His early life
He remembered a fire swallowing everything. But what was after that was completely blank.
He could only give a look of confusion that he found himself in a grass plain instead of burnt ground.
"Are you awake there boy?"
He shifted his head towards a man clad in armor. His gaze and expression seems cold but the question the man asked was not.
He tried to get up and approach the man. Only to stumble out of the small cloth that the man may have used as a cover to keep him warm.
"You're lucky you survived the fire there. There are no other survivors there asides you." He said. The boy looked downcast hearing that. Looking down to his arms which were bandaged. "That's the best that I could heal you up with. Sorry." He heard the man spoke.
He then stared at the man. In contrast to his initial cold impression of the man, he saw that his eyes are showing genuine concern to his well being.
"Do you have a name?" He asked.
The boy stayed silent. Saying "I don't need a name."
"Hm?" That caught the man's attention.
"My name is an attachment to my family. Why bother telling or even remember it when they're already gone?"
The man just snorted at his reply. "You sure are interesting boy." He patted the younger and smaller child and introduced himself. "I am Aaron Leoxses. A knight from Sasan."
He stared at the younger child's eyes which are red and they were seemingly blank -And void. Oh so void of life- .
"Can you walk?"
He received a nod in response.
"Well get ready boy. I'll be taking you to my homeland."
He was in awe when his new father had showed him his land which is soon to be a place he could call home.
Sasan is a wide land in the mountains. And the presence itself is majestic enough to his eyes.
"Welcome back Sir Aaron!" Two knights greeted him. "Hey now, no need to greet me…" He shrugged them off.
"But sir!"
"No buts, now where is Darius?"
"I'm here." He turned to see a man accompanied by two boys. "I thought you are yet to finish the special mission brother." The knight king inquired.
"Pretty much so, but I'm going to postpone that for a while." He answered and gave a gentle shove to the boy who was beside him. Catching the interest of the other two children -And the knight king as well-.
"Who is this?"
"A boy I found who lost all his family from a village fire. You don't mind if I take him in to the family, do you?"
The knight king only sighed. "Be my guest brother." He approached the man and gave a pat at his shoulder. "Welcome back."
"I'm home."
His new father then kneeled to the younger boy's level, urging him "Go on and introduce yourself to your new brothers. They won't bite."
He nodded and approached to the boys. Albeit, nervously. What would they think of him? Will they shun him because he isn't exactly blood related? Will they see him as a nuisance? Will they-
"Nice to meet you little brother." A hand reached out to him. He turned his gaze to the older boy who smiled at him. He had crimson hair which matched his eyes well. He also had long bangs that hid a part of his pair of eyes.
"I'm Mistoras! The little guy here is my younger brother Spartos."
"He- hello…" Spartos nervously greeted. He could see how alike both Mistoras and Spartos are. Though he wouldn't call out the fact that he could see that their personalities are different.
"What's your name?
"From today on boy, you will be known as Fai Leoxses."
"I'm Fai."
"HAAAHHH!" He let out a cry as he charged with his sword but that was easily deflected by one swing from his opponent which caused him to lose his balance and fell to the floor of the field.
"Fai. Don't try to charge. Learn to observe the opponents patterns."
"Observe…?"
"Anything can happen in a battle. You must try and have a thought of anticipation of what your opponent's moves are."
"But how?"
"Try and think of this. "If I do this, they will do that." And so on. There are endless possibilities but the one that could determine the winning blow is by careful observation. You can't always win with reckless tactics."
"I understand uncle…"
"Do you wish to continue?"
"Yes!"
"Brother Fai!" Spartos hugged the older boy as he exited the training hall. He couldn't help but smile. "Spartos, were you watching me again?"
"Why not? Brother Fai is strong!"
Fai chuckled lightly and patted his hair in a gentle way. "Hey now, that's not true. Brother Mistoras and uncle are much stronger than I am."
"But brother Mistoras often skip practice…"
"Hey hey, you'll get that kind of phase when you're older someday you know." He flicked Spartos's forehead gently as he said that.
"Ow! Brother please don't do that!"
Fai chuckled a bit more loudly.
"Come on. Do you want to get some snacks on the way back?"
"Ah! Yes!"
And that was how his day had gone by the time he had grown.
"Dad?"
"What is it?"
"Is it alright if I travel?"
"Do you hear of Fai?"
"Do you mean the son of Sir Aaron?"
"It seems that he is planning to leave Sasan for a while."
"Already? He's only ten years old…"
"But he's much more capable than some of the younger soldiers."
"Still, it's very worrying. Mistoras had to leave a few months ago when sir Sinbad brought a change to our knight king."
"A good change though."
"Yes, but that would mean little Spartos is all on his own now that both his brothers are leaving."
"Brother Fai, do you have to leave?" He felt like breaking down when he saw Spartos crying as he is about to leave.
'No Fai. You had to be strong.'
He patted the younger boy's head as an act of comforting the boy.
"Come on Spartos. Don't cry."
"But brother Mistoras left a few months ago. And now you had to leave too… Waaahhh…"
Fai winced as he saw that more tears are flowing out of his younger brother's eyes. If anything, he didn't like to see his younger brother cry. After 5 years of living in Sasan, Spartos had been the closest brother he had bonded with and seeing him cry is the last thing he wanted.
