The Greatest Templar

By Cyberweasel89

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, nor do I own it's characters. Square Enix does, though. However, I do own any original characters that appear in this fanfic. These characters belong to me and may not be used without permission.

Rated PG-13 (a.k.a. T) just in case, as I'm not sure where I'll be going with this.

Summary: Follow the only female Templar on a quest to prove herself, along with her odd crew of misfit Templar friends.

Narration

"Regular speech"

'Whispers'

(Thoughts)

Prologue

An Orphan with a Sword

A lone little girl of eight years walked up the steps of Maella Abbey, earrings shaped like slimes dangling from her ears. She had long, messy brown hair and dark brown eyes with a typical child's build. She was dressed in little more than an oversized, dirty brown T-shirt that went down to her knees.

As she walked up the steps and entered the door, she made her way to the middle of the abbey, where the fountain was. She was greeted there by a tall man of about 25 with short, messy orange hair sticking out from under the helmet he was wearing. The helmet itself was brown, covering his entire head but leaving an empty space for his eyes, nose, and mouth. On top of the helmet was a roman-style mowawk of orange bristles. Though it may have been amusing to assume that the mohawk of the helmet was the man's actual hair, the hair sticking out from under the helmet was a darker shade of orange than the helmet's bristles. He had a mustache of the same orange color as his hair, as well as tanned skin, and yellow eyes. He was dressed in a blue templar's uniform, a Templar Captain's Ring on the index finger of his right hand. The Templar Captain's Ring was golden in color, except for the insignia, which was blue with the image of a gold rosary. An actual gold rosary hung from his neck. On his back was a very sharp looking, and very shiny looking, double-bladed battle axe, with somewhat of a spear-shape on the pole between the two blades, though not sticking out far enough to allow the axe to be used for thrusting. Also strapped to his back was a shield shaped like a square with the sides curving inward. There were four more sides on the shield where the corners would normally be, making eigth corner and eight sides. On each corner side were three small spikes. The border was a shiny steel color, but the area of the shield inside the border was a dark orange, and making an angry face with markings on the chin and above the eyes. He approached the little girl and knelt down to her level.

"Hello, little girl. Are you here with anyone?" he asked her gently.

"No. My house burned down. My mum and dad are gone." the girl replied shyly.

An old man of about 66 walked in from a nearby door. He was tall with some weight put on from age. His hair was white, straight, and long. His skin was pale, his eyes kind and blue. He was dressed in a robe that was a light violet color, except for the border at the bottom of the gown, the border of the sleeves, and the border of the collar, which were all a darker violet. On the chest was an odd golden symbol, with a blue stone set into it. On his head was a tall cleric's hat, and a Gold Rosary dangled from his neck. He walked up behind the Templar Captain.

"Hello Captain Marco. Who might this be?" The old man asked the Templar Captain.

"Greetings, Abbot Kukule. It seems that she is an orphan." Captain Marco bowed to the old man.

The abbot's blue eyes seemed to be piercing right through the little girl's body and peering into her soul. His serious face rose into a kind smile.

"Well, then she's welcome to stay here. It must've been a dangerous trek all the way here from your home."

"Not really. I managed to fight off all the monsters." The girl smiled.

"Really? With what?" Captain Marco asked.

"With this."

The girl showed them a smooth wooden stick with a round knob at the end. There was gauss wrapped around the area above the knob. Her hand gripped the bandaged area like a handle.

"You fought off the monsters with a Cypress Stick?" Captain Marco asked in disbelief.

"Hmm..." The Abbot mumbled.

"Abbot Kukule, I don't like that look in your eyes." Captain Marco sputtered nervously.

"Captain Marco, prepare an area for battle. Also, grab one of the Templars and a standard issue Templar's Sword. I've got an idea."

Abbot Kukule walked off, a glint in his eye.

The open space in the back near the bridge to the Abbot's residence was cleared of people for the battle. A Templar stood at the ready with a sword. The little girl stood there as well, having been given a Templar's Sword as well. Captain Marco stood at the sidelines with Abbot Kukule.

"Abbot Kukule, are you sure this is okay? Not only is she a child, she is a girl! She is not fit to battle one of the Templars." Marco whispered to Abbot Kukule.

"Not to worry. You will see for your own eyes what I have in mind." About Kukule smiled.

"Go!" shouted Captain Marco.

The Templar rushed at the little girl, who quickly raised up her sword to block the attack. For a while, they exchanged blows, blocking and attacking, until finally the little girl was knocked over, her sword flying through the air and sticking into the ground a few feet away.

"Enough!" called the Abbot. He turned to Marco. "There, do you see, Marco?" The Abbot asked.

"See? See what? She lost!" Marco exclaimed.

"Yes, she may have lost, but she faired extremely well against a Templar." The abbot stated.

He walked toward the little girl, Marco following. The little girl had gotten up and was dusting herself off.

"Little girl, what is your name?" asked the Abbot.

"Emily." The girl replied.

"Well, Emily, do you have any experience with a sword?" the abbot asked.

"No, sir, I don't." Emily replied shyly.

"Hmm... Wait here a moment."

The abbot left and went into his residence. For a few minutes, Emily stood uneasily as Captain Marco seemed to be glaring at her. The abbot soon returned with a dark-gray sword with runes carved into the blade and a blue hilt. He handed it to Emily, who immediately fell under it's weight.

"Marco, see to it that this girl is made a Templar. Have her trained to use that sword by our finest sword-wielding Templar." The abbot told Marco.

"Where did you get a Bastard Sword, sir?" Marco asked in disbelief.

"I had it hidden under my bed." The Abbot smiled.

"But she can't even hold up that sword!" Marco exclaimed. He pointed to Emily, who was struggling to lift the sword off the ground.

"But she can be trained to." Abbot Kukule said, still smiling.

"But we can't make her a Templar! She is a girl! All the Templars are male!" Marco exclaimed.

"Then we must make an exception. She shows great talent with a sword. We can't let that talent go to waste. Now go sign the papers to make her a Templar-in-Training. I order it, Captain Marco. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be off. I have matters to attend to."

The Abbot slowly walked off back to his residence. Once the Abbot was out of view, Marco turned his head to glare at Emily.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" Emily asked, confusion in her voice.

Marco pointed a finger at Emily.

"Listen here, girl, the Templars are a noble class of holy knights, their sworn duty is to protect the church. They are men among men. I won't have some girl messing up my Templars! Got that?" Captain Marco poked Emily on the forehead.

Emily didn't like the emphasis that Marco put on "girl" and "my". She rubbed her forehead from the hard poke.

"Um... I don't see what your problem is with me, Mister Marco, sir." Emily said innocently.

"That's "Captain Marco" to you! And the problem I have with you is that the Abbot is making special rules to allow some girl to become a Templar! Women aren't fit to be Templar Knights. Women aren't fit for combat of any kind!"

Captain Marco stormed off in a huff, leaving Emily standing there, dumbfounded.

End Prologue