as the Shadower returned to his original position. Blue light crackled along his pole arm as he slammed it into the ground and announced, "Final Seal!"

Their leader didn't even have the chance to scream as icicles erupted from the ground and clashed together around him. A blue flash and then he was frozen in a block of ice with an expression of pure terror.

Sarane took a step back, as did the remainders of her party. Aran slowly turned and smirked.

"Run," he whispered, and she sprinted, sprinted as fast as her feet could carry her as a bitter wind blew at her back, carrying the Champion's words with it.

"The conquest of Orbis begins now."