"Spartos, don't cry. I will send you letters of how I'm doing through my friend."
"Promise?"
"It's a promise little brother."
Three hours.
Three hours since he left the boundaries of Sasan.
And three hours since he temporarily parted with his adoptive family that he had come to love.
He looked up to the clear blue sky to see the clouds.
Sky gazing had become a sort of activity he liked to do for some time, especially during his five years in Sasan.
His adoptive father had once said when he saw him gazing at the sky several times in that five years "You look like you are holding down your own tears son."
In a way, it was true. Looking up gave him the comfort that his tears wouldn't have fallen. But this time, the comfort didn't give him the will to stop his tears.
An eagle soon came, flying down and rested at his shoulder. Nudging his cheeks which were stained wet by his tears. He turned his gaze towards the eagle and recognized who it was.
"Thank you. I should have stayed strong for them who are waiting for me to come back home safe, shouldn't I?"
The eagle only let out a caw. How it seemed to know him well had given him a sense of comfort in his solitude journey. It could be out of loyalty since he saved it when he found it injured as it flew near the outskirts of Sasan as a little eaglet, but nevertheless, the eagle had shared another close bond with him.
When he finished wiping his tears away, he mustered the determination to say "Let's go."
From this point on, he will not be known as Fai Leoxses, the nephew of the knight king and son of the knight king's brother.
Just Fai.
Till we meet again.
A tale through letters
First letter
"Dear little brother,
How are you doing? If dad and uncle are reading this with you, how are both of you doing?
I just arrived at Qishan.
The outside world is much wider than I thought. Before, I only knew of the natural habitat of my old hometown.
I don't think I'll regret this chance that father and uncle had given me at all. It gave me a chance to see what my old hometown is like… and how the people outside of our hometowns are like too.
I'm glad to see you are doing well with your training too little brother.
I'll be sending another letter to you soon. Be healthy.
P.S.
I found myself a cool mask that is up to half of my face at the local bazaar when I visited. It's so cool that I don't think I'll be giving it off to anyone at all! It's a bit big for me but I'm sure I'll grow out on it. I'll show that mask soon when I finally got home to Sasan!"
Second letter
"Dear Spartos,
I suppose I should stop calling you little brother shouldn't I? Congratulations for reaching the age of 9 Spartos! Sorry if the letter came a bit late. I got a little problem on my way to the next city.
But don't worry about your brother. I'm as strong as I can be! Speaking of which, how is brother Mistoras doing? Still with Sinbad, I suppose?
Sorry for bringing that up but I haven't heard about him for a while, so I asked.
But even so, wherever he is, I'm sure he's enjoying his time.
Oh, tell dad and uncle that I said hi!"
Third letter
"Hello Spartos!
Surprised that the letter came just a bit faster after the previous one? I've just gotten to Balbadd!
The city is beautiful. It's rowdy but I had fun. I had to say I missed the calm atmosphere back home.
Though there are a few people who aren't lucky to enjoy the riches. But as a resident of Sasan, I do give them a few things they deserved to have. It's food.
It's strange that in Sasan, everyone is well fed but the people here are judged by how poor or rich they are.
Don't worry. I didn't get into a huge trouble.
Say by the way, how is everyone back in Sasan doing? I do hope they're well."
Fourth letter
"Dear Spartos,
How are you? I'm sorry that this letter came much longer than before. In fact, it seems to be four years.
About that, I found myself dungeon diving just like uncle did.
What kind of Djinn I met there… that'll be a secret. And we've been spending some training together and traveled pretty far off at that. Sorry.
I finally reached the Reim Empire now and I assure you I'll be home to Sasan in another few months!"
Fifth letter
"Dear Spartos,
It had been a while since I last sent a letter from Reim. I was surprised to hear that you had gone to Sindria when I returned to Sasan. But I took it that brother Mistoras must have invited you there.
I'd say this would be the last letter I would send to you.
While I had finished my travels, I still felt that there's still much more that I need to learn of.
I was thinking of going for another journey.
So I won't be visiting you after I came back after all. I'm sorry.
But that won't mean that it's a goodbye forever.
Someday, we will.
Till we meet again."
Untold events
The street performer
It took four months for him to arrive in Qishan. -This was because he walked by foot.- He was lucky he was able to eat some of the wild animals while he camped out that he was able to make it. All the training from his uncle had paid off.
He was awed at the markets of Qishan. Fruits, food, merchandises, and all sorts of things that he never get to see from Sasan or from an old forgotten memory of his old hometown.
'This isn't the time to think of the old hometown Fai.' He slapped his cheeks lightly to get a hold of himself. The eagle next to his shoulder cawed and showed its wings to a direction.
He turned to see a sort of street performance. "Street performers…?" He wondered. He saw that the children are the ones watching and the performer is also a child too. He didn't know how but the children and he too, felt entranced at her show. While it seems like dancing and singing without a care, it somehow felt soothing, comforting and energizing him at the same time.
"Alright guys, let's work harder today!" The girl cheered on, the children surrounding her let out a hearty and cheerful "Yeah!" as they moved on from the spot.
"So it's not a street performance, huh?" He talked to himself in wonder. The eagle cawing. He chuckled and petted it. "I get it Cyrus but you know…" He trailed off, slowly gazing above him. "It's really rare to see the younger kids so energetic back in Sasan." This caused the eagle to peck his head which meant that it would be very offending for the younger children back in Sasan. "Ow! No, I mean, not all kids!"
It spread its wings for a little bit and soon relaxed. He let out a sigh of relief and is about to walk off before someone called.
"You there young man!"
He turned to see… an obese man looking at him greedily. Fai knew he had to be wary of these kinds of people outside after a talk with his adoptive father -Through experience- but he needed to know their intentions first.
"…What do you want from me sir?"
"You had a fine eagle over there!"
"You mean this guy? Well, he's pretty reliable…"
"Would you mind if I buy it from you for 2000 Dynal?"
'So that's it huh.' He thought grimly. He had a feeling that eagles are hard to find outside of Sasan since they lived in the mountains most of the time, but are they that rare that some people would want them for money?
A regular person would have sold it without a thought, but there's no way he's selling off a friend for money.
"I-"
"Too bad mister, the eagle and this mister works for me~." He looked down to see the performer from earlier with one finger under her eye and showed her tongue to him.
And naturally, he's annoyed -That's to be expected for any person who are greedy for money - "And who are you kid?"
"You know everybody here can kick you out of town for that."
True to her words, some of the shop managers of the stalls and the shoppers are now looking at him with mean eyes which somehow translates to "What a shameless man."
Seeing the looks of the citizens, he let out an annoyed "Tch" before he left them alone.
The performer blew a raspberry as the man walked away. She turned to Fai and explained. "He's a jerk who looks for something worth for selling, if you didn't know better, he'll probably make you his slave."
"…I was about to refuse before you interrupted."
"Well, refusing isn't going to help you. He's going to keep following you till you agree. Heck, he might even sell that eagle when you tried to get it back. Good thing I helped you out you know. You should be grateful!"
Fai only sighed in response before he muttered a "Thanks" to the girl.
"By the way, are you a traveler?" She asked. Fai raised a brow at her in caution. "Yes I am."
"Follow me mister! There's something I want to show you!" She walked a few steps ahead from him. When she noticed that he didn't follow, she turned and asked. "Well?"
"Are you sure you're not pulling any trick on me?"
The girl laughed loud at that statement before she stopped "If I did, I would have taken that eagle from you when I performed for my friends!"
This surprised him. "So you saw me."
"I just had a good eye sight. Now, are you coming with me?"
"…There's a lot of people."
"It's not just a lot of people, it's a bazaar!"
She showed him around the bazaar. There are much more variety of shops than what he first saw when he arrived. He stopped himself when he saw a stall that sold masks. Not the ones that would cover your whole face but one that covers up to the eyes and forehead.
His attention was directed towards an ancient looking mask with small red foreign letters at the edges of it.
"You had good eyes there young man! This was a mask to replicate the ancient writings of the Torran tribe!" The shopkeeper called out to him.
"Torran tribe… huh?" He murmured as he stared at the mask.
"You liked that thing?" The girl's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I just thought it looks cool." He backed himself. But the girl could see that he was still looking at the mask.
"If you like it that much…" The girl took a small bag which had some Dynals and gave it to the shop keeper.
"Thank you young lady!"
"Hey, I could pay them myself you know." He protested. It's not that he didn't accept her intention; he'd like to pay it by himself for his own experience.
"When are you planning to leave?"
"Huh? Earliest is in… two days. The longest would be a week."
"Do you have a place to stay?"
"No but why are you asking-"
"Think of this as a service." She winked at him and grabbed his hand. "Now let's go and see the other stalls!"
"Hey!"
Though it seemed a bit forceful, he knew that he had found himself an ally that he could depend on.
"The cart here should be able to take you off to Balbadd. The fastest you could get there is by one week!" She informed him.
"Thanks for this by the way." He said.
In the week of his stay in Qishan, he had gotten to know a few things about her. Her name is Amber; she liked birds and aspired to be a performer so the children could at least smile despite the tough times. That and she once lived somewhere near Sasan. (His best guess was Artemyra but he didn't pry since she seems uncomfortable when he asked for things about her family.)
She lived with her grandma and she's at the same age as Spartos. (This really irked him since she is really young to have left her old home.)
"See you later then Fai!" She waved as she saw the cart leaving Qishan and in return, she saw his arm doing a motion similar to a wave.
Once Qishan is out of view, Fai placed the bag he carried and rummaged for the mask that Amber had bought from the bazaar. It was more of an adult sized mask -Something that he didn't think through when he saw it at first-. He held it and traced the Torran letters gently. The mask may mean nothing to others, but it gave him a memory of his visit in Qishan.
Little thief
"This was much more crowded than the bazaar back in Qishan, don't you think?" He asked and Cyrus cawed in agreement.
"There was a little trouble where we had to walk on foot for a while… but it's worth it." He added. Cyrus stretched its wings to what seems to be a tired look. Fai gave the eagle a worried look.
"Sorry for having to send you back and forth to Sasan for the letters Cyrus."
The eagle nudged its head at his cheeks.
'I don't mind at all' Cyrus's gesture seems to say which caused a small smile to form at Fai's lips.
As he looked around the city of Balbadd, he stared at the clear waters in awe. As he ventured further, he then saw people who looked rather glum in comparison to the lively atmosphere he first saw. He winced at the sight.
Poverty.
He heard of how bad it was but didn't think it's much worse than how he heard of it.
He approached the lady in front of him who is cradling her young child. "Miss? What's wrong?"
She didn't answer. She only looked at him with an incredulous and disbelieving look.
Her silence was enough for him to know that some of them experiencing poverty are hostile to those who seem rich. Given that he was still wearing what he had from Sasan, it's obvious they'll mistake him for someone from a rich status.
He decided to search around his bag and took out a small bag of fruits he had bought from Qishan which was still fresh. He opened the bag and gave a grape and apple to her. "Here."
Her eyes widened.
"Before you ask, I'm not from here. And my family always thought me it'll do you good to do a good deed to the needy."
He replied calmly. He then gestured his hands for a prayer similar to how his uncle taught him back in Sasan. "May you be blessed Miss."
He smiled gently and is about to take the small bag for a few more fruits for the lady and her child to eat when he heard a young voice shouted.
"OW! OW! GET OFF ME!"
He turned back to see a boy taking his bag. Pecked and clawed by Cyrus.
'Well, crap. I almost got my bag stolen.'
"You don't need to eat so fast you know. It's not like the food is going away."
"But it taste good!" The boy said in a muffled voice as he ate the food he brought when he rented the room.
"I was planning to sight see around Balbadd for a week before leaving… Oh well. Three days are just enough." Fai grimaced as he counted the coins he had left for his own travels.
"So you're a traveler?" He asked, finally swallowing the food.
"Yeah."
"So where are you from?"
"I'm from Sasan."
"Sasan?"
"I'll tell you as you eat." He chuckled and ruffled the younger child's hair.
"Hey! I'm not a kid!"
"You are since you're short."
"You're no different than me!"
"I'll have you know that I'm going to be a teenager soon."
"Teenager or not, you're still a kid like me!"
Both of them stared at each other and let out a hearty laugh.
"You remind me of my little brother."
"Little brother?"
"You may not believe it but, I was an orphan."
He fiddled around his fingers before he continued. "…I really don't like to remember the day I lost my real family, but it was the same day that I was found by a traveler. He took me in, gave me a new name worth for starting over to give me a new purpose to life, and introduced me to my new siblings."
"But… won't you feel lonely?
"I suppose you're right." He exhaled deeply before continuing.
"But my new family, they gave me a chance and a purpose to stay alive. And I'm going to cherish them more."
"Why?"
"You see kid-"
"I got a name! My name is Zaire!"
"Zaire, you probably won't realize it but, you'll probably realize how important a little something is until you actually lost them."
"… What's so important about feeling your family is to be cherished?"
"Good parents are those who would actually go to extremes to protect their kids. I learned it the hard way when I tried to walk around the roof."
"That's stupid."
"Hey, I was a kid like you back then who didn't know any different. And that's when the world was still kind to us who are new."
Zaire went silent. Looking down at the plate of the food that Fai bought. Fai didn't bother to continue seeing that he might have it rough to the point of becoming a thief.
"Well, I'll be staying for three more days so you can come by anytime you want. I'll be telling you about Sasan too."
"You meant it? Yes please!"
His first day wasn't spent by looking around Balbadd, but telling Zaire of his travels instead.
"… There." Fai smiled as he finished writing. He carefully rolled the paper and tied it to Cyrus's talons.
He gave Cyrus two days to rest up before it could fly to Sasan and spent the time learning about Balbadd and the state of it. -Courtesy of Zaire touring him.-
"The nobles here are total assholes."– Fai swore that if Darius was here, he would have hit the poor kid with a punch. No matter how true it was.
"I don't give a damn about my parents. The gangs in the slums are the only ones I could look up to as a family." –A sentence that gave him the idea that not everyone has it all in this world.
"We only go after the nobles who always look down on the poor." –Does that mean they left out the kind hearted ones? Or do they think all nobles are the same? He didn't want to ask thinking that the younger had gone through a lot to think of that.
Cyrus flew out of the window and soared through the night sky of Balbadd. Once Cyrus was out of sight, he left the room and took his bag. Slinging it to his shoulder. Opening the door and left.
He sighed in relief that the innkeeper isn't a fussy person who would intrude a person's personal space. That'll be tough since he always liked to head out whenever he didn't feel like sleeping and he brought his bag because he is already wary of thieves around Balbadd.
When he left, he took a detour and went towards the slums. It was empty and desolate seeing that the residents are at least sleeping by now so he's confident that no one would notice him.
"What are you doing here?"
He took that thought back when he turned to see Zaire staring at him.
"Just looking around."
"You know that there's nothing to look at in the slums." Zaire retorted.
"Good point." Fai sighed.
"Then why are you here?" Zaire asked once more.
"I'm just a bit tired of the city's atmosphere."
"Really? Me too actually. The city had so much rich and cheery people it didn't help at all."
"I don't mean that way."
"Then what?"
"Do you know of any place in the slums where you can see the sky clearly?"
Zaire was silent for a bit before he beckoned Fai to follow him.
It was a 30 minute walk when Fai reached the destination Zaire had shown him. True to his words, Fai could actually see the night sky filled with stars.
Zaire didn't need to ask when he saw Fai sitting somewhere near the edges of the floor they are in and looked above.
"That's what you're here for? Star gazing? It's so bo-ring!"
Fai didn't retort. He was already immersed at seeing the sky above to actually reply. Zaire sighed and sat next to him. He soon looked up after a while of doing nothing.
"You look like you're holding your own tears." Fai said out of the blue.
"Wh- what?"
"That's what my dad used to tell me when I looked up." He let himself fall to the floor and rested his head with both hands at the back of his head.
"What's the point of looking up to the sky anyways?"
"People got different reasons. Some just liked to see the clouds, some just liked to see how the sky is pretty. Some just to see the weather."
"What about you?"
"Well…" He pointed up with one hand and made a motion as if drawing a spiral. "I just find it really relaxing to see the clouds moving and the stars shining. It helps me clear up a few things in my mind."
"I still don't get it Fai."
"Maybe you will when you've grown. Besides…"
"What?" Zaire wondered.
"This is what I do a lot when I'm back at Sasan." He lightly brought the hand he used down and continued.
"Sometimes, when I got into a fight with my brothers or if I had a bad day, I often find myself looking up to the sky. I often find it really relaxing and hope that I wouldn't cry from whatever happened before. In a way, my dad was right about me trying to hold my own tears."
"But… aren't boys supposed to be strong?"
"We're only human Zaire. We all had our limits to when we could stay strong. Whether you're born a boy or a girl doesn't matter."
A deafening silence followed as Fai continued to look up to the sky. Fai soon stood up and took his bag.
"Where are you going?"
"Back to the inn. I need to sleep for a bit since tomorrow's the last day I'll get to sight see around Balbadd."
Fai then jumped off from the roof and walked.
"I'll see you later Zaire. Night."
Zaire could only watch Fai's figure growing smaller as he left.
"… Good night."
When he heard the caw of an eagle above, he knew that Cyrus was here. With his arm prepared and positioned straight, the eagle soon lay it's talons onto his arms.
"Thanks Cyrus." He petted the eagle. Looking towards the sea as he sat at a crate near the harbor. He soon saw a ship coming with a few foreign passengers leaving.
"That's our ride Cyrus." He told the eagle. The eagle nodded and flew, changing its position and rested at his shoulder.
He looked back towards the city of Balbadd before he walked towards the ship.
"Fai!"
He stopped. He didn't need to turn to see who it was.
"Thanks for the help in the last few days Zaire." He said and is about to walk off.
"Fai let me come with you!"
That is when he turned to Zaire with a confused expression which soon changed to shock as Zaire had company coming with him. A group of gruff looking men.
A man behind who looked rather old jumped down and walked towards Fai. Zaire accompanying him.
"So you're the kid junior has taken a shine of, eh?"
"Kind of…?" Truth to be told, he wasn't sure what to say. Add the fact that the man looked rather scary and had a poker face too at that.
The man kept his eye on Fai -Due to his looks, it looked like a glare instead- before saying.
"You're lookin' pretty fine for a kid. No wonder junior had taken a shine on you." He smiled at the young boy. Soon changed into anger.
"You better keep junior safe or I'll hunt your grave down."
"Y- Yes sir…"
"Good! I won't have to worry if junior gets into any trouble." The man soon kneeled to Zaire and ruffled his hair. "Be sure you have interesting stories to tell the crew when you're back junior!"
"Of course gramps!"
"Stay safe there kid!"
"Come back in one piece!"
"Have fun!"
Zaire waved back at them as both he and Fai left the harbor. When the harbor is out of sight, Fai asked.
"You have a fun looking family."
"Of course they're fun! They used to be pirates in the old days!"
"…Pirates?"
"Yup! Gramps told me a lot about his adventures in the seas!"
'So that's where his interest of the world beyond came from.'
Fai couldn't help but think that the trip is going to be long with Zaire telling him of the pirates tale…
Amnesiac bookworm
A girl woke up in a bed. She looked around to see that she was obviously in a room. 'But where?'
"Hey, you're awake."
She looked to see a boy older than her sitting near where she was sleeping. "You shouldn't push yourself. The cut on your stomach hasn't healed up yet."
"Cut…?" The girl looked down to see that the upper half of her body is bandaged.
"Zaire, is she okay?"
"She just got up Fai. I told her not to push herself."
"I see. That's great."
In the corner of her eye, she saw another boy looking much older than the one in front of her, wearing a mask with strange letters. The mask was a bit large for his face but it still did a good job in hiding what the upper half of his face is like.
The masked boy whom she assumed to be "Fai" soon sat near her.
"It was a relief that you're alive. The others in the village are gone."
"…Village?" She wondered.
Fai looked at her with a disbelieving look. "Do you remember what happened to your parents?"
At the mention of parents, her body trembled violently. The action showed shock all over.
A gentle touch to her head is what calmed her down. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Fai told her apologetically. She could see the sadness from his eyes.
Or was it regret?
She was sure that whatever happened to her family or those she had known before, she didn't want to remember it.
"What's your name?"
"...I don't know."
'I can't remember...'
Silence followed.
"…This is worse than we thought."
"Well, she looked like that she's only six or something…"
"…Does the innkeeper here have a name encyclopedia or something?"
"Are you serious? They're Reim's-"
"Do I look like I had a choice? Besides, neither of us can think of a name."
"If you say so." Zaire shrugged before he left the room. A long wait later, Zaire came back with a thick book. From Zaire's tired expression, the book must have been rather heavy.
"I'm never getting an encyclopedia ever again."
"Sorry about that." Fai apologized before he took the book and started to look for the names.
"Ion." He read out as he found a name he thought would fit. He looked towards the young girl, asking "How does that sound?"
The girl was about to nod before he interrupted. "Or how about the other alternative for that… Iona?"
She pouted in response.
"So… you want another name?"
"No… Ion is just fine." She spoke up.
"Well then, Ion it is."
"By the way, um…"
"Just call me Fai."
"Can I borrow that book you were holding?"
In a few days, Ion ended up reading all the books available for their room, much to the shock of both Fai and Zaire since they're all with complex languages.
Childhood friend
Disappointment was an understatement when he found out that Spartos had left for Sindria. To say the least, sadness would be the right word as he wouldn't be able to see Spartos for a while.
Though he was glad to write a letter to make a point to him.
He walked around Sasan while Ion, Zaire, and Amber (Who joined along after the prompt reunion in Reim) are sightseeing and resting. Trying to relish the air the place he could call "Home".
He passed by a familiar blacksmith that he had grown acquainted and regularly visited. The owner was a friend to his father and uncle.
"Welco-, Oh Fai! You're home already lad?"
"It's been a while mister. I just returned."
"Oh~ you should really see Rana. Ever since Spartos left, she's been sulking."
Fai sighed. He remembered that Rana was a very boyish girl since there aren't many girls her age and ended up hanging out with boys.
She can be a handful since he had to take care of her sometimes. No thanks to her boyish and mischievous streak.
"Alright, she's at the usual spot, right?"
"Yea, boy. Go get her."
Fai smiled before leaving and heading over to the "Usual spot". It was a rocky terrain in the outskirts of town. It was the same place that he met Cyrus years back. He was eight back when he first met his trustworthy eagle.
Sure enough, Rana was there.
'She still had that red bandana I gave her.' Fai mused as he stared at the red bandana tied around her dark brown hair. He sat next to her and greeted her casually when she noticed her.
"Hey."
Her eyes widened for a while before she hugged him.
"Fai!"
At the sudden hug, Fai lost his balance and fell with Rana on top of him.
"Welcome back! How are you doing? Any stories to tell?"
"Yeah but… can you get off?"
"Ah! Sorry!"
Fai chuckled and proceeded to tell of his adventures. Talking till the sun has set.
When Rana finally came home and got to bed, she had made up her mind.
"I wanna go with you too!"
"Rana, I understand where you're getting at but… I don't think your dad would take it well."
"I don't care! I wanna join along with you too!" Rana puffed her cheeks in frustration.
"I think you should listen to the girl there Fai." Zaire suggested.
"Yeah, I agree with him." Amber added.
"Same here. I don't think she's going to take "No" for an answer either." Ion commented.
"You're not helping!"
And so Fai's group added a new member. Fai was chewed off due to Rana's begging and had to promise to keep the girl safe but that is a story for another time.
The summoner
When he found the travelers resting, he thought he could call on his friends to act and see if they are bad or not.
But a coughing fit had caused him to be noticed by said travelers.
When he finally calmed down, he saw someone approached him and asked. "Are you okay?"
He looked up to see a girl who seemed younger than him. Followed by an older man with a mask that covered half of his face.
The girl approached and gestured. "Let me see your hand."
He nodded and opened his hand which he had used to cover his mouth.
The girl stared at the small blood splatter at his hand.
"Good thing it isn't bad…" She murmured.
She returned to their camp site. He was about to call when the masked boy stopped him.
"Don't worry; Ion knows what she's doing."
He reluctantly obliged as they wait for her to come back.
A moment later, she came back with a bottle in hand.
"Drink this."
He can only stare at the bottle warily.
As if he could read her, she said. "It's not poison. It's only ginger tea."
At that, he groaned. "Tell me that earlier then…" He took the bottle and drank it. Once the contents are empty, he returned it to the girl.
She later told him. "You had pneumonia."
"What?"
"It's an illness that makes you feel weak and had a bad time inhaling the air. It's not a terminal illness. My homeland had the remedy for it, ginger. You'll need to drink it for some time before you are fully healed though."
"Oh…"
"By the way… uh, not wanting to pry but… Is that a Maurenian Sabertooth tiger behind you?" The older man pointed at his friend right behind him.
Sure enough, it was glaring at the two in front of it.
"How are you feeling?" The masked man who introduced himself as Fai earlier had asked.
"I feel a bit better… the fits didn't come back as frequently anymore."
"That's good. Though, I'm surprised that there are life magicians that can have animals wrapped around their fingers…"
He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Everyone back in the academy finds it weird too…"
"Academy as in… Magnostadt?"
"Ah… yeah."
Of course almost everyone knows that Magnostadt is a magician only country since the defeat of Musta'Shim kingdom four years ago.
"Really? What did they say about your magic?"
He was surprised that Fai didn't pry why he left and answered. "Yes. Well, they say any animal or monster I wanted always ended up appearing and coming to my aid no matter how far. It's like a mixture of time and space magic since a teleporting magic circle for time and space magic always open up when I want them there with me."
"Oh."
"Because of that, I was called the "Summoner". It really rings well with my ability, though I can't really call those from old myths like the Origin dragons and Red lions from the Alma Torran tale… And it takes up a lot of magoi depending on the size of the animals or monsters I wanted to call."
"So you thought of finding a cure for your fits by leaving Magnostadt?"
He can only flinch as the speculation was part truth to why he left. "Sort of… but that's not all."
"Hmm?"
"I… I wanted to see what the world outside of Magnostadt is like with my own eyes."
Fai pondered for a while before he told him. "If that's the case, you can join along with us."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah. Another company is always welcomed you know?"
"Thank you!"
"No problem, by the way, I never got to know your name."
"I'm Denzel."
The many untold events after that, is a story for another time my dear friend.
Reunion
"Hey hey, whatcha reading Spartos?" A familiar cheery voice called on him as he sat and read through five, wrinkled papers.
How long has it been since he last heard of him? And he deeply regretted the choice of leaving for Sindria when he had the last letter sent by his father just a few weeks after the letter had arrived.
He didn't tell, since he didn't wish to worry Sinbad and his friends. And he had made up his choice to stay in Sindria.
In reply to Pisti, he dismissed "Just letters."
"Ohh~ didn't think you'll get fan letters~" Pisti giggled. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrow at the sentence. Pisti pouted in response. "Ehh~ they're not fan letters? Bummer…."
Spartos couldn't help but chuckle. "Contents aside, we should go to the harbor. The prince that the Kou Nation had sent for sir Sinbad's negotiation would be likely to have arrived soon."
"Yeah yeah…"
And so the two spent a silent walk towards the harbor. What happened next was something that he could admit that he would place his palm to cover his face in shame. The princess Kougyoku whom Sinbad had met during his time in Balbadd directed an angry accusation that he had "Defiled" her. Given Sinbad's nature, it was natural that this may happen.
But what happened next is unexpected to him.
"Before you guys jump to conclusions, why don't you calm yourselves down?" A voice interrupted them. Naturally, all of them turned towards the voice to see a man whose half of his face is covered with a mask. Right at his shoulder stood an eagle eyeing the people around and accompanied by a girl who seem a bit alike to Morgiana by age.
An aide of the princess with a mask eyed him in caution. "And who might you be?"
"Oh, just a traveler. I had to say, I can't help but listen to you nobles arguing. That sight is rare."
Spartos, who had been staring at the masked man, is rather shocked himself. The tone he used to talk, the hair, and the eagle… He had seemed familiar… But who?
"Besides, we have magicians that can see through the flow of events, don't we?" He reasoned. Sinbad glowed with an idea in mind. "Of course…" He murmured. But before he could say anything, the masked man interrupted.
"Can you do it, Ion?" The man asked the girl accompanying him. "I'll try." She shrugged. She walked till she is in between the differing sides.
She reached towards the pocket of the bag she had hung at her shoulders. Taking out what seems to be a small bell with a crystal like object close to it. Slowly, she swung it like a pendulum. And soon all the surroundings changed to that of the Kou empire.
"Wh- what?" The aide let out a gasp.
She kept on doing it as the events around her unfolded. Sinbad went to his bed while Kougyoku was knocked out after Sinbad had done so. The culprit with the help of a few helpers had carried the unconscious Kougyoku towards Sinbad's room. (Cue Masrur and Jafar covering Morgiana and Aladdin's eyes.)
But after a while, they saw that both Sinbad and Kougyoku are too deep in sleep to actually be doing anything. The surroundings soon changed back to the Sindrian harbor.
"...That's that. That's what really happened. The long purple haired uncle over there-" She stopped as she saw Sinbad's frozen reaction to being called an uncle before continuing "Did nothing at all and the noble lady of Kou is too knocked out to actually do it."
"Problem solved then." The masked man smiled. That went unheard as Sinbad proceeded to blame the generals for accusing him.
"Don't let them deceive you princess! That suspicious magic from the girl won't prove anything!"
"I'll have you know that I don't even know anyone from Sindria mister. That and the Rukh never lies." The girl dismissed calmly.
"This is unacceptable!" The aide of the princess called out in rage. The masked man soon walked toward him and gave him a punch in the gut. Promptly knocking his balance off the ground.
"Oof!" The aide grunted.
"Since you seem so keen on not accepting the fact that nothing happened…" He kneeled down and smiled at the aide "You must be the culprit who knocked the noble lady out, eh?"
"Wh- what? Koubun?" The princess uttered a gasp of shock.
"No princess! Don't believe his lies!"
"The fact that you tried to deny it is adding the proof that you really did knock her out you know? Denial can mean the other way round, you gray hearted man." The masked man still smiled at him as he denied. This caused the other soldiers to bow in front of the princess.
"Yes it's Ka Koubun's fault princess!"
"Wh- what?"
"I'm sure the purple haired lord there would like to hear your reasons then." The masked man said. The smile kept in his face is still there and to the aide who had been caught, he finally saw that the smile that he put on had been a smirk all along. Much to his horror.
"Gladly." Sinbad approached them. A smirk formed at his lips.
"Before that, the noble man accompanying the princess over there, the one with blue hair, do you have something to say?"
Sinbad is surprised as he stared at the masked man. It was as if he could see the situation and what happened after by just a glance.
"I'm sorry King Sinbad. This turmoil is caused by misconduct from the people of my country." The prince knelt down with one knee.
Both the masked man and young girl are silent as Ka Koubun looked at the young prince in wonder.
"He claimed that the girl's magic is suspicious, but in my country, though it's not as strong as hers, it is regarded as authentic. It showed the truth. Isn't that right? Ka Koubun?"
"Y- Yes…"
"I ask for your forgiveness for the rudeness of my fellow travelers as a representative of the empire. But the important objective of my study abroad here is different, therefore... I beg you to allow me to stay here."
"You have my permission." Sinbad told him.
After that, the two travelers are trying to suppress their laughter when they saw Jafar spitting Ka Koubun.
Spartos's eyes had widened by now as he finally saw the masked man closely. 'It couldn't be…!'
"Brother Fai?" Spartos called out. The masked man looked at the scarlet haired knight. The girl soon stared at him in wonder.
He knew that the generals along with the guest are looking at him but he just wanted to make sure if it was really him. The brother he had yet to meet again after a long time.
To his relief and joy, the man greeted. "Long time no see little brother."
Hello again.
Hello. Here's the first chapter. I never mentioned it but the story would have OC's. Asides that, here's a little something of the OC's introduced in order.
Fai Leoxses: A 24 year old man who is Spartos's and Mistoras's adoptive brother. He lost his family from a village fire. Currently wearing a Torran styled mask, which he wears 24/7 for a reason. He's also accompanied by his pet eagle Cyrus. I have a reason why he wears a mask but more likely in future chapters. Since I saw that Darius's name is a Persian name, I decided to give him the name Fai which meant "Initials/ beginnings" in the same language.
Amber: A young performer in Qishan who lived with her grandmother. She gets along well with the children and the merchants of the stalls in Qishan. Actually, her hometown is Artemyra. I won't be explaining why she left Artemyra soon though. Her name meant "Gemstone" in Arabic. She'll make a return soon.
Zaire: A young boy living in the slums of Balbadd. Since his parents are gone, he learned thieving for survival. He was raised by a gang of former pirates who lived there and left them as he was more interested in traveling when he met Fai. His name meant "River" in Arabic. Like Amber, he'll be making an appearance soon.
Ion: A 15 year old girl accompanying Fai to Sindria. Like Fai, her hometown was gone. The shock of the loss caused her to lose a majority of her memories, including her name which gave Fai the liberty to name her. She is also a magician capable of seeing the Rukh. If you're confused with how to spell her name, it's the katakana "イオン". Her love of books is actually based on Allen from the RPG Maker game, "Alice Mare".
Rana: A young girl who happened to be Fai's childhood friend back in Sasan. Due to the lack of girls who were in the same age group, she developed a tomboyish streak which tires Fai. She is the child of a blacksmith who is close friends with Aaron and Darius.
Denzel: A magician from Magnostadt known as the Summoner back in the academy. He's a life magician capable of controlling animals and had them obey to his will. He had suffered from Pneumonia and was later cured by Ion. He left Magnostadt to find a cure for his worsening illness and to see the outside world in his own eyes.
Note:
1: To be honest, I originally thought Darius could have adopted him when traveling for a mission before I remember that Darius might have never left Sasan for his whole life because he lacked the courage to like Mistoras. So I ended up thinking of making an OC which would be a surrogate father figure to Fai that has the qualities that Darius wished, and that's Aaron Leoxses whom I made an older brother to Darius. There's also a fact that both Mistoras and Spartos also had another brother so I thought of that when I created Fai (But the difference is that Fai is adopted, not blood related). I'll be explaining Aaron's character in brief in future chapters of his appearance but for now, he's only in Fai's early life.
2: The spelling to Mistoras/Mystras's name is a bit confusing to me so for convenience, I'm going to call it as Mistoras in future chapters.
3: I'm honestly really confused at what age Spartos had been when he left for Sindria in between the Magi timeline but I take that he was 13. Temporarily until The Adventures of Sinbad is updated to tell the clear timeline. Plus the fact that Mistoras is the one to join Sinbad's adventures just made it really confusing to what happened to Mistoras after and how Spartos or even Pisti joined Sinbad in between the Adventures of Sinbad and Magi.
4: That one event from the Mahrajan festival with Spartos made me think that he might have some fans and… yeah, fan letters are bound to happen. This was why Pisti assumed that the letters from Fai are fan letters.
5: The currency of the other parts of the Magi world (Except Kou) wasn't told but based on the Magi Smart phone game Dungeon and Magic, the currency is called デイナール (I'm sure it's read as Dynal but I'm still not sure if I'm right with how it would be called if the English translation of the game is ever coming up.) so I'll be following that.
Please review on your way out